Amazing Kids

Amazing Kids

Sunday, November 24, 2013

A Week of Two Drews

I LOVE Skype.
I first learned to love it when I taught in Culebra for three months. This tiny island is part of Puerto Rico but is only about 21 square miles and very limited amenities in terms of, well, just about anything except beautiful beaches and wonderful snorkeling. While we had a great experience, we felt pretty isolated, especially due to the fact that the vast majority of the people converse in Spanish and we knew practically none.
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My husband and I had agreed before we left that we would Skype almost daily. We did, except when we had no internet (a too-oft-occurring situation) and it made an incredible difference in Hannah's and my emotional well-being. 
When I got back into my classroom state-side, we began to Skype with other classrooms and authors. It was wonderful to expose my kids to other places and people. It was engaging and opened them to thinking in new ways.
Fast-forward to the point of this post. The book, THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT, by Drew Daywalt, is a wonderful 2013 book I read to my kids. One day on Twitter there was a conversation with "Drew" and someone else about a Skype in a classroom. I'm not shy about asking for a Skype for my kids, so I butted in on the conversation and made the request. I was ELATED when he agreed! We set the date and I excitedly announced the great news to my kids. 
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Drew and I exchanged several emails about the details of our Skype and I was amazed that this was all working so perfectly. Our time is all set for Tuesday morning at 9:00.
Then a few days ago there was a Nerdy Book Club post about CRAYONS! It was a great post, so I tweeted it out along with the message that I was excited to have Drew meet my kids. Within an hour, I had a personal message from HIM, saying he didn't have me on his calendar for a Skype. He asked me to email him. My stomach turned, my mind raced, and I'm sure I lost a few years of life. Panic-stricken, I searched through our email exchanges. What eventually emerged was that the Drew we were scheduled to Skype with is NOT Drew Daywalt, of CRAYONS fame. Instead, this was Drew Dyer, a yet-to-be-published artist and author who has made some incredible illustrations. I felt stupid and embarrassed.
In my email to Mr. Daywalt, I fessed up to my errors and came clean. But this is where it gets really good. He suggested a theme for the week: A Week of Writers Named Drew! And now, ladies and gentlemen, we are Skyping with him!!! YES!!! Monday at 1:00!
That afternoon the packet from Mr. Dyer (the other Drew) came and it is AMAZING! He made personalized bookmarks for each of my kids - and one for me, too! His artwork is so much fun, and he's giving my kids a chance to send him some of their own drawing of alien alphabet letters! He's also sent a personal letter to each of the kids, so when he IS published, they'll have a wonderful part of his journey!
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So the bottom line is that I messed up ROYALLY but somehow it worked out that my kids get to meet two amazing authors at two different points in their writing/illustrating journeys!
I am beyond thankful for what is happening in my classroom this Thanksgiving week!

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