Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini

So after a full day of school visits, I came back to my hotel and walked around Durango. It was a brilliant, chilly, sunny afternoon. Very relaxing. It was nice to have some time outside. Except for the election coverage, I haven’t watched any TV this week. Probably a good idea. More time for journaling. This evening, I gave a talk for local parents and grandparents back at Sunnyside Elementary, which is also a branch of the Durango Public Library. It was great to have a chance to speak with the parents. It was a fairly small group – about 15-20, and some of the very interested students got a chance to come back with their moms and dads and ask more questions. I signed several more books, and was excited to see how the students decorated their school with artwork relating to my books. Thank you, Durango Public Library!

Today I visited Riverview Elementary School. This is a pretty big school, compared to the other Durango elementaries. Good thing they also have a nice new library to hold all these kids! In fact, Riverview has a whole new school building – and they were just about finished with construction when I arrived this morning. Before lunch, I spoke with Kindergarten and 1st Grade. This was only their 2nd assembly of the school year, and according to the teachers, there was a huge improvement in their listening skills. Good job kids! Some teachers took me out to lunch, and then I spoke to the 2nd and 3rd Grades, and then the 4th and 5th Grades. Even though they were very large groups, these kids were glued to the screen as I showed them pages from my unpublished journal on the digital projector. I think these kids can really relate because they can start writing & drawing in a journal to practice their author and illustrator skills right now. Also, I signed a lot of books at Riverview after I was finished talking with the students. Thank you, Riverview! Enjoy your new school!

This evening I got a special treat! My hostess, Dana Nilsson, invited me and the entire Durango Christian Science Sunday School group (and their parents) over to her house for a BBQ dinner. I had an awesome time talking with these kids, many of whom are very artistic. In fact, one 2nd grader brought a finished book to show me. It was all about tornadoes, and he made it for a science assignment. Very impressive. In return, I let the kids and parents look at my illustrated journal. The food was excellent, and I also got to go to church after dinner, which I never get to do when I am traveling on these school visit adventures. A special thank you to Dana and the whole Durango Christian Science Church!

Durango is the cutest little western town! I had some free time this morning, so I walked down the street to Durango Bagel, where I had breakfast (excellent muffins!) and listened to the NPR election update. I am glad I remembered to bring my gloves on this trip! It was chilly this morning. My school day started at 10:30am. I spoke to the 2nd and 3rd graders first. What an enthusiastic group! I am trilled it worked out to do these talks in the library, because the kids really know how to sit quietly here. When I do talks in gyms or caffeterias, it is a little more difficult because those are both places where kids are used to being noisy. Ontop of that, Park has a brand new library with lots of room for books and kids. After lunch, I spoke with a group of 4th & 5th graders, and then Kindergarten and 1st grade. When I read “A Swim through the Sea” to the K-1 group, I was impressed that the kids knew what kind of whale was on the W page. A Humpback Whale, of course! Thank you Park Elementary!

Wow! What a change from Houston! Last week it was up in the 80s, and now it definitely feels like winter is coming here in Durango. Today I spent the morning visiting in the library with 2 groups of students at Animas Valley Elementary. First I talked with the 1st and 2nd graders and their 4th grade reading buddies. The 1st graders had an entire white board filled with questions they prepared in their classrooms before I arrived. Next, I spoke with the 3rd, 5th, and remaining 4th graders. They were especially excited about seeing my journals. I could tell that there were quite a few avid writers in this group. Thank you, Animas Valley!

I spent the afternoon on the complete opposite side of Durango, visiting with the Sunnyside students. These kids were amazing! First, I dropped in on a 4th grade writing group, to answer some in-depth, serious questions about the writing process. We talked about researching, outlines, first drafts, editing, revising, and publishing. Then I got a special treat. I visited a 1st grade class and the 2nd & 3rd grade mixed writing class. Both groups created alliterative alphabet books, which they read to me. It was great! Usually, I’m the one reading the stories. It was nice to get to listen to a story for a change! At the end of the day, I spoke to the whole school (K-5) in the library. I was impressed with how well the kids listened – especially the little ones. Since it was Election Day, we talked a lot about how one person can make a difference, and how if we work together, we can change the world. Thanks, Sunnyside!

