a newsletter that integrates practical environmental research with effective classroom connections

Inside each issue of Earth Day Every Day…

• a personal musing on some aspect of writing nonfiction for children
• environmental media that resonates with me
• how to engage children, tweens, and teens with that particular media using an Earth Day Every Day mindset and my books as literature links
• news about my work in the media and what’s coming next

04.11.2026     Read now

• Musing: Environmental literacy communities of practice
• Weather vs. Climate and Global Warming vs. Climate Change
• Color Your Feelings activity
• Patricia in the news — National Marine Sanctuaries webinar rescheduled

03.11.2026     Read now

• Musing: More on Birds
• When the Skies Rained Plastic
• Fight plastic waste with these ideas
• Patricia in the news — Beatrice and the Nightingale blog tour

02.11.2026     Read now

• Musing: It Never Gets Old
• Nearly 3 Billion American Birds Gone
• Why are birds important?; Bird Sound identification game; Linking bird study to literature
• Patricia in the news — Booklist loves Beatrice and the Nightingale

01.14.2-2026     Read now

• Resolutions vs. Goals
• Proposed Changes to the Endangered Species Act
• Classroom Writing Activity about the ESA
• Patricia in the news — Reviews for Beatrice and the Nightingale

12.10.2025     Read now

• Integrating Language Arts and STEM
• AI: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
• AI in the Classroom
• Patricia in the news — New trailer for Beatrice and the Nightingale

11.12.2025     Read now

• Hanging out with Science Teachers
• Recycling Myths
• Sustainable Gift Giving and Our Connection to Nature
• Patricia in the news — Cover reveal for Beatrice and the Nightingale

10.08.2025     Read now

• Reciprocity
• A Disconnect
• A discussion about reciprocity
• Patricia in the news — The National Marine Educators Association reviews Giant Rays of Hope

09.10.2025               Read now

• Back to School with an Earth Day Every Day Mindset
• Reversal in Fortunes
• How can sustainability make life better? Activities for the classroom
• Patricia on the road — STEAM Race to Space Reading Challenge; How to Book an Author Visit with me

08.13.2025               Read now

• Sharks PR Problem
• Cristina Zenato on Sharks
• New Sharks Unhooked educator guide, created by environmental educators
• Patricia on the road — Using Giant Rays of Hope as a case study at the NMEA conference in Lafayette, LA

06.11.2025               Read now

• My favorite way to enjoy nature
• Nature — a stress reducer
• 3 ways to help children enjoy nature
• Patricia on the road — NMEA conference in Lafayette, LA

05.13.2025               Read now

• The very first World Ocean Day
• Our ocean is us!
  • The importance of ocean literacy
  • Ocean Principle #1: We have only one ocean
• How to teach Ocean Principle #1 — look at a map
• Patricia on the road in Pennsylvania and Maryland for school visits

04.09.2025               Read now

• The Origins of Earth Day
• Depressing Headlines
• Why we must Teach the Hope
  • Focus on the WHY of nature
  • Focust on the HOW of nature
  • Introduce to children and youth to civic heroes
  • Give kids a problem to solve
• Patricia in the News
  • At Ruby’s Bookstore in Folsom, CA
  • Book Flood Podcast
  • How I research
  • Add interviewing to your writer’s toolbox

03.12.2025               Read now

• Teach the Hope
• Food Waste
• How our choices affect the environment
  • Audit the food we eat
  • The Challenge of Overfishing — cooking video
  • Can we eat more sustainably?
• At CSLA and the Santa Barbara Author Go-Round

02.12.2025               Read now

• On Gratitude for Nature
• The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Risks Report
• How our choices affect the environment
  • Identifying Problems and Solutions
  • Identifying Positive and Negative Effects
  • The Challenge of Overfishing
• STEM Teacher Summit video

01.08.2025               Read now

• STEM Thinking
• “The Great Elephant Migration” across the U.S.
• 3+ ways to incorporate elephants into your kids’ lives
  • How much do you know about elephants?
  • How do we communicate?
  • Play Elephant Tag
  • PLUS a KidLit TV video about listening to elephants and other forest sound
• “For Elephant Lovers” – a Pinterest board with all things elephant

12.11.2024               Read now

• A Birthday Wish
• Our Environmental Education Report Card
• 3 ways to incorporate enviro ed into your lives
  • How does your cereal affect orangutans?
  • Looking at nature with a different perspective
  • The endangered species project
• 6 questions about Giant Rays of Hope

11.13.2024               Read now

• Student questions during an author visit
• Bioplastics
• 3 activities that raise awareness about single-use plastic
• Lesson plan to decode photos in STEM nonfiction
• How text and photos work together to help me dive to the heart of my books