The Parmesan Pig Book Series is a dynamic and engaging children's picture book series designed to inspire imagination, creativity, and a love for reading in young learners. Each book in the series features Parmesan Pig alongside her charmingly named food-animal friends, whose playful and inventive names add an extra layer of fun to their adventures. These stories not only entertain but also introduce important life lessons, such as friendship, problem-solving, and the value of perseverance. The author visits goes beyond storytelling by offering interactive and follow-up activities. Children/Students engage in character exploration activities, where they experience the creative journey of developing character illustrations—from initial sketches to the final artwork. Each session concludes with the exciting task of inventing new character names that could seamlessly join the series. These activities are designed to enhance literacy, boost creative expression, and build confidence in young readers. The Parmesan Pig Book Series is ideal for elementary school students and can be tailored to fit various educational settings, including classrooms, libraries, and after-school programs. By bringing these stories to life through interactive sessions, I aim to foster a deeper connection with reading and learning, making the educational experience both enjoyable and impactful. Key Features: 1) Interactive Storytelling: Bringing the adventures of Parmesan Pig and friends to life through engaging readings and discussions. 2) Creative Interaction: Activities that encourage children to explore their creativity and express themselves. 2) Educational Enrichment: Each session is designed to align with educational standards, promoting literacy, critical thinking, and social-emotional learning. 4) Flexible Format: The program can be adapted to fit the needs of different age groups and educational settings, ensuring a customized experience for each school. Join Parmesan Pig and her friends on a journey of creativity and learning that will leave a lasting impact on young minds!

My name is Leah, and I’m the founder of Brave Lion. I’m a certified mindfulness and yoga practitioner, and a true child at heart! Thank you for checking out my profile. My program offers are listed below, but first, I thought I’d share some nice things educators and administrators have said about working with me: “Leah brings this work to life, it’s not just another SEL lesson or worksheet. The way she is able to connect with students and help them embody this work is a gift.” - District Director of Curriculum (North Country) “Leah's love and enthusiasm for neuroscience mindfulness education truly engaged all the students. She had such a special way of making each child feel heard. Her style allowed for students to connect the learning to their own lives, which made it very meaningful. The entire lesson execution was extraordinary!” - 3rd Grade Educator (Capital District) “She was absolutely wonderful. Taught in a way that felt very inclusive and open. I was not very comfortable with the practice in my own implementation and she really helped me feel comfortable with trying a multitude of ways and that they were all effective.” - Educator, Participating in Mindfulness for Educators (Capital District) Here is who we are and some of the ways we can work together to cultivate a more mindful way of being in your school community: Brave Lion offers students and educators with personalized and accessible (neuroscience-based) mindful tools to bolster emotional, mental and physical well-being. These self-study tools result in reduced stress, improved emotional regulation, enhanced personal + professional relationships and holistic-minded resilience. We bravely offer partnerships with schools and organizations including; in-class lessons (series or single topic), assemblies, educator professional development, parents education and consultation. Programming: Assemblies (Elementary K-2, 3-5) School-based Mindfulness and Movement Programming Physical Education Yoga (MIndful Movement) Take Over Professional Development and Keynote Speaking Digital Wellness + Taming Tech: Education and Coaching 1:1 and Group Mindful Mapping Nurtured in Nature: A Guide to Connecting Students to the Natural World If you’d like, you can learn more about the Brave Lion approach by viewing this brief presentation: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGXxHcOjpk/FTp4xpFYDo4nE9N6WgWyjQ/view?utm_content=DAGXxHcOjpk&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=h6a09711bb3 Thank you!! Be well and take care of yourself and others :)

