Author and Illustrator, David Biedrzycki, visits Fuller Meadow!

We were so excited to meet a real author and illustrator yesterday!

David Biedrzycki captured the attention of our Kindergartners with pictures of his friendly book characters and photographs of the snowbanks in front of his house and his relaxed cat, Sox.

Students learned that all you need for a story is an idea...

and that personal experiences can inspire you!

This local author encouraged children to keep a little notebook or sketchpad beside their beds.  That way, if they have a dream with interesting characters, they can do a quick sketch while the image is still fresh in their mind right after waking up.

Mr. Biedrzycki likes to think of himself as a "green artist".  He stopped using paper when creating his illustrations.  Now, he uses a drawing tablet that connects to his laptop.  He used the free website www.sumopaint.com to show the children how to draw a beetle.  The students enjoyed having input into what the Kindergarten beetle would look like.  They loved that the beetle could easily be copied, multiplied, and the colors modified to create a beetle family!

He told us the story Breaking News: Bear Alert and we were ecstatic to find our very own Mrs. Carreiro made a surprise appearance in the restaurant scene!

Kindergarteners learned about the writing process.  Teachers and students found it interesting that all the pages of a book are actually printed on one huge page!  After it is printed and bound, the pages are cut along the edges to make one page turn into 32!

When we returned to our room, the children were eager to try out their new knowledge of how to draw a beetle!

To learn more about Mr. Biedrzycki's work, check out his website www.davidbiedrzycki.com.

Thank you for visiting Fuller Meadow, Mr. Biedrzycki!