From Pucks to Pens

" Thank you for taking the time to visit our school.  The fourth grade students truly enjoyed your presentation, and went away with your message about the importance of reading and writing.  I was impressed with your presentation as well, and thought you did a wonderful job sharing your story.  Your approach really drew them in and you have inspired many young readers and writers to work hard and never give up on their goals.  Thank you again for your time!"

" I think your book was a very great book because it had a lot of fun stuff.  Also your book made me want to not put it down!"

          Chrissy

                     4th grader

"I enjoy the book because it had some action, it taught a lesson and you used names from the real team, like Sophia and Jamie.  I really look forward to reading your next book when you are done."

                     Sincerely,

                                           Brayden 

                                                 4th grader

Thank you for reading to us.  You have a real exciting reading voice.  I enjoyed The Puck Hog very much and I am going to read the book again!"

           Sincerely,

     Katie  

           4th grader

" Thank you for coming in and reading The Puck Hog to us.  I wonder if you could come in again and read the whole thing.  I wonder if you could make another book.  It's cool.

              Sincerely,

          Alanson

" Thank you so much for coming in and reading The Puck Hog.  I personaly don't like sports, but your book is so interesting!  I enjoyed the book because it teaches you that team work is the way to go.  The pictures in your book are real good.  I think you and your sister should work on another.  

            Sincerely,

          Arabella

                           4th grade student   

Hockey Tournament Basket Scores Big Bucks

  Getting ready to host a tournament at your rink?  Raffle baskets can score some big bucks for your organization.  Struggling for a fresh idea? Compliments to the team that put this one together!  I bought more than an arm's length of tickets trying to win the Hockey Survival Basket.   

*Dunkin Donuts Gift Card
*Fleece Blanket
*Coffee
*Coffee thermos
*Miracle on Ice DVD
*Foot warmers
*Hand warmers
*First aid kit
*Motrin
*Tylenol
*Hand wipes
*Ice scraper
*Subway Gift Card
*Chocolate Bar
*Water Bottle
*Life Savers

Ingredients that will help any hockey parent make it through a long, cold season!

4th grader Reviews The Puck Hog

by Jamie Howard
    (4th grade student and hockey player)
  The Puck Hog, by Christie Casciano, is about a teammate who will not pass the puck.  He always scores a goal.  At first, the team thought it was awesome.  But then they started to stop cheering for him.  They took him to the Crunch game to see if a little Crunch magic would help him get into passing.  The next game they faced the Thunder Birds.  The coach said, " We need a captain."
  The game felt longer than it was.  It was tied 2 to 2 with 2 minutes left.  Sophia got the puck from the face-off; she skated up to the net when a big defenseman came towards her.  She passed to Eddie and he took a shot.  He scored a goal.  Sophia taught Eddie to pass.

   Nice job Jamie!  Jamie 's review was published in his school's newsletter shortly after my visit to his classroom. Jamie's on my daughter's hockey team, and was on the mite team the year I wrote the book.  He's a great little hockey player, with good character!  Below are a few of the many handwritten ( and well-written) thank you letters I've been receiving from school kids.  I love 
the art work, especially the drawings that make me look 30 years younger! 

Hockey Fundraising. "Can" we do it?

Here we are, well into another hockey season.  Big on dreams.  Short on cash. We're all struggling for ways to come up with the dollars to fund those extras for our youth hockey players, and help defray those mighty tournament costs.  I 've done bottle and can drives several times in the past, but our lastest roundup of returnables was by far, the most successful one yet.  I would have to say timing really was everything. Our team leader picked the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  Brilliant!  Not only were neighbors eager to rid their garages of the big bags of emptied containers that had piled up after their Thanksgiving feasts, they were in a generous spirit as well.  Some folks, lacking the empty cans,  were kind enough to offer donations to the team. Ah, the Christmas spirit fresh in their hearts!

Tim also found a Redemption Center willing to give us 6 cents a can and take the extra step of setting up a collection trailer in a nearby parking lot. That made it a whole lot easier.  We filled our cars, headed to the lot,  filled up their trailer, then headed back out.  We made several trips, with the new water bottle law now in effect, we were filling our 30 gallon trash cans fairly quickly. 

    A couple of pointers if you're going this route, rather than the traditional product sales.  Having the kids wear their team jerseys was a plus.  It legitimizes the operation and certainly reinforces the team concept for the kids.  Before splitting up, and heading out,  the coach also huddled our youngsters for a pep and safety talk.  He hit all the important rules..... have an adult with you, walk up to a house in pairs, don't accept invitations to go into a house, no running ahead of the group and please don't run across lawns and knock over the holiday decorations.  Be good representatives of your organization.  We also divided the kids into offense and defense.  Offense took one side of the street.  Defense on the other.  We had fun, and we raised a nice chunk of change.  Drum roll please....$800.00!  Not bad for a couple of hours of work, that rewarded teamwork!