Visiting kindergarten & books
Last week, I had a unique opportunity. I was invited to spend an hour with kinderkids and talk about book covers.
I jumped at the chance.
For a long while, I haven't spent much time in a grade school. I wanted to see what was going on, get the rhythm of the school day, and make new little friends.
I arrived early and ran into the teacher in the hall who escorted me to the classroom. The large space had a special area for their cubbies, round tables to work at, play and learning stations, and a large rug sectioned into colorful squares.
The teacher went to retrieve the students while I set up. One by one they filed in the room and took a seat on the rug.
When all were assembled, I introduced myself and sat down. I began my talk with two really good books: Harold and the Purple Crayon and Goodnight Moon. We talked about what color stands out? Is the title big or little? Is the author's name big or little? What else to you see in the cover? How does the cover make you feel?
The teacher had said this group was bright and she was right. No one was shy and they answered my questions. At the end of my discussion, they asked their own questions. How long have I been writing? How many words are in my books? Is Batman my real name? We talked about fiction has real elements--like plumbing. LOL
The kids are going to write their own books. I said I would love to read them and they asked if I could come back. Gladly!
I'm showing off my new cover for Temporarily Insane. Do you like the blue?
Find all my books at: Author Central
9 comments:
Lucky you! That is such a great grade, and you picked great books!!
Awesome! Glad you got the chance! For a while I was 'invited to share my knowledge' of Native American history in 2 elementary schools. All because, when my oldest was in 5th grade, he had a homework assignment on the Bering Strait theory and I took one of my books and marked a page that gave a Native American point of view on this theory...I don't do well with public speaking and told the teacher that...she said "they're just kids! Don't worry, they will love you!". I said "Kids are people, too!"...but I gave it a shot and found myself speaking to TWO 5th grade classes!! The following year, we were here in Texas and my younger son said it was only fair that I speak to HIS class and while I was at the school with my stuff, I was stopped by several teachers and asked to speak to THEIR classes! It was intimidating at first, but kids are so curious and open to learning that it was fun! AND they asked some very good questions!
Hi, Angela! And they are my favs. I was always enamored with Harold and the story of Goodnight Moon is super. Yet, they really addressed the book cover topic well.
Hi, Cathy! What a great story to share and am happy you overcame the public speaking issue (most of us DO have it!). I would be happy to talk to more schools, but I'm thinking they are so scheduled, they don't have much time and possibly, they don't know we know about certain topics of interest.
Any thoughts, anyone?
The very coolest part of this is that they want to write a book. And YOU get to read them. That's really very exciting.
Good for you - entering into an elementary school and asking and answering questions. Very fun.
Patti
Hi, Patti! I wish I had had more time to talk about the process. Often in school, we had to produce good work within a small timeframe. As an author, we know a book can take a long time to produce.
Several years ago, I judged a kids contest on writing a book. For the most part, there was lots of content, fun pictures.
When my son was a kindergartener, I got to stop by once a week and teach the kids yoga. It was one of the best years for me. I hope for my son too. I hope I didn't embarrass him too much. :)
And I LOVE the blue cover you have!!! It's lovely!!!
Hugs!
Hi, Red! I wish more kids learned yoga. It's a practice they can carry the rest of their lives, unlike group sports. I bet he'll remember you being there fondly.
I tutored a kinder kid one year who couldn't spell, not his name, nothing. And he was dirty. I wet paper towels and had him go to the boys bathroom to clean his face, ears, and neck. Then we'd work on his letters. It was so sad. I'm sure he never got the attention he needed.
Oh thank you about the blue cover!
I love how the cover matches the cover of your previous book. The blue is beautiful!
Congrats on a wonderful time with the kiddos. I love being with them myself and sharing my own love of reading and writing with them.
Hi, Melissa! Thank you so much for the cover love.
I did manage to say that reading can be your best friend. I hope someone heard that. Hugs!
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