BOOK ORDERS: klkaris@comcast.com

Welcome to those of you who are new to my Adventures in Writing newsletter. This newsletter is designed to help keep you up-to-date with my new programs, stories, blogs, podcasts, IP Videoconferencing, books and lesson plans.

This year, for me, has been an incredible journey as I started broadcasting my new

writing workshops and author visits from my home studio via IP Videoconferencing. I have worked and planned for this over the last three years and I am now finally up and

running (more on this later.) Over the last fifteen years, I have been actively booked on tour all over the United States visiting

schools, conducting workshops, speaking at conferences and just generally away from my home and office, for months at a time.

Now, I finally have the opportunity to truly get myself organized at home, create and develop interesting alternatives to author visits (to save money for schools), and research and write. What a luxury!

Concerning my personal life, both my sons (Nick and Chris from Traders in Time) are both happily married.

Christopher graduated from a Music & Recording Arts Conservatory last spring and is pursuing a music and sound career in film. He just recently sold some of his original pieces of music to a film company that will be dubbing the pieces into their movie that will compete in The Sundance Film Festival line-up, he is also selling music for video games. Remember the unforgettable and annoying "Mario" game song?

Nicholas will graduate from DePaul University, Chicago with his MBA in the spring and is still doing well with his position with an interpretive company in downtown Chicago.

No grandchildren are on the way for a few years as both daughter-in-laws are considering starting their Master Degree programs. Readers make leaders and so does a great education. I can’t complain.

My husband is still enjoying his job as COO of Rockford Country Club in Rockford, Illinois.

Currently, I am working on several writing projects that have kept my career moving forward. I am working on my first adult novel which has taken me seven years to research and way too long to write. It is going on one year of, not so steady, writing and is only about 1/3 of the way into the story.

I am also working on three educational picture book ideas and is a "first" for me as I am collaborating with a retired teacher friend of mine, Kristi Karis.

The projects are all interesting and we will be going to Washington D.C. this spring to finish up some research.I am also doing research on a WWII project that has a personal family connection and is very interesting but, again, the research has got to be completed before the outline and writing practice begins.

This project has been created to help schools and teachers bring an author to their classroom with minimal expense. The program has really caught on and I have nearly booked the entire school year with conferences while still doing some out-of-state school visits and workshops.

This year I have connected with Sussex, England; South Dakota; Omaha, Nebraska; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania; Alberta, Canada and many schools in the state of Michigan. This type of program is allowing me to get my work out to other locations around the country and around the world and is very enjoyable for me. It is also very cost effective for schools, allowing your students to have an author’s visit at a fraction of the cost.

I am also doing programs for the Polycom Corporation to help promote IP Videoconferencing for their company.

If you are possibly interested in connecting with me via videoconferencing you can E-Mail me at: Pandex@prodigy.net or Author@prodigy.net or check out these locations:

Polycom Corporation: (They give a free teachers copy of the book Little Ship, if you connect through their group) http://www.polycom.com/education/content/

BCISD Distance Learning: http://www.remc11.k12.mi.us/dl/

or from search boxes on any local Distance Learning web site. Just run my name in the databank search box to learn more about my offerings and programs.

Because of all this new activity, that has take three years to coordinate, I have created new web sites to compliment the programs.

http://newadventuresinwriting.com was created to provide students and teachers a location that will give them additional information concerning my books, including free lesson plans, historic photos and paintings of the actual people I write about, wordsearch puzzles and much, much more.

http://www.JLPanagopoulos.com , which is currently under construction, will offer

to teachers and students new ways to look at research and writing in the classroom. Not only will there be PDF downloads of stories and projects, I will also have hyperlinks to research facilities that will help you and your students with their connection to fact and fiction, and the writer’s way of research.

When the site is completed, I also hope to have free writing projects and handouts made available for teachers and students. Just another way of helping to provide "FREE" resources to teachers and students to help in the learning process with a "NO COST" price tag.

This is my 8^th year of working with the A.S.K. program, another national Videoconferencing program ran by outside coordinators.

The A.S.K. program runs four times a year and provides a classroom set of books (books must be returned through school mail) for your class use while participating in the program.

You guide your students through a classroom read, create journals and write questions to "ask" me via videoconferencing. This program has a nominal fee (around 35.00), paid to the coordinating ISD.

A.S.K. program coordinators Janine Lim or Arnie Comer can tell you more if you contact them at: BCISD A.S.K. program or Janine Lim: jlim@remc11.k12.mi.us or

MISD A.S.K. coordinator, Arnie Comer: acomer@misd.net

BLOGGING AND PODCASTS

To compliment the A.S.K. program or to be of use for any other teachers who are using my books in their classroom, you can integrate technology and literature and visit my educational blog sites that most all schools in the U.S. can safely visit without filters.

http://visitmyclass.com/blogs/journey07/ (Journey Back to Lumberjack Camp)

http://visitmyclass.com/blogs/traders07/ (Traders in Time)

http://visitmyclass.com/blogs/traintomidnight07/ (Train to Midnight)

http://visitmyclass.com/blogs/farawayhome07/ (A Faraway Home)

On these blogs, students are asked four questions by the facilitator. Next, I ask the students four questions. The students at this point are allowed to send their responses and questions to me for more information.

To make the technology more interesting, we have included Podcasts (like a radio broadcast) where the students hear more information concerning the book(s) they are reading and the research that has gone into the creation of the book(s).

If you are interested in participating in this blog program, which runs twice a school year, please contact Jim Wenzloff, Blog Coordinator at: wenzloff@gmail.com.

For those of you who are interested in a blogging Workshop for writers, please email me on this project and visit the site at: Adventures in Writing

http://visitmyclass.com/blogs/jlpanagopoulos/default.aspx

HONORS AND AWARDS

This last year, my blog and Videoconferencing programs have won several awards including four prestigious,

"Teachers Choice" awards.

With a calendar full of IP programs connecting to

Canada, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. I also have several weeks of on-site school visits including Sterling Heights, Utica, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Traverse City, and several locations in Wisconsin. If you happen to be at MRA this year, please put me on your calendar as I will be a Featured Speaker at the conference and will be sharing, in detail, more information covered in this newsletter. And if you live west of Lake Michigan, please attend my events at the IRC (Illinois Reading Council) in Springfield, Illinois.

With today’s upset in the economy and publishing houses closing all over the United States, don’t fear, my books are still available and being published and updated.

River Road Publications have sold their facilities and are in the middle of a move. Until a business phone number and address can be established, you may place your orders through a new distributor at:

Edco Publishing and State of Michigan addresses are still status-quo.

NEW STANDARDS FOR THE STATE OF MICHIGAN.

With Michigan history no longer the focus for fourth grade, fourth grade teachers, don’t worry. I have a new standards sheet that will be available for you soon that will show you which of my books can be used to meet the Social Studies/History standards in

Fourth grade… Third grade teachers, it will  be a delight to work with you for your Michigan history standards. Feel free to contact me for more information. Author@prodigy.net

ALL BOOKS A.R. APPROVED

All of my books are now "Accelerated Reader" approved – Check for quizzes at Renaissance Learning: http://www.renlearn.com