Hillside Elementary at Fort Lewis

The school visit schedule is off to a great start after last Friday’s visit to Hillside Elementary. Many thanks to librarian Wayne Osborn, PTA president April London, and the students and staff for making it such a fun day. And extra props to April for those amazing cookies, and for making the event possible!

This was my second visit to Hillside, which is the only school I’ve ever visited on a military base. I didn’t get to interact much with the parents, but I found the interactions I did have to be fascinating. I don’t get the opportunity to talk with military personel or their families very often, and doing so has deepened my respect for the sacrifices these entire communities make for what they believe in.

I would also like to give a special thank you to Kayla from Mr. B’s 4th grade class. The picture included with this post is a card that she made for me. I could tell she put a ton of time in to making it. On the front of the card there is an awesome drawing of the cover of Enemy Pie. And on the inside she even included a watermelon sucker! My kids have been jockeying for that thing, but it’s such a sweet addition to her card that I’m not willing to take it off.

Thank you again Hillside Elementary!

Welcome to KidHeaded!

Hey and Welcome,

As a kid’s author and creative writing teacher, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with over 100,o00 kids across the United States. Right from the start, I developed a healthy dose of admiration and intrigue for these deeply creative creatures. What the hay was going on in those tiny little heads? And how was it that they were consistently blowing my mind with amazing idea after amazing idea? I spent several years trying to work with their thoughts, trying to enhance and supplement their natural writing skills by teaching the basic rules for creative writing. And then, finally, it dawned on me that they already knew how to write. What they really needed was experience and the confidence to trust their own creative voice. So I tossed my old programs and started over. Now, rather than trying to feed a river that already flowed perfectly, my job was to simply bank the river, offering structure and security along whatever route they chose. When I stopped giving answers and started asking questions, I learned that the vast majority of kids are, without question, creative geniuses. My mission is to make sure they know that.