Read Out Loud! Was a Hit Yesterday!

I really enjoyed myself at the event I participated in yesterday: Read Out Loud! Family Literacy Festival. It was sponsored by Jumpstart, an organization for youth and Morningside Alliance. Both organizations produce community-based events and programming for schools and families. I found out about the event when my friend and fellow author, Jerry Craft asked if I wanted to take part in it since the organizers were looking for a poet. I was booked for the event to do a signing for my books, as well as to run a poetry activity table for the kids. It was a whole lot of fun. My table stayed busy with the cutest little kids! Little ones as young as three and four came to my table, crowding around me with their smiles, their stares and their little hands. I read several children's picture books of poetry to them, I guided them through a poetry writing activity and shared some of my own poetry with them. The children were quite attentive, well behaved and smart! For the smaller kids I didn't have them write anything. They primarily listened to me read, I asked them questions about what they heard such as "What was your favorite part?" or "What was your favorite line in the poem?" Also I gave the smaller kids corresponding coloring pages relating to the poetry I shared with them. The kids seemed to like that alot. Some of the boys weren't into the "Butterfly" poem I shared, so I read a basketball poem to them and then they did a basketball coloring activity. Along with my books, other picture books, my activity table had a heap of white paper, colored paper, copies of poems, activity sheets, crayons, and colored pencils. Some of the parents seemed happy to be there taking part in creative activities with their parents, others walked around seemingly in a daze because maybe they were tired. I saw some moms that appeared to be holding the hand of a small child in each hands, plus a tiny baby attached to one of those baby holders strapped to their chest. Just when I started romancing the idea of what it would be like to have a baby (hey I'm not planning it! not married yet!), I saw glimpses of motherhood that looking more draining than anything when I was at the event. There were many other activity tables and workshops for the kids going on. Including a comic workshop, painting, regular coloring, and illustration tables. I didn't have much of a chance to talk with the other authors or illustrators there except when we greeted each other when walking in, they were busy as I was througout the whole program which ended at 3pm. As result of the success of my poetry activity table, the organizers of the event told me that they'd love to contact me to work at some of the schools they partner with , as well as to feature at this event next year. I told them that sounded great! I don't mind doing creative arts workshops with kids, those types of activities are fun for me as well as the youth.