About Me:

Aloha! I'm Wendy Kennar. I'm the mother of a seven-year-old son and a wife living in Los Angeles. I was a public school teacher for twelve years until a chronic medical condition made it necessary to leave my teaching career.

I've always been described as "quiet" - really, I'm just biting my tongue. I've got lots to say, and lots of thoughts to share, I just prefer to write them. That's the purpose of this blog. Each Wednesday, I post a personal essay offering my observations and thoughts.

A few fun facts about me: I've wanted to be a writer since second grade, when my teacher, Mrs. Jones, made me a "book" with a yellow construction paper cover. I have never learned to whistle, have always preferred sunflowers to roses, and have spent my life living within the same zip code.

Through the years, my writing has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, United Teacher, GreenPrints, L.A. Parent, DivineCaroline.com, RoleReboot.org, XOJane, and Brain, Child Magazine. Additionally, my personal essays have been included in several anthologies, including: The Barefoot Review, Beyond the Diaper Bag, Lessons From My Parents, Write for Light, Being a Grown-Up: A User's Manual for the Real World, Ka-Pow!, How Writing Can Get You Through Tough Times, Breath and Shadow, The Grey Wolfe Storybook, and Sisters Born, Sisters Found.
I am a regular contributor at MomsLA.com, and you can also find me at Goodreads.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. Feel free to comment and share my blog with others!

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

My Website

Dear Readers,

   In my continuing efforts to improve my writing, I have made the move to my own website!  From now on, you can find my weekly blog there as well as information about me and my published work.  Please take a look, bookmark the site, and keep reading each week.   http://wendykennar.com/

 As always, I appreciate your support!

   Sincerely,
    Wendy


Monday, November 9, 2015

Publication at MUTHA Magazine

Dear Readers,
   I'm pleased to let you know that one of my personal essays has been published at MUTHA Magazine.    
Here's the link:  http://muthamagazine.com/2015/11/the-a-word-wendy-kennar-on-parenting-with-an-invisible-disability/

   As always, thank you for reading!


Thanksgiving Crafts Post at MomsLA.com

If you're looking for cute, easy ways to make your home Thanksgiving-ready, check out this post on MomsLA.com.

http://momsla.com/8-thanksgiving-crafts-make-kids/

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Apollo 13 Still Inspires




   My son and I have been watching the Ron Howard film Apollo 13 quite a lot lately.  Ryan is very interested in spaceflight.  Originally I showed him the same scene I used to show my fourth-grade students -- a scene that showed the 3 “astronauts” as they demonstrated weightlessness in a broadcast for the audience back on Earth.  But my son was curious and wanted to watch more of the movie.

   It’s got a PG rating (the same as Frozen; a movie that his kindergarten teacher showed his class two years ago).  

   I am a big Apollo 13 fan.  Twenty years ago, my dad and I saw the movie in the theater.  I owned the soundtrack on cassette and read the James Lovell book that inspired the movie.  I was the girl who had wanted to be an astronaut, and I reveled in watching the movie.  

   So I’m more than happy to watch the movie with Ryan.  We talk about why the movie is important.  How it shows teamwork, determination, and creative problem solving (remember the guys who figured out how to put a square cartridge into a round hole?)  

   Ryan now wants to meet Tom Hanks. 

      But that’s not all.  He tells me he wants to walk on the moon.  I told him when he’s up there he can actually moonwalk on the moon.  (After all, Alan Shepherd, Commander of the Apollo 14, hit a golf ball on the moon.  Take a look at this website that includes a video of this incredible feat:  www.pga.com/news/golf-buzz/feb-6-1971-alan-shepard-plays-golf-moon)

   If you haven’t watched Apollo 13 in a while, I highly recommend it.  The story is incredible -- because it’s mostly true.  (Like all movies based on a true story, some things have been changed.)  But the essential elements are in place.  There are relationships and connections that move you.  Each time I see it, I cry along with the wives as the Saturn V rocket launches.  My son and I embrace when Apollo 13 successfully splashes down into the South Pacific.  And you gotta respect Gene Kranz with his passionate declaration, “Failure is not an option.”   

   It makes me proud to say that my son and I watch this movie together and then later re-enact lines of dialogue.  And when Ryan gets to the moon, he has promised to blow a kiss down to me on Earth.