This might be a bit of a stretch to ask what St. Patrick and red pandas have in common, but I love the story behind St. Patrick’s teen life and calling to love the Irish.  My intent in writing Rojo was to give the world a unique (and educational about pandas) story to encourage loving self and others as God created and call us to do. Doesn’t St. Patrick demonstrate this in his forgiveness of the Irish pirates and those who forced him into slavery?  That plus most people know very little accurate information about both.

St. Patrick was Romano British, not Irish. He was kidnapped by Irish Pirates from his noble home in Brittan when he was a teenager and forced into Irish slavery.  He didn’t go by the name Patrick until he trained to be a Catholic Bishop many years later in France.  He returned to Ireland to share God’s love and knowledge with the Irish…the people who at one time kidnapped him. He most likely used the clover to explain God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Three distinct roles in the same one God.

Red pandas were named panda first.  Not the Giant panda.  They are not raccoons or foxes. But, rather very cute creatures that can teach us something about God and his creation too.  Check out how in Rojo, The Baby Red Panda at the Zoo by Hope Mucklow.

Read more about St. Patrick in St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons and Patrick Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

“It is difficult to make a man miserable when he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him.” -Abraham Lincoln from Wisdom & Wit edited by Louise Bachelder 1965.

This is the whole point of my book, “Rojo, The Baby Red Panda at the Zoo”.   Rojo learns to be content that she is a red panda, not a giant panda because God made her for specific purpose and reason.

Are the plights of weak self-image and disrespect of others that plague American society related to the removal of God as our creator?

America, why not spend some time today to research and reflect on what two amazing presidents model for us and find some inspiration to live more courageously from the lives they lived?

Happy President’s Day!

Rojo Valentines Day Coloring Page and Phonics Activity

Click on RojoMLKJrDay to open up a coloring sheet to accompany Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 19, 2015 for educational purposes.

The recent suicide of 12 year old Ronin Shimizu has sparked social media flurry about the seriousness of how out of control bullying has become for too many.  If you are a parent, teacher, or care about children in your life, it is incumbent upon you to build up a anti-bullying curriculum through books and movies.

I wrote Rojo, The Baby Red Panda at the Zoo specifically to prevent the depression and anxiety that I have suffered for 10+ years as an adult for my daughter and other children.   It’s a book that will challenge you the parent as your child asks you to read it over and over again.  The cute, cuddly, red pandas make hearing the message a pleasure and lighten the seriousness of the topics I address.  You won’t get bored like you do with other texts.

Please slow down and discuss the various topics that I cover through your car rides and conversations over meals.  Respecting ourselves and others is crucial when encountering our many differences.

There’s a plethora of new authors with interesting books regarding bullying.  Get out there and start building your library.  And then read, re-read, and discuss.  Your children are crying out for it.

I’m often asked what curriculum do I use for homeschooling my 7 year old daughter.  I design my own through biographies, our life events (gardening, household & business management, and pet care) and by assessing my daughter’s interest and needs.  That usually provokes the next question,  how do I know if I’m on track for what she needs in the 21st Century?  The answer is Time for Learning.

Time for Learning gives me a break to work on my writing as my daughter happily completes their tutorials online.  It give my daughter independent learning from me, computer use skills, and confidence that she’s on track for what 2nd Graders need to know.  Those are 4 benefits well worth their monthly fee.

As a member of Time4Learning, I have been given the opportunity to review their program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. For more information, check out their standards-based curriculum or learn how to write your owncurriculum review.

                                                                       “Whether you are big or small, black or white,  YOU MATTER! Don’t let the bullies get you down.”

                                                        Hope teaches children how to draw giant pandas and red pandas.  While she teaches she emphasizes that each drawing is going to be a little different as it should be.  Enjoy the differences and stop competing with your classmates!

                                                        Zoo Miami: Panda puppets delight the crowd!

 Country Walk Fall Arts Festival

Making Children’s Red Panda Masks