First Author Visit

What a blessing to say I've had my first visit to a classroom as an author! On November 18, 2021, I was invited to visit with the students in the after-school program at a local organization called the South End Community Center. Since my initial contact with them was for something different than an author visit, this invite became a God moment for me.

It was a small group, but the students were very bright and polite. We talked about writing and read some chapters from Snowmallows. When asked how they thought the story should end, I learned that snowmen rising from the ground and attacking the world would have been a good option! (Spoiler alert: that's not how the story ends. 😊) I also learned of another post-Covid problem with the story in that we had to explain the term "snow day" to the younger students who have never experienced one in our new virtual world.

After our reading time, their very creative teachers helped them with a combined craft and snack time activity. The students used 3 marshmallows and frosting to create the body of a snowman and stood it on top of a graham cracker. Pretzel arms, chocolate chip eyes and buttons, and a colored candy nose finished their craft. Then they were able to enjoy eating their creation with a warm cup of cocoa.

What a joy to spend an afternoon with them. I want to thank all the students and teachers at the South End Community Center, especially Ms. Ty, for allowing me to come to their classroom and for the wonderful photos she took that are posted here. It was such a privilege.

(By the way, the little lady with me in the photo told me that, when I was reading, I looked like the mouse on the poster behind me. Very sweet.)