I do fairly standard school visits with a slide presentation followed by hands on writing and art activities. But, I am lucky. As a writer, biologist, and artist I get to work with some of the most fun and creative teachers on great projects with kids. I suppose I sometimes wear out my welcome, but at many schools, I come back often. I've worked with the staff at Tussing Elementary in Pickerington, Ohio for almost 20 years. Hmmmm, maybe I'm vested in their retirement account...not.

Here are some samples of recent visits and from some memorable ones from the past to give your school some ideas:

• Wyandot Elementary POND Project

  Under a two year grant, I've worked with art teacher, Sharon Buda, librarian Susan Pomerantz, and Wyandot staff as a biologist. Okay, the kids know me as a writer, but under this project we have focused on life within their pond, a headwater of Indian Run in Dublin, Ohio. Funding is provided by the Ohio EPA under their Environmental Education program.

  My role as a visiting biologist/writer is to introduce the kids to water life by taking them out and into the pond with nets, underwater microphones, and other sampling equipment. They take notes just as I do when sampling water bodies, measuring temperature, weather conditions, and noting all species as well as measuring each fish to the nearest mm. Throughout the two year period, the school is also bringing in other artists to work with the kids on a huge mural, stained glass, and other pieces that integrate the pond learning with their other readings and art works.

  Spontaneous combustion often happens during these longterm visits and one of the most fun happened when the kids caught a HUGE bluegill they named JAWS. Jaws inspired a lot of side projects, including Words on Water. One student's rendition of Jaws eventually traveled all around the world with stops in Australia, Japan, and Ethiopia to share what the kids had learned about taking care of water in a fun way. Many other stories could be told, but here is just one to show how great Susan and other teachers have been during this project.

  Susan is a librarian. If you take a look at several of the images from the trips to net in the pond, you will see her enthusiastically sharing in the joy of finding a dragonfly nymph or plump tadpole. You will also find her back in the library, filling an aquarium daily and tending to creatures we catch, keep for a day or two, then release back at the pond. How many librarians can you find who regularly share water boatmen, catfish, and bluegills during library time?!

  ---

• Wilson Wyoming Snake to the Sea Visit

  Anyone who knows me even slightly realizes that a school visit near trout water might mean that I will possibly not appear if fishing is good. But I was sort of good at Wilson because the visit was in spring, leaving plenty of time after school to fish the waters of the Snake River. And fish I did. Actually, I fished the Madison and Gallatin Rivers coming and going from my house to Wyoming.

  This was a special school visit for me, getting to work with artist, Jocelyn Slack. Her fine artwork is inspiring and her ability to work with kids made our project so enjoyable. Principal, Tracy Poduska had met me in Ohio where she first started teaching in Pickerington. Her invitation for me to come to Wilson followed soon after making Whalestreet in Tussing back in her former teaching grounds.

  We discussed making a big book for quite some time, prior to the visit. This is often a key to success because we were able to truly hit the ground painting with the kids. Tracy and Jocelyn had the big book recipe and a template was ready.

  Even though the visit was only three days, we were able to take the 5th graders out onto the Snake to net aquatic insects and fish. This was a highlight of the visit for those kids and a beautiful day spent on this majestic river could inspire anyone to paint the scenes you can see by taking a look at the book.

  I talk of the Snake to the Sea book elsewhere, but want to share this scene for anyone interested in creating calming conditions on their playgrounds:

  One morning I walked to school. The spring air was fresh, the sandhill cranes flying, and kids were gathered on the playground as I approached the back of the school. The Tetons are above us. It is about as beautiful a place as any in our country. As I got closer to the school, I didn't hear the usual loud voices from the kids on the bars and in the field. Instead, their was a softness to match the beauty of the surroundings. Two kids, facing one another about 30 feet apart were playing marimbas. The skillful playing created a sound that seemed to float in the air in a way that created the overall gentle feeling. Marimbas in the Rockies. Permanently installed on the playground, they make people like me (with deep roots in the wild west) feel like Wyoming is in good hands.

  ---

• Hawthorne Elementary in Bozeman, Montana

  Hawthorne school in Bozeman is one of my favorite places on the planet. I first visited here when my very first books came out. Marilyn Delger was principal then and she was just retiring when I last visited in 2006. She is a gem and the school's emphasis on the arts allows visiting authors like me to get creative with the kids from the first moment I enter the doors.

