I'm catching my breath after two full weeks of residencies for the South Dakota Arts Council.
The first week of October, I worked with second graders at Lincoln Elementary School in Aberdeen, South Dakota. (These kids can write!) Last week, I commuted back and forth from home to St. Mary's Elementary in Salem, South Dakota, where I had another great week.
You never know what to expect though. I always tell kids they can ask me whatever they want. Well, yesterday morning I pulled out a batch of questions that the kids had written to me. On the first crumpled piece of paper was this question: "Have you ever had lice?" The second question: "Do you like CHLOROX?"
Yep, fifteen years of author visits and the questions continue to amaze me.
Tomorrow, I drive to Ipswich, South Dakota (about 30 miles west of Aberdeen) for another week in the schools.
Here's the cell phone photo I was trying to upload below. You can see the blue sky to the left and of course, the rainbow, looking as if it had been hurled to earth. My favorite part about the pic is the bright stripe of fields on the horizon to the right. (I wish I could say I planned it!)
Enough for now. I have three classes of 2nd graders tomorrow, followed by a class of first graders. Should be fun!
After a long break, I'm back at the blog!
As we speak, I'm in Aberdeen, South Dakota, preparing for a week at Lincoln Elementary School as an artist-in-residence. Don't get your hopes up -- I haven't turned into an illustrator! Rather, I'm a "literary artist," showing kids what authors really do.
Even that's kind of funny -- I can just imagine myself sitting in front of the classroom staring at my computer screen, typing away!
In all seriousness, I'll be showing them that writing involves more than just the pencil on paper or the hands on the keyboard. Much of it has to do with movement and observation. (More on that tomorrow.)
In the meantime, here's a photo of a rainbow that I took with my cell phone about 6:00 this evening, somewhere north of Plankinton on Hwy 281. (Don't worry, I pulled off the road!)
I'm thankful for the decent weather. In a few more weeks, we could be looking at sundogs instead!
