Storytelling in the Sunshine State

St. Luke's Lutheran School

How lucky am I?  I'm just back from a visit to St. Luke's Lutheran School in Oviedo, FL as part of their S.P.L.A.S.H. Literacy Festival.  (If you're wondering, S.P.L.A.S.H. stands for "St. Luke's Promotes Literacy At School and Home.)  The festival is the brain child of two teachers, John and Anita Glanzer, who have been spreading a love of books across the country as part of their life mission. 

I must say, Florida is fast becoming my favorite state for school visits.  Gorgeous weather and friendly people, not to mention some of the craziest, most imaginative kids!  The stories we told in our writing workshops started with Crazy Hat Day as an inspiration, and went well beyond.  From Ghost Hats to evil tacos, flying horses to guys who just really need to take a bath-- well, as you can see, we had a blast!  One class had even created a map of events in FLYGIRL, laying out the story like a navigational map for a pilot-- what an amazing idea!  (I'd show you a picture but my photography skills couldn't do it justice.)
Thanks to the S.P.L.A.S.H. organizers, the St. Luke's staff and Parent/Teacher League for bringing me out.  Thank you to all of the students who worked so hard on their stories and made me feel welcome.  An extra special thanks goes to Sherry for the lovely tea cups and to my host mom, Siobhan, for taking care of me every step of the way.