The Last Round of Editing #LittleRaindropsBigPlunge!

Hello, there!

It's been quite some time, and I'm happy to say that we are currently in our final round of editing the entire manuscript of Little Raindrop's Big Plunge! The eight chapter story has been reviewed by a professional children's book editor, and as far as story, grammar and punctuation are concerned, the story is clean and ready to go. We just have a few items to fix here and there, and then I can begin working on the text and art layout for the ENTIRE BOOK.

I am soooo excited!!!!!!

So far, it seems like the editing phase of the book has been the most difficult, and it felt like it has taken us forever. Between Mr. H and myself working full time on our other jobs, and silly Life Events getting in the way, we had to push through the sludge and just try our best at moving forward. It took us seventeen times to edit the story, believe it or not. BUT WE DID IT. We so did it!

I can't wait to get back to the drawing board again!

I shall be in touch, and in the mean time, Little Raindrop, Mr. H and I all wish you a very Happy Holiday season!

~Miss Melanie

Tales of a Third Grade Classroom: Miss Melanie Visits Mr. H's Class!

Hi!

Last month, at the beginning of April, my husband and I took the long drive allll the way to Mr. H's class, a gazillion miles away! (Actually, it was 405 miles to be exact.) I can best describe the visit with... PHOTOS! So have a look!

This sign in the classroom greeted us!

Along with some really cute raindrops!

Important vocabulary words that are found in Little Raindrop's book.

Before we began, we had a few things to discuss!

And then I started my presentation!

"This is how I do the art for Little Raindrop..."

Dawwwwww

My actual original artwork was circulated around the room.
Look at those cute smiles!

The boys even think the book is cool!

An awesome question and answer session!

These lucky kids have a cozy couch in their classroom!

Then I taught everyone how to draw Little Raindrop!

Everyone is working hard!

Can you guess who that is?

The kids were very generous with their ideas on
what Mr. H should look like!

A request for a sea turtle was made, and eventually an elephant, too!

There was a mad rush for everyone to hand me
their drawings and comment cards!

Here's what they looked like. Awesome art, kids!

And then they all surprised me with...

...THIS owl fabulous book!

And they all signed their names, too!

So cute!

I'm just smitten!

And Hubby came along for the fun, too! :)

We all had a really great time, and I even got to bring home our Welcome sign and the raindrops! And THEN these awesome kids all sent me letters, too! I had so much fun!

Next time, I will share with you my visit with two groups of Fourth graders, and also a quick visit with some Girl Scouts! Yay for school visits! :D

Thanks for reading!

~Miss Melanie

Guess where I put all my raindrops??

Tales of a Third Grade Classroom: Activity Page Help Results!

Why, hello again!

I promised to share with you the results of the newest Activity Pages, and I've got it all here for the world to see! In fact, I believe there may even be some Activity Page results from page samples I haven't shared with you before. That's because we don't want to ruin the book and show you ALL our secrets, before the book is even done. That wouldn't be fun, would it? ;)

So! The kids all drew some Crabby Cumulonimbus clouds, and had a few tips here and there to share as well...

Smart idea! I'm doing a How To Draw Little Raindrop tutorial for my class visits from now on!

...then they learned how to draw a Busy Bee... (theirs are absolutely adorable)

I love the expression on his face!

...and they drew some fancy snowflakes...

Hyuck hyuck! I love the way this kid thinks!

Having fun AND learning?! Yahooiee!

...and had some tips for me regarding some of the other pages, too...

...and they even found a typo in one of the Word Searches! Thanks, kids! :D

Here is everyone with their Little Raindrop's Big Helpers buttons!

Overall, testing out these Activity Pages turned out to be seriously helpful! I have been able to change some of the pages, with a few more changes still being needed, and they are even better than before. THANK YOU, Little Raindrop's Big Helpers, for your help! I'll be sure to test all of the Activity Pages from now on.

Keep up the great work, kids!
~Miss Melanie

Oh, PS...
I loved all the artwork so much, that I decorated my studio walls with your pictures! Thank you for decorating my room! :)

Don't get any ideas... that TV isn't mine, nor is it plugged in!
I get some serious work done in this room! :)