skype an author

Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog Visits Brooklyn Elementary School Via Skype and “In-Dog”

Posted by Barbara Techel

Brooklyn Elementary School was a highly anticipated event for me and Frankie.  We could hardly wait for the big day to arrive when we would meet all the kid’s in-person and for Frankie the would be, “in-dog.”

Third grade teacher, Joyce Gilmour and the PTO have a special program called P.A.W.S which stands for “Positive Attitude + Work = Success.”  Each year they pick a theme and this years theme was to encourage the children about the bucket filling concept based on Bucket Fillers 101.

My books messages were a perfect fit for their program since we encourage kid’s to be positive despite challenges, and also encourage them to find a way to give back even when facing challenges.

To kick off the event Frankie and I connected with the school in December via Skype and I read my book, Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog to the whole school.

 

Then in January we connected with the school once again via Skype, and this time read them my second book, Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Therapy Dog Visits Libby’s House.

 

As part of their bucket filling projects Brooklyn Elementary chose Families-In-Need-of-Assistance which helps their local families who are struggling, and help with paying for food, gas, etc. They will be doing a Walk-A-Thon soon to help raise money for the program.

They also chose REACH-a-Child which “aims to put smiles on the faces of children in crisis across America through the power of books. Whether the children are in the hospital, victims of domestic disturbance, or automobile accident or temporarily homeless, REACH a Child wants to help the first responders engage these children in a positive way.”

The BIG DAY finally arrived when we made the 2-hour drive to Brooklyn, WI to see the kid’s live!  We heard there was much anticipation of the special day with many kid’s asking days before what day they would meet us.

When we arrived we saw the big donation box for books and oodles of books surrounding the box on the floor that will benefit REACH-a-Child program.  We donated two sets of our books, along with a stack of other gently used dog books I had in my home library.

 

Frankie donating books to REACH-a-Child!  

As we moved down the hallway the walls were lined with bucket cut outs in all colors with one representing each child and their bucket filling efforts for the year.  So inspiring!  And then as we neared the end of the hallway, there on the wall were pictures of Frankie and me.  Perfect time for a picture for Frankie to pose with extraordinary third grade teacher of 36-years, Mrs. Joyce Gilmour.  BTW:  Mrs. Gilmour will be retiring this year and we wish her the best of luck!  She will devoting more time to her work as an editor for her business TLC Editing.

 

Frankie loves Mrs. Gilmour!

We did two presentations that day and enjoyed each and every moment. One of the most touching moments was meeting a little girl who had a brain tumor removed earlier that year.  She is now in remission and we are praying that she will continue to recover and heal.  Please keep her in your prayers.

The kid’s had FANTASTIC questions!  I got all choked up when one young boy asked if I would rather have a Frankie that walks or one in a wheelchair.  I told the audience that of course I wished with all her heart that Frankie could walk normal again, but I wouldn’t trade one single moment of what I have had with Frankie.. and someday I hope to adopt another special needs dachshund.

To round out the perfect day we were presented with thank you cards, which always brings tears to my eyes.  We LOVE getting thank you cards and letters.  Once we got home, I read each and everyone of them to Frankie.  Then it was time for another photo session!

 

Frankie posing with all her special thank you cards!

Thank you, Brooklyn Elementary for a wonderful day and for asking us to be a part of your P.A.W.S program.  It was the best meeting all of you, and we are so proud of all your bucket filling efforts!  Keep up the great work!

John L. Hensey Students Meet Favorite Author & Dog Via Skype

Posted by Barbara Techel

Thank you to Brandon Schatsick of the Washington Times Reporter for covering the story of Mrs. Kim Burd’s early childhood class meeting me and Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog via Skype.  I share the story below as seen in the Washington Times Reporter.


Photo by Washington Times

Students in Kim Burd’s class at John L. Hensey School were able to meet face-to-face with the author of one of their favorite books who lives in Wisconsin April 7; nevermind the fact that they met with more than 150 miles separating them.

Burd’s early childhood class recently finished reading “Frankie: The Walk ‘n Roll Dog” about a miniature dachshund who ruptured a disk in her back, becoming permanently paralyzed in that area. Frankie’s owner and author of the book, Barbara Techel found a dog cart for Frankie and decided to chronicle the every day life of a dog in said cart.

“It’s about a real animal with real challenges … the message is about never giving up and you have to put your best paw forward,” Burd said.

The class was able to meet with Techel and Frankie through the class’ new interactive board from PolyVision and a computer program called Skype.

Burd said it was all thanks to a grant that allows schools to implement new technology in the classroom.

“I just got this technology in my room and for me to be able to learn that with the children … they loved seeing everything very big on the wall,” Burd said of the projected Techel holding Frankie on the other end of the connection. “They wanted to go up and pet Frankie like she was actually there.”

Frankie, a trained therapy dog, often accompanies Techel as they visit hospitals and schools to teach people about overcoming challenges. Although Techel couldn’t make it to Washington, Burd, who uses Techel’s website www.joyfulpaws.com for teaching assistance with the book, thought it would be worth a shot to see if the two of them could set up a Skype date.

“Isn’t this great?” Techel said to the class, referring to the Internet meeting. “With Frankie being in a wheelchair … and Frankie’s almost 12 years old, for me to travel with her it’s not necessarily a good thing because I don’t want to over-stress her … I’m so glad we can meet kids like you via Skype.”

“She provides (lesson plans, etc.) for teachers to use her book as a learning tool … she’s made it very fun to want to do this as a teacher with the kids and all of the positive things you can teach them (through Frankie’s story),” Burd said. “(Meeting with her via Skype) was just the icing on the cake.”

During the meeting, kids asked questions about where Frankie sleeps (in bed with Techel and her husband), if his cart works in the grass (it works rather well actually, Techel said) and they showed her pictures they colored of Frankie.

 

Photo by Washington Times

“That looks like Frankie; you got the colors right and everything,” Techel said upon seeing them on her computer screen.

Techel then had a fashion show with Frankie putting on a couple of her favorite hats including a cowgirl hat, biker helmet and floppy summer hat.

“We’ve done all kinds of neat things, but to be able to visit with someone like that and make it a lesson, was very powerful to see that.”

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Teachers!  If you are interested in having us visit your classroom via Skype check out our free downloadable Skype e-book to help you plan a visit with us!  We’d love to meet you and your students.

Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog Skype’s with Siren the Safety Dog & Tango

Posted by Barbara Techel

Skyping, and sharing my positive message with classrooms across the US and Canada is one of my favorite things to do– so imagine how excited I was to team up with Siren the Fire Safety Dog and his brother, Tango and firefigther Dayna and talk with Ms. Karen’s class in Canada!  We set it up a group Skype call as a Q & A session and the kids had great questions for us, as well as our “techie dogs.”

One of the students, Becca, was the photographer and got some great photos from the point of the students seeing all of us on the screen in their classroom.

A special thank you to Becca for your great photography and Ms. Karen for inviting us into her classroom, as well as Siren and Tango’s Mom for setting up the group Skype call.