Friday, March 2, 2012

The Goodbye Cancer Garden Goes to School

In the past several months it's been my delight to pop in and visit students from three different schools.  First, in October, I spent the day at Wright Memorial Public Library in Dayton, Ohio.  The line-up included a preschool story time in late morning; a presentation on my books and the author's life with 3rd-graders from neighboring Smith Elementary School; and an evening workshop with adults aspiring to write for kids.  As much as I enjoy encouraging and guiding other grown-ups in the pursuit of their writing dreams, I have to admit that singing and reading with the kiddos took the cake for me.  The preschoolers were awesome dancers.  The 3rd graders were full of excellent questions that kept me on my toes.  They also sent me a package of lovely thank you notes and a full-blown collaborative play written after my visit.  You go, girls!

In December I made my third annual trip to the 3rd graders of The Oaks Academy in Indianapolis to complement their curriculum on fables.  We sang, dreamed of what we'd like to be when we grow up, and read and discussed my fable, "No Ducks for Dinner," from the March 2010 issue of Spider magazine.

And just this week I spent the morning with kindergartners from the Indiana Math and Science Academy, also here in Indy.  They selected Peter, the Knight with Asthma for story time--seems several have personal experience with that nasty asthma dragon.  And not only did they sing with me about how books help us become what we want to be, but they also sent me off with two songs they'd prepared just for me!  Nice job, friends.