Categories: News and Events
      Date: Aug 30, 2016
     Title: Five Classes of Prep
Their excitement was palpable.  Because the teachers had taken the time to share the story with the children before my visit, the students were anticipating the author's visit, and ready to learn more about how the book was written, and the animals in it. They loved the finger puppets (always a hit!) and were quite inventive as they made up THEIR songs about the animals encountered in the story.

Before the visit, each class had prepared with some creative writing about echidnas.  One teacher had read most of the story to the children, then before the 'resolution', had asked them to predict where Mrs Echidna lay her egg.  Here are some of their answers:

Above: "I will hide my egg in the hole that the echidna built..." Below: "I will hide my egg in a tree log..." and "I will hide my egg in the bottom of the tree" Love the illustrations!

Another class, in the creative writing exercise, was asked 'what do you think an echidna would enjoy doing?'  The answers are fascinating!  Check these out:

Above: It was the week after the annual Brisbane 'EKKA' and the child wrote: "the echidna train... went on the ferris wheel... they all came home" Don't you love the illustration in felt, toothpicks and a paddle-pop stick?  Here are some more from that class;

I was really touched when one class took the time to write thank-you notes to me - on the echidnas they made from paper plates.  Here they are as an 'echidna train' in my garden:

On the inside of each 'echidna' was a note from the child.

And finally, here is one of the classes at that school:  What an attentive bunch they were!