Finally...Children!

Okay, I was patient. I wanted to go bouncing into a school on the first day! (But I waited for things to settle a bit.) Finally, today, I was able to feel the energy that only a school full of children can emit. I visited Mr. Everett's AIG class at Belville Elementary in Leland, N.C. What a great group of kids!

The classroom is in a brand new wing of the school; it's beautiful, and they're still putting finishing touches on everything. This school is big, over 800 students, so the new wing will definitely come in handy. As I walked in, the students were intently working. As soon as Mr. Everett told them to return to work after my presentation, they were immediately quiet and all business. But in between, these fifth graders looked at me with such enthusiasm - they really were listening to every word.

We talked about the fact that this is a special day - on August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his I Have a Dream speech. We, of course, talked about dreams, as I am prone to do on almost any occasion, and I shared some student stories and some stories about my personal children and me.

As we finished up, I prepared to give out some prizes I had brought - some pens, stickers, and super cool squishy pencil grippers. But I was suddenly surprised! The class had gifts for me: a beautiful plant, a Belville Sharks notepad, and a Belville Elementary tee shirt! I was so excited!

Here are Gabby and Ke'Andre' presenting me with gifts. Thanks so much, guys!

Thank you to Mrs. Coston, the principal at Belville, for allowing me to visit during the first week of school. And thanks to Mr. Everett and his wonderful students. Have a great year, Sharks! Hopefully, I'll be back soon!