July 2017

I was honoured to be invited to meet and speak with students participating in B.E.E.P.  (Balanced Experiential Education Program) at Governor Semple School this past Monday. Students across a range of grades gather throughout the summer with teachers and leaders  who guide them in fun learning experiences that I have a feeling they’ll remember for a long time to come. Right after I left, they were going geocaching in the neighborhood – how cool is that?  I’ll bet that not only will the experiences be special, the friendships you’ll make will be an important part of your summer, maybe even your whole lives! (My next book is  about a lifelong friendship that starts at a summer camp…and also sort of about sharks. More on that later…)

Speaking of the neighborhood, the reason I was invited to hang out with my new B.E.E.P. friends was that I grew up just around the corner – and their theme for the week was Local Citizenship – so…perfect, right? (LOL). I’m glad I was able to stop by, check out a day in the life of B.E.E.P.,  and share a bit about myself growing up where you’re growing up. It was where I was first inspired to write!

It was fun meeting groups of young people (and in some cases, meeting you again!) and hearing your questions about writing and being a writer. It was really cool to hear that some of you read my books (thanks!) and that many of you are avid readers/writers yourselves! I also loved our spontaneous conversation about sharks and shark facts (another passion I share with some of you…). I understand that you may be doing some writing during your B.E.E.P. time – if you post your stories somewhere, let me know. I’d love to take a look!

Once again, it was really great to meet you and your leaders, too. Enjoy your learning, art, outdoor and indoor activities and just hanging out together!

Karin 🙂