About Virginia McGregor * Digger Dynamo
Writer, Educator, Mentor, Advocate
Virginia is a retired Arizona elementary and middle school teacher. She also taught in rural South Dakota and inner-city Wilmington, NC. When substituting in grades 2--8, she shares a collection of animal bones- even a whale rib. Her true dog rescue stories are published in The Wag Magazine Fall Issue 2022 and Summer Issue 2023.
Active as a Child Safety Advocate urging school districts to enforce school safety policies.
Advocates for school districts to hire certified elementary school librarians. They provide literacy leadership.
Advocates for school districts to provide Asthma Education Training for Teachers. (Check out Michigan Dept. of Education.)
Digger Dynamo Promotes Child's Wonder for Earth
- Digger Dynamo: Virginia is passionate about promoting curiosity and sustainability for Mother Earth and her inhabitants from creatures to plants.
- As Digger Dynamo, she advocates for Mother Earth and searches for knowledge to share with others.
- She digs scientists, authors, illustrators, and teachers who encourage children's natural instinct to "dig" earth and satisfy their curiosity about the wonders around them.
- Becoming an author, Virginia inspires children to wonder more about the world and how they can contribute to helping Mother Earth's sustainability.
- Current manuscripts capture imagination: tarantulas robbed and kidnapped, Saguaro Skeleton roaming, saving a black kite, and great horned owls need help. Kid adventures with pencils, time capsules, rubber bands, tree houses, etc. More info for teachers and parents in back pages of books o provide STEAM resources.
- As a member of lifelong learners who "dig" learning, she is Digger Dynamo.
- She encouraged her upper elementary school students to apply their varied talents and passions in projects to help their classmates, school, and community.
- Virginia and her students worked as a learning team in content subjects to include fine arts.
- Students prepared readers theatre and multimedia presentations to share STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math/ Music)
- Memberships SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators), CBI (Children's Book Insider),
- 12X12 Challenge,
- The Authors Guild,
- Children's Book Mastery Coaching for Authors.
Animal and Nature Lover
An adventuresome child who loved the outdoors and hugged trees, even top branches supporting her self-built tree house. Virginia grew up in small South Dakota towns: Pierre, Vermillion, and Yankton. (Free to roam by bike or horseback). Collecting rocks, fossils, shells, driftwood, snakes, salamanders, etc. sparked exploring along the Missouri River, Lewis and Clark Lake, cemeteries, old abandoned houses, quarries, pastures, University of South Dakota buildings, etc..
As an adult, curiosity continued to fuel her hiking and riding through Arizona deserts, State Parks, hills, mountains, and even a rafting tour for eight days down the Colorado River and surviving Lava Falls Rapid.
- Her first horse was a birthday surprise grazing in the front yard. Two years later Pat's foal was delivered by Dr. Brooks Ranney who boarded her along with his own horses
- Dr. Ranney delivered Virginia's two children in future years. No, he was not a veterinarian.
- Because she loved horses and reading Walter Farley’s Black Stallion books, they inspired her at 13 to buy, on her own, a young, unbroken, black American Saddlebred mare.
- Training her own horse made her dream came true. Beauty bucked off trainers until Virginia’s careful stall attention and then barn aisle walking led to corral riding built trust with this spirited horse. They enjoyed many trails with the neighborhood Horse Club.
- After she taught a year in South Dakota, the family moved to Arizona where her husband finished his degree at ASU. Hiking, sailing, and horseback riding at guest ranches occupied free time.
- Dogs and cats accompanied the family moves within Arizona and North Carolina.
- Rockhounding meant moving piles of rocks along with books.