January 2025

My Dear Friend,

If you’re like me, amid all the mayhem and destruction of late, you might need something uplifting.

Today I had my weekly mentoring session with my little fourth-grader who is always so excited to see me, her joy is infectious. The program matched us in 2023; she was eight, in third grade, and reading at a first-grade level. Initially, we focused on reading, working our way up to finishing Stuart Little, her first novel, last November.

Having mastered reading, I reached out to her teacher to see if there was anything else she needed help with. His response was, “place value.” I had to look it up. It’s a basic math concept that teaches the values of digits in certain positions of a number. For example, in 385, the 3 represents hundreds, the 8 tens, and the 5 ones.

I'm not able to share a photo of my mentee, but this is how we roll.

We started in December and today place value clicked for her. What a feeling! Like flying a kite, running and running as it bumps along the ground, and then whoosh! The little diamond soars skyward.

I’m not a teacher, but I found a helpful kid-friendly site online and went from there. That’s what’s cool about mentoring. You don’t need to do or be anything special—just someone who cares enough to commit one hour per week. That's all, one hour a week!

I’m making a real difference in this little girl’s life, and it's incredibly rewarding, makes my heart swell, and even brings tears to my eyes some days.

When my husband and I travel during the school year, I meet with her via Zoom. Easy-peasy!

On that note …

My reading recommendations this month are two-fold. The first, The Jonathan Effect, inspired the theme of my novel, The Bravest Among Us. Want to discover the difference mentoring can make in the life of a child? In your life? Read them both and then sign up. There are opportunities everywhere. Many employers sponsor local programs. Mine did which is how I got involved.

Here's a list of organizations to get you started.

Trust me, you won't regret it!

Click on book images for where-to-buy info.

If you know of any games that reinforce place value, either online, a board game, or a card game, please let me know.

Sending prayers of hope and comfort to those affected by Hurricane Helene, the New Orleans attack, and the LA fires. And to all, I wish you a happy, healthy, and safe 2025!

God bless,

Award-Winning Author

Website / Newsletter

P.S. As always, you can find links to all of my books via my Website or Newsletter links above.

P.P.S. If you didn’t receive this newsletter directly, sign up via the Newsletter link.