Home » Arts & Design

My Elementary School Writing and Drawing Programs

Ranked #22,828 in Arts & Design, #558,847 overall | Donates to Squidoo Charity Fund

MY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WRITING AND DRAWING PROGRAMS

My elementary school assemblies and workshops are among the most rewarding aspects of my life as a children's author and illustrator. What makes my programs unique from other author or illustrator presentations is my giant drawing easel. It has become a launching pad for a host of fun learning experiences.

My day at a school usually begins with an all-school assembly where I give the audience a teaser of what they will see later in the day when I visit their classroom. Sometimes I move from class to class; other times the school will set me up in the library or multipurpose room and the classes will come to me.

Most of my school programs are one-day events, but some schools will schedule me for two days or more in order that I might be given an adequate amount of time in all the classes.

In my classroom visits the students are able to get their questions answered about writing and illustrating. They are given pencil and paper and allowed to follow along with me as I show them how to draw a dinosaur, elephant, or space ship.

I also have appeared at many Christian schools. Using my easel and markers, I deliver "cartoon sermons" and illustrated object lessons at the school's chapel program. As in the public school, the remainder of the day is spent presenting workshops in the classrooms.

It's a privilege to be invited back to a school year after year. At some schools we have lost count at 20 years how many years I have been invited back to present my programs. It's always an honor for a sixth grader to tell me that they remember me from when they were in kindergarten.

Many kids ask me: "How do you make that sound?" My programs are laced with a host of wacky mouth sounds that I use to liven up the drawing process. I have been doing impressions and producing mouth sounds for most of my life, so it has become an integral part of my program.

Many children and teachers have seen my stories and illustrations in Highlights for Children, Turtle Magazine, Clubhouse Jr. and many other children's publications.

Feel free to contact me if you would like more information about my school programs: 253-841-7944
Or visit my web site: www.bronsmith.com/schoolprograms.htm
Or Twitter me: www.twitter.com/Bron_Smith

FUN AND GAMES

I WORK HARD TO MAKE MY PROGRAMS FUN.

I have developed many interactive drawing routines over the years that I include in my assembly program. The Crazy Critter Game has always been a favorite with audiences. The end result of the drawing segment is shown here.

In case you're curious, the Crazy Critter to the right is a combination of: bunny ears, toad eyes, moose snout, giraffe neck, pig body, rooster tail, stork legs, and tennis shoes.

The game begins with my explaining to the students that there are a number of different animal parts that are written on pieces of paper in my bag...names like "rooster tail", "moose snout", or "toad warts". I then venture into the audience with my bag of animal parts. I select one student and ask them to pull a name out of the bag. After the student has pulled a name I return to the stage and announce the name of the animal part to the audience.

Gales of laughter always erupt from the audience upon my announcing the name of the animal part. Then I quickly draw the animal part onto my pad. The audience continues laughing while I'm drawing. I then dash back into the audience and a student pulls another name from the bag.

The laughter increases each time I announce a new animal part and proceed to draw it. With each animal part drawn onto the pad, a "Crazy Critter" begins to take shape. By the time I have exhausted all of the names from the bag and completed the drawing, the audience is rolling on the floor with laughter.

The "piece de resistance" is when I then ask the leading question: "Would anyone like to take the Crazy Critter home?" Then the audience really goes wild, waving their hands, and jumping to their feet, as if to say: "Pick me...pick me!"

I have devised a quick easy way of picking a winner, called the Spin Game. Within moments I have announced the Crazy Critter winner, and we're on to the next segment of the assembly. The winning student gets their Crazy Critter autographed after the assembly.

ON SAFARI!

School safari, that is...

I wear a khaki costume for my school appearances, complete with ivory cargo pants. The safari costume reflects my extensive travels and many "drawing safaris". It's also the costume I wore in my Kids on Safari video series. You can see more shots of me in action in my costume at my classroom visits web site: www.bronsmith.com/schoolprograms.htm

MY BOOKS

I've written and/or illustrated many books over the years. Here is a small sampling.
Loading

MY WEB SITE: www.bronsmith.com

I have several web sites, but www.bronsmith.com is my home base. Most of the facets of my career, including my school visits, can be found here. You'll also find samples of my daily syndicated newspaper comic strip, called Health Capsules, as well as my illustration portfolio, and my cartoon map page: Fun Maps USA.
Loading Fetching RSS feed... please stand by

SIGN IN PLEASE!

I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas about my programs.

Let me know if you have any questions about my school assemblies. If you're a teacher, you could send a link to this lens to your librarian or PTA president.

submit
Show All

by

Bron_Smith

Bron Smith is an author and illustrator of numerous books for children and adults. He's a children's entertainer, appearing at schools in the Pacific... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Explore related pages

Related Tags