"Visual Thinker" Roxie Munro is the Author/Illustrator of more than 55 award-winning nonfiction, STEM/STEAM, and concept books for children, many using "gamification" to encourage reading, learning, and engagement. Recent books include Maze Play; A Day in the Life of the Desert; Lizards at Large; ABCity; Anteaters, Bats & Boas (2 starred reviews); Dive In; Rodent Rascals (3 starred reviews); Masterpiece Mix; Market Maze; Slithery Snakes; Busy Builders; EcoMazes: 12 Earth Adventures (starred reviews; Smithsonian's Best Science Book for Children); Hatch! and many others. Awards include The New York Times Ten Best Illustrated; Outstanding Science Trade Book, NSTA & CBC; Society of International Librarians Honor Award; Bank St College Best Books List w/Outstanding Merit; the Bank St Cook Prize Honor for STEM, others. Fourteen of her paintings have been published as covers of The New Yorker magazine. Programs are lively multimedia presentations with beautiful highly illustrated visuals, short videos with sounds, and great fun facts and information. The most popular program for PreK-2nd grade is "Nature," in which lots of the world's most interesting animals are discussed. For 3rd grade and up, the most requested is "Creating a Nonfiction Picture Book" - learning how to research, use sources, and develop critical thinking. Making the book: Storyboard, thumbnails, roughs, finished art and text. Editor's involvement. Designing a cover. For a complete menu of all of Roxie's programs, with grade levels, visit https://www.roxiemunro.com/school-visits.html Roxie's art is exhibited widely in the US in galleries, museums and is in numerous private, public, and corporate collections. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, presented a 4-month solo exhibition: "Inside-Outside Dinosaurs: Creating a Book with Roxie Munro" and she has two books represented in "Building Stories," the children's book exhibition curated by Leonard Marcus at the National Building Museum in Washington DC (up through Feb 2026). Her children's book art, texts, and processes are in the Kerlan Collection (Univ of Minnesota), De Grummond Collection (Southern Mississippi), the New York Public Library, and the Mazza Museum (Findlay, Ohio), among many others. Roxie studied at the University of Maryland, the Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore), earned a BFA in Painting from the University of Hawaii, attended graduate school at Ohio University (Athens), and received a Yaddo Fellowship. She lectures in museums, schools, libraries, conferences, and teaches in workshops. See complete resume and lots of free fun and educational activities for children to download at https://www.roxiemunro.com/

Sukanya Burman Dance is a contemporary dance company that combines Indian diasporic dance forms with modern dance to create meaningful artistic experiences and performances. Rooted in Bharatanatyam, Kathak, and modern dance vocabularies, the company produces professional-level performances across New York State and beyond and fosters artistic collaboration among local and regional dance artists. SBD also provides dance education, offering classes and workshops that deepen understanding of both Indian classical and contemporary movement, and engages communities by bringing dance into spaces where people live, learn, and connect.

Lucky's Adventure Series are heartwarming stories about my rescue pup, Lucky, and is inspired by the true story of when Lucky was lost for 4 days. Lucky attends the presentations with me. Students will learn life lessons through Lucky's eyes- making new friends, accepting others, and the importance of community, kindness, gratitude, and teamwork. The kids love to meet the star and inspiration of the books and I feel it really helps to further strengthen the messages. (Lucky sits in her stroller during the presentation). I have created presentations that are both engaging and educational that work well for large assemblies or smaller classroom/library settings. In addition to info specifically related to each of my books, I discuss the inspiration for the books, the writing process, and how a picture book is made. We also discuss the themes of kindness and gratitude. Also a reading of the selected book and Q&A.

Playful Engineers Traveling Maker Space STEAM-Powered assemblies, hands-on workshops, whole-school events, and family nights featuring Rube Goldberg Machines, and other chain reactions, plus Artful Mechanisms - student-built toys made using principals of mechanical linkages and crankshafts. Kids learn real-world maker skills with our latchkey programs. We bring our traveling Maker Space including all materials, and we love working with all ages. Our play-based programs help kids learn while having loads of fun! In-person, and virtual programs are available from single programs to 2 week residencies!

