Linda J. Hawkins - School Visits

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Alexander and the Great Food Fight

Alexander and the Great Vegetable Feud

Catering to Children

The Unspoken Language of
Fans and Flowers

Speaking /
Travel Fees

Photo of Linda Hawkins with children in fruit costumes

Costumes are available for rental to perform the drama Alexander and the Great Food Fight.

For businesses or schools to receive discounted book prices, please contact:

Heart to Heart Publishing, Inc.
519 Muddy Creek Rd.
Morgantown, KY 42261
Phone: 1-888-526-5589 (Toll Free)
or 270-526-5589
Fax: 270-526-7489

Linda does school visits September through November and March until June. She is booked 6 months to a year in advance.

Heart to Heart Publishing, Inc. would be happy to present a special event for your group. Details of key programs are detailed below. For any additional information, please contact Linda J. Hawkins at 270-526-5589 or hawkinslindaj@logantele.com.

Linda does the following types of programs:

Nutritional Programs
Approximate 40 minutes in length, this program works well for daycare centers, homeschoolers, library reading groups, preschools, kindergarten, and grades 1-5. (Most effective if P-2 and 3-5 are separate.) Small or large audiences: 25-325

Alexander and the Great Food Fight/Alexander and the Great Vegetable Feud Author Linda J. Hawkins uses her children's books as the basis for reaching out and interacting with children (and adults). The nutritional program begins with Mrs. Hawkins sharing her personal story about what inspired these books, a brief of her research in this field, and an explanation of what children/families can do to be healthier. She then gets audiences to participate by having volunteers don fruit costumes (which she brings with her) as she reads and interacts with the audience, inserting appropriate nutrition facts and healthy advice to make her visit informative, yet personal. Her goal is for children/families to take away something useful to apply to their everyday lives. Mrs. Hawkins can add 20 minutes to the presentation for those who want a motivational component. She can talk about the importance of "self-education" done through reading books or accessing information online. Her philosophy is "one must first put in before you can take out." She recommends this for grades 2-5. For grades 3-5 she can also include creative writing projects by helping small groups brainstorm and then create their own stories or books.

Tea/Etiquette Program
From 30 to 60 minutes in length, this program works well for anyone age 2-92 including girl scouts, pre-schoolers, teenagers, garden clubs, Red Hat Society gatherings, church groups, and family reunions with tea party themes. The program can be adjusted to fit each group's needs. She always makes time for questions from the audience. This program is best when there are no more than 40 students/adults. The host organization may wish to serve a simple or elegant tea before, after or during her talk.

Most people don't know the history of tea; this is where we get most of our tea traditions. Mrs. Hawkins can instruct and demonstrate a variety of ideas for serving tea, as well as talk about the importance of good etiquette, show how to properly use a napkin, set a table, etc.

Signed copies of Mrs. Hawkins' book, Catering to Children with Recipes for Memorable Teas, and The Unspoken Language of Fans and Flowers are made available at each event (and can even be used as a fund-raiser for the group).

Training Programs
Mrs. Hawkins is also available to meet with Title I teachers or other adults to train them on how to incorporate her workshops into their school's curriculum/programs. Each teacher receives a free book, a teacher's guidebook, and a school packet. Costs begin at $40.00 per person. Cost is reduced as the number of participants increases.

Motivational Programs
Mrs. Hawkins works with Christian as well as the secular market. She does inspirational programs for church groups, Ladies Auxiliaries, or mixed groups about the struggles/victories she has experienced to reach her current place in the world.

Grades K-5
Linda brings costumes of the fruit characters to enhance the nutritional learning experience. She speaks to children about how to self-educate and encourages children to learn about any subject through books and reading. She tells her own personal story of self-educating and how she was inspired to write.

Fee
Linda's fee begins at $400.00 per program, each additional program $200.00, plus travel, and lodging when over 80 miles from Morgantown, KY. She prefers to do no more than three programs each day. Group sizes may vary, up to 300 per group yet Linda feels smaller groups tend to retain more information. The fee is due the day of her presentation.

When more than one school is involved within a district, someone will need to be responsible to make payment for travel expenses for the entire amount and be responsible for obtaining reimbursements from other parties involved. Travel by car is 50 cents per mile round trip. Airfare arrangements will be made by author, tickets reserved for 5-7 days must be paid promptly or tickets will be forfeited and author appearance can not be guaranteed after that.

School districts are encouraged to work together concerning travel arrangements, tour can be piggy backed together, thereby saving cost for everyone involved.

Equipment
Linda needs a table for props and preferrably a lapel mike. She will also need a hook-up for laptop/slides and DVD capability.

Lodging
Linda prefers a hotel with restaurant attached, also as close to schools as possible. Frequently Linda will need to arrive the day prior to her presentation.

Books
Schools and non-profit groups receive discount prices on books. Ordering and delivery will be discussed when visit is arranged. All business with wholesale ordering must be placed with Heart to Heart Publishing.

Booking a Visit
If your school desires a visit / free visit with the author/speaker, that can be arranged with pre-sale of books, please call 1-888-526-5589 with the following information at hand:

Organization Name
City and State
Contact Person
Phone Number
Day(s) Requested

What the professionals are saying about Linda's visits:

Monica Edwards, Youth Services, Logan County Public Library
"Recently Ms. Hawkins was a guest author/speaker at our Logan County Public Library. We could not have been more pleased! She made the book very understandable for our youngest patrons and gave and added enhancement to the character interaction for our older readers. The costumes were also a special bonus - the children loved them. Ms. Hawkins has an excellent speaking voice for her presentation and excellent eye contact. She made the audience feel a part of the story. An added attraction was the service she provided to our parents who needed information on how to get published and where to start. There was a very positive response from our audience and we would be pleased to have her back again."

Carla Abbott, Librarian, Adairville Elementary
"Some of the greatest excitement this year at Adairville school was brought on by the formal tea parties given for the 2nd-5th grade girls. The library was decked with delicate table cloths, porcelain dolls, and flowers. The girls wore their best, brought their baby dolls, and were treated to a buffet table featuring petite sandwiches, cookies, and a variety of teas. In Victorian dress, Linda Hawkins, the author of Catering to Children, shared with the girls tea history, how to host a tea party, and proper etiquette. Days later the teachers and students are still tallking about what a great time they had."

Judy Chesnut, Media Specialist, Deer Park Elementary
"Linda's presentation of Alexander and the Great Food Fight was perfect. She had wonderful costumes of the characters from the book which some of our children wore and acted out the story as Linda read the book. The children not only heard a wonderful story but learned many facts about good nutrition. We added a copy to our Library and there is a list of children waiting to check-out."