  One project we did recently was to make "Little Books in Boxes". I have one of these, created by two 4th graders. I had to trade them my best markers for their book, MONTANA TREASURES. A small jewelry box is decorated with the title and a colorful trout. Inside are loose pages delicately illustrated in colored pencil of moose, wildflowers, wolves, and other Montana plants and animals. Here is a sampler from MOOSE: "I am a large animal, I like to stomp and graze, I fight for female. I usually win."

  I have shown the little book in a box they made to hundreds of kids and when I shared it with kids at Tussing Elementary, the little box inspired a lot of what became the big book, Whalestreet.

  ---

• Wickliffe Elementary, Upper Arlington, Ohio

  My visits to Wickliffe school go back to some of my first longer stays in a single school and district. Since visiting here, I've had the pleasure of working with other Arlington schools and my friendships there are only matched by the wealth of knowledge about teaching kids that I've gained from Diane Driessen, Peggy Harrison, Frank Hatcher, and others who seem to define all that is good in creative and dedicated teachers. It was here that I learned that integrated teaching was not just a buzz, it was what was good in engaging kids to learn the way we all learn best.

  One day on the river with Frank Hatcher (4th grade classroom teacher and flyfisherman), Diane Driessen (librarian who refuses to sit behind a desk), and Randy Warner (music teacher and wonderful father) explains a lot of why I enjoy returning to Ohio so often.

  Frank's class had been studying water quality on the Olentangy River, a tributary of the Scioto. It was a warm fall day and he invited Diane, Randy, and I to accompany his class on a trip to the river. Randy talked with the kids about making nature sounds and they started to pick up branches, leaves, and small stones. Shaking the stones sounded great along the gentle river, low this time of year.

  I talked with the kids about their watershed and how the river eventually joined the Ohio and on it flowed to the ocean. One of the students, on hearing this, immediately waded out into the middle of the river, leaned over and started singing humpback whale songs. He called back to us that if the river went to the sea, it was like a phone line and the whales would hear him singing.

  Being normal 4th graders, his classmates started laughing and poking some fun. But whalesinger continued. In time, all of the class waded in, leaned over and sang with him as one student stomped in time, splashing water on one and all.

  I've shown slides of this moment to at least ten thousand other kids. It always generates a laugh. It always inspires as it did recently on the Snake River, when I watched a fifth grader lean over that stream and sing as he bubbled with his mouth so that whales in the distant Pacific might hear him call out to them.

  ---

• Tussing and Pickerington Elementary Schools, Pickerington, Ohio

  I've talked about these schools elsewhere but wanted to include them on this page to say thank you to this incredible bunch of people who have hosted my visits for many years.

  For those of you wishing to have me visit, I can say that when I come to Tussing I go straight to the art room, begin to take stools off the table, erase the board, and maybe check my emails on Mary Sheridan's computer. I'll poke my head into the classrooms and get back to the art room quickly. We have more than 800 students to work with in one week and there is always a lot to be done...let's see...we have, together, restored a wetland in the headwaters of Walnut Creek, written many books, created a full size whale sculpture, made one of the greatest Big Books ever, and so much more. And more to be done as we work to connect with other kids up and downstream.

  ---

• Koloa Elementary in Koloa, Kaua'i

  Diane Shimizu and I have worked together for a lot of years, connecting with projects that we think her kids will enjoy. Diane now teaches at Wilcox School in Lihue, but one day at Koloa stands out in my memory as a wonderful school visit.

  One thing that made this day so special was that many moms and dads came to work with us. The whole classroom thought about their favorite sea creatures and we transferred their drawings onto copper by tracing and cutting. Then each student got to "torch" their creations in a MAPP gas flame to paint the copper in rainbow colors or deep reds according to how much heat was applied.

  We had so much fun simply playing with the copper and I think moms and dads had as much fun as the kids and me. As I left, the kids gave me beautiful leis made from ribbons, leis that hang here in my home to remind me of their kindness.

  ---

• Columbus School for Girls, Columbus, Ohio

  My friends Martha Shaw, Marilyn Parker, and Charlotte (Sti) Stiverson were there on my first visit to Ohio. Martha had gone to a conference and learned of my work, invited me to the school, and formed a friendship that goes on in many ways. I'll share three small stories to help show how author visits can work and continue to work for the benefit of the kids--both during the visit and after a guy like me leaves for parts unknown.