Hanford Mills Museum offers on-site field trips and in-class outreach programs to schools in several regions. Our water-powered saw mill and grist mill provide a unique opportunity for students to learn about the history of science and technology dating back to the mid-1800s. Every field trip includes a tour of the 1840s mill, featuring demonstrations of our working waterwheel and saw mill. All programs align with NYS learning standards and focus on a range of topics from simple machines to watershed health. Our educators are our mill workers, and use that knowledge to introduce students to one of a kind artifacts letting them feel, smell, and use our range of historic tools and technology that are outside the realm of traditional classroom environments. On-site picnic space is available in our covered pavilion. Program information, including costs and times, are available on our website. If you have any questions, or would like to book a field trip or an outreach program, contact our Education Coordinator today!

The Author Village is a community of forward-thinking and award-winning children's book authors and illustrators and educators available for in-person and virtual school visits, library visits, festivals, conferences panels, workshops, professional development, and special events. Many of our authors are currently scheduling both in-person and virtual author visits for the 2024-2025 school year. For in-person visits (up to three presentations, lunch with a small group of students, and book signing), our authors charge between $2000.00 and $7500.00 (plus travel expenses), depending on the author. For full day virtual visits, our authors charge in the $1500.00-$4500.00 range, depending on the author. For individual 45-50 minute sessions, the authors charge between $750.00 and $2000.00, once again, depending on the author.

I offer hands-on creative writing workshops in poetry and prose (3-5 days each---3 workshops per day---across a chosen grade level, where each class gets 3-5 visits each). I meet with teachers to discuss their curriculum needs and thematic requests, suggesting various workshop ideas tailored to their requests. Teachers then choose what works best for them---for example: Assistance with reluctant writers, adding details, word choice, adjective strength, voice---in whatever current learning theme is paramount, such as animals, environment, feelings, character development, social studies, etc. I support teachers throughout the residency where they will be present and interact whenever their insight is needed as I teach. During and after the residency, I check in (over lunch, etc.) to ascertain how teachers are feeling about their students' progress, and also to offer many resources from both my books, stories, poems, and teacher oriented publications (nine books with Scholastic Professional Books for teachers) where they might copy any lessons they wish to use in the future. I also offer follow-up ideas at the end of every residency for those who wish to continue using the writing "tools/ideas" I present to their students. And there are always numerous options! I love to work with the core levels to help develop a stronger writing momentum with students (for example, 2nd grades in fall, same students in 3rd grade with different themes/format the following year, 4th grade added on or begun simultaneously--always building on previous workshop skills, etc. Districts have booked me in various schools for 25 plus years, often having me conduct workshops from year to year in multiple levels, as teachers love the support and boost my energy brings to their classrooms and students from which they springboard after I leave. The sky's the limit! I am here to serve educationally and creatively.

We teach and perform a wide range of classical, folk, and Bollywood dance styles at school, at work, at the musem and anywhere! Ajna’s programs celebrate diversity and foster cultural inclusion for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Kevin Szawala, also known as Mr. Peace, is a nationally recognized youth motivational speaker from Metro Detroit with a focus on diversity and inclusion, student mental health, bullying prevention, character education and staff enrichment. Additionally, all of his presentations are interactive, high-energy, and adaptable, and they all feature age-appropriate information, interesting multimedia, and inspirational hip-hop musical performances. Heart-focused programs like those Mr. Peace offers are more important than ever to support our children’s entire well-being in light of the consequences of the epidemic and remote learning. Consider booking an in-person or online visit for your upcoming assembly, conference, keynote, retreat, workshop, or other event to bring one of his motivational lectures to your school or organization (list of topics folow). Anti-Bullying Program | Diversity Program | Positivity Program | Leadership Program | Respect Program | Cyberbullying and Social Awareness Parent Program | College/Career Prep | Substance Abuse Prevention | Suicide Prevention | Staff Enrichment

5 Loaves Farm is a unique urban farm that serves as a living classroom where we teach hands-on, minds-on lessons about science and social topics relevant to students in grades K-12. We love working with teachers to provide experiences tailored specifically to your curriculum needs. Our unique position as a farm that includes fruit trees, greenhouses, chickens, bees, and so much more, right in the middle of an urban neighborhood, provides the opportunity to connect various areas of study into meaningful learning experiences for your students.