We hit the road!
I took Gordy and the Ghost Crab and my newest creation, my felt ghost crab hat, to Weston Elementary School in Imlay City, MI where we meet with three groups of students: the “begindergarten” and kindergarten students, the first graders, and the second graders — A total of about 400 students in all!
Christina Herr, M.Ed., Reading Interventionist at Weston, asked that I gear my presentation toward resiliency, bravery and facing our fears, which make excellent talking points as they relate to my picture book.
Learning about Ghost Crabs
I loved the large screen Weston Elementary had for my power point presentation, which honestly was the only way I could have read the book aloud to such large groups. The children were so attentive! I began the presentation talking about ghost crabs, which had them oohing and aahing in surprise (what a shock to learn that crabs have no bones!) They enjoyed trying to answer my questions, such as “How many legs does a ghost crab have?” and “Why do you think their eyes are on stalks?”
The students had their own questions for me. Of course, they wanted to know why ghost crabs are called called ghost crabs! I liked the children who enthusiastically threw their hands high in the air, and when I called on them, said “Um…uh… I forgot my question.”
I told them I sometimes forget the answers!
How to be brave
After I read the book, we talked about Gordy’s fears, scary stories, and the times we were afraid of something that turned out not to be so scary at all. The children shared occasions when they were brave, such as learning how to ride a bike, or entering a dark room to turn on the lights. They laughed when I told them I still sleep with a night light. They learned about empathy as we discussed the reasons Gordy worried about the ghost crab being caught in a net and taken far away from the sea. They enjoyed seeing the world from the ghost crab’s point of view. We discussed why wild things may not make good pets, and the ways we take care of the pets we have.
I had a few tricks up my sleeve in case they got noisy, which came in handy for the first graders. I matched their enthusiasm with my own, which I found easy because they were so much fun.
Christina emailed me to say later to thank me, adding “We all enjoyed the presentations and my afternoon groups said things like, ‘I liked her hat!’ and ‘I didn’t even know ghost crabs existed!'”
If you are interested in having me visit your school, please contact me via the email link at the top of this page or lindaksienkwicz (at)gmail (dot) com. I am happy to work with large or small groups, and can cover different topics such as science (crabs, marine life, ecology, protecting wildlife), social studies (fears, bravery, empathy), and/or writing (inspiration for stories, and rhyme). I can also do interactive activities with small groups. I look forward to hearing from you!