Also, several of the librarians took me out to dinner at The Palace, a great restaurant in Durango. The food was absolutely delicious, and it was nice to get to visit with them personally. I never knew librarians could be so much fun! The students are lucky to have them at their schools. These ladies work really hard. Thanks for dinner!

Today I visited my 3rd school in Houston. River Oaks Baptist School is a fabulous school, with very friendly teachers. They added on to my Houston trip just a few weeks ago, and I am so glad it worked out! I had the morning off, so I took some time to paint and write in my journal. This afternoon I got to do something a little different. I spoke with three 4th grade science classes. These kids really kept me on my toes! What a smart, curious bunch! Usually, I am asked to visit schools to make the writing or art connection, so it was delightful to talk about the science aspect of my books for a change. Thank you, ROBS!

My second school visit in Houston was just as delightful as the first! John Cooper School is located on a beautiful wooded campus in The Woodlands, just north of Houston. The Woodlands is a unique town because the city planners made a special effort to leave as many trees standing as possible. The school itself looks like a great place to learn. I began the morning with a presentation to the K-2 students, and then moved to the library and talked with 3 small classes of 2nd graders about journal writing. These groups were all keeping tree journals – where each student studies a different tree and records observations and drawings in a journal. Today I taught them how to make borders around their journal pages, which they filled with animals they had seen around their trees. While the students were working in their journals, I got to write and paint in mine! What a treat! After lunch, I got a tour of the school. The Art Barn was especially exciting. I wish my school had an art barn. Then, I shared a power point presentation about nature journaling with the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. I hope the kids had as much fun as I did!

Thank you, John Cooper School!

Yay! My first author visit of the 2004-2005 school year! What a great way to start out the year. Annunciation Orthodox School has a fabulous bunch of kids. I spoke with K-7 throughout the day, and we had a fun time discussing the book-making process, as well as nature journaling. I love spending time with students who are as eager to learn as these kids were. They especially connected with how I used to be very shy before I started to do lots of author visits. I shared with them how I thought that using one’s talents and preserving the natural world seemed more important to me than being scared of speaking. I think they could really relate, because every student at AOS has to give a speech some time during the year. I didn’t sign any books on the day of the talks, because I returned after my visit to John Cooper to autograph at the AOS book fair. Something that I said must have reached those students, because I completely sold out of books. The librarian then had to start taking orders, so I signed several book plates to place in the additional books. It was a little exhausting, but nothing beats seeing parents and their children that excited about reading! Thank you AOS!

I just returned from a long, but fabulous, week visiting 7 schools in DeKalb County, IN. After visiting McKinney-Harrison last Thursday, things got really busy and I didn’t get a chance to write about all the rest of the awesome schools I visited. In order, they were: Waterloo, JE Ober, Riverdale, Country Meadows, Butler, and JR Watson. I was totally impessed by all the artwork and books made by the students at these schools. Good job, kids! Thanks so much to all the parents and teachers who made this week work so smoothly.

Hello from McKenney-Harrison School! Fourth grade teacher Mr. Kindler worked with his visiting author committee to bring me to the Auburn, IN area where I will visit 7 elementary schools over the next week and a half. Today I begin my tour with a visit to Mr. Kindler’s school. I gave 2 main presentations, one for the younger students and one for the older ones. Then I met with 2 smaller groups of kids over lunch. These were students that were particularly interested in writing or illustrating, and they were fired up with tons of questions. During the smaller group meetings, I had a chance to show the students some pages from my journals. I was very impressed that every grade had writing projects displayed in the library! Good job, McKenney-Harrison!