Kristin Joy Pratt-Serafini

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!