  Martha is a librarian. Like others I get to work with, she is not exactly typical. For example, she and science teacher Jan Hall once asked me to do a field visit with some students. The visit was planned and I met them--not in Ohio, but in Yellowstone National Park where we took the girls around to hike, fish, and enjoy seeing their first grizzly bears, moose, and elk. Since then, I've met up with them nearer my home where we all enjoyed a clam bake and sea going canoe ride with my friends on the Port Gamble S'Klallam Indian Reservation. Fun author visit! Marilyn Parker is just retired, but as principal she was totally hands on and our adventures in the school and on field trips around Columbus have been good learning experiences for the kids. One learning experience for me was when Marilyn showed me how to turn the littlest ones at school into their favorite trees or animals. I have been doing this ever since she first shared the technique of rolling out long sheets of that big roll paper always present outside a kindergarten classroom. Ask the child to contort in the shape of a shark, dolphin, or other favorite creatures and trace around them. The little sharks then color themselves and cut out a fun wall art piece.

  Sti is another story. She was in her first year of teaching when I first came to CSG. WE have worked together ever since. One of my favorite things she allows is for me to send her early drafts of my books. Her students gather in corners and critique, often making wonderful suggestions. But she also brings the kids a role model of wonderful dignity. Sti asks that students shake her hand as they leave for the day. She teaches ecology often and with example--she and her husband live simply and often bring kids on field trips, including trips to their home on land that is protected from future development. I know that whenever I get a new idea I can send it to Sti and her class and we will then have some fun with a globe that might travel the earth, a story about water, or an adventure about a little girl with a love for penguins.

  I might mention too that my visits to CSG are now a regular Earth Day event when we work together on new ideas for protecting the world.

  ---

• Fair Avenue School, Columbus Public Schools, Columbus, Ohio

  Fair Avenue is a short walk from a city park at which a pond was transformed during a recent city celebration. The kids and I walked there recently and came up with a great plan for a water study.

  Columbus Public Schools are not exactly overfunded. Students are not always driven to school in Escalades. But the students are so enthusiastic, especially when encouraged to enjoy water as they study water.

  During my visit, we discovered that the pond near their school might just be more healthy than ponds in the suburbs! Teeming with life, the ponds are surrounded by landscapes that appear to be kept up without the usual heavy doses of pesticides used in outlying communities. Could the inner city environment be healthier than the wealthier suburbs? Keep in touch.

  ---

• Seabeck Elementary in Seabeck, Washington and the Seabeck Alki Salmon Team

  Inspired by the pond restoration at Pickerington Elementary, students and several parents at Seabeck Elementary created a unique after school project.

  My single day visit to their school started a longterm relationship that brought in my other working relationships with the S'Klallam Tribe and Trust for Public Lands. We began by making regular seining (netting) trips to nearby Seabeck Creek. We soon discovered the stream was home to a wealth of water life, including many coho salmon.

  Then one day young Nick Holm and I wondered off a bit and discovered a small tidal lagoon that was fed by several small streams. I went back to my office and discovered that this area was actually off the map. None of the streams were ever recorded on maps, let alone surveyed for fish use. Soon, Nick and I led the others to the little lagoon that we began calling "Nick's Lagoon".

  The longer story of how Nick's Lagoon became a public parkland, protected for the future, has been told in many news accounts and within the pages of the Trust's publications. It seems important for me to share this--Nick and I both received an environmental award for our work in documenting its use by endangered salmon and for helping to acquire it for public use. This project also shows how schools can use my work with kids to bring them a sense of purpose, and a true sense of accomplishment. I don't avoid school visits within the building, but I encourage you to let me take kids outside.

  Here in Washington State there is a very sad program that brings salmon inside the classroom. Fish must swim in a tank and often die or become diseased in the confines of a tiny aquarium. Some say this is a good way to introduce kids to the ecology of fish and to help them learn how to save salmon since the fish are placed back into a stream when ready.

  This salmon in a classroom project was how teachers taught kids at Seabeck Elementary prior to the creation of the after school, Seabeck Alki Salmon Team. When I first visited, I pointed out the window of the school to Seabeck Creek. I asked the salmon in the classroom person if she had ever taken the kids to the stream, a beautiful body of water only 200 yards from the school parking lot. She had not. Should you run into Nick Holm, now a college student, ask him if he learned much from watching salmon in a tank or by netting them in a stream and learning how to save not one, but five salmon streams by studying them in the real world.