Host Guidebook

Hello, wonderful hosts!

We’ve built this page as a place to store all the information, links, and forms you’ll need to host us on the tour.

You can use the list of topics on the left to easily find the answer to a specific question—or feel free to read through the whole thing to get a sense of the big picture.

We are always available if you have questions!

All best,

Your Customized Checklist

We will be emailing each host with a customized URL that leads to a printable checklist listing all the things you’ll need to do—and the specific dates on or by which you’ll need to complete them. Note that, with very few (but important) exceptions, if you complete an item a few days late, it’s probably not a big deal. We’ll make clear which deadlines are hard and fast.

If you misplace your custom URL or have any questions about your checklist, just drop us a line

These URLs have an intuitive construction:
bit.ly/BUSTOUR followed by the first four letters of your school name (in all-caps!)

For example, the URL for Honeycutt Elementary School would be: bit.ly/BUSTOURHONE

(caveat: we have a number of schools starting with “North” and “Thomas” – for those schools, please use the first four letters of the second word in your school name!)

Timeline for Schools Not Participating in the Research

More than a month before our visit

  • Fill out the shipping information form (by April 22, 2022)
  • Send tour press release to your district communications office (2 months before visit
  • Choose a presentation space (5 weeks before visit)
  • Arrange the technology (5 weeks before visit)
  • Receive and store the books (1-3 months before visit)
  • Confirm your 2022-2023 enrollment numbers (ASAP after Sept 1, using the form we’ll email to you)

2-4 weeks in advance of our visit

  • Select students for small group session (3 weeks before visit)
  • Send home permission forms for small group session participants (3 weeks before visit)
  • Distribute pre-visit educational materials to teachers (2-4 weeks before visit)
  • Distribute/show the customized video (2-4 weeks before visit)
  • Hand out the books to teachers and students (2-4 weeks before visit)
  • Schedule optional pre-visit phone call or zoom (2 weeks before visit)

A few days before our visit

  • Double-check space and tech (1 week before visit)
  • Confirm small group attendees (1 week before visit)
  • Make sure all teachers and admins know the game plan for our visit day (1 week before visit)

The Day of Our Visit

    • Make sure space and tech are set up and working (first thing that morning)
    • Hand out books to students (after our presentations, if you’ve decided to wait)

     

    Timeline for Schools Participating in the Research

    items marked with an asterisk (*) indicate research-specific tasks

    More than a month before our visit

    • Fill out the shipping information form (by April 22, 2022)
    • Submit the letter of intent to participate in research* (by May 6, 2022)
    • Send tour press release to your district communications office (2 months before visit)
    • Choose a presentation space (5 weeks before visit)
    • Arrange the technology (5 weeks before visit)
    • Receive and store the books (1-3 months before visit)
    • Confirm your 2022-2023 enrollment numbers (ASAP after Sept 1, using the form we’ll email to you)

    2-4 weeks in advance of our visit

    • Send research info and permission forms to parents* (4 weeks before visit)
    • Select students for small group session (3 weeks before visit)
    • Send home permission forms for small group session participants (3 weeks before visit)
    • Distribute pre-visit educational materials to teachers (2-4 weeks before visit)
    • Distribute/show the customized video (2-4 weeks before visit)
    • Hand out the books to teachers and students (2-4 weeks before visit)
    • Schedule optional pre-visit phone call or zoom (2 weeks before visit)

    A few days before our visit

    • Double-check space and tech (1 week before visit)
    • Confirm small group attendees (1 week before visit)
    • Make sure all teachers and admins know the game plan for our visit day (1 week before visit)
    • Conduct Student Survey #1* (day before or day of visit)
    • Conduct Educator Survey #1* (day before or day of visit)

    The Day of Our Visit

    • Make sure space and tech are set up and working (first thing that morning)
    • Hand out books to students (after our presentations, if you’ve decided to wait)
    • Conduct Student Survey #2* (after our presentations the day of visit, or the next day if need be)

     

    One month after our visit

    • Conduct Student Survey #3* (30 days after visit)
    • Conduct Educator Survey #2* (30 days after visit)
    • Conduct Administrator Survey* (30 days after visit)

    Books


    We will be providing a free, hardcover book to every student, teacher, and administrator in your school.

    Writing that sentence makes us really happy.

    BOOK SHIPPING INFO FORM

    We need each host to complete this Host Shipping Info form with the shipping and contact info of the person who will be responsible for receiving the shipment when it arrives at your school. We need this info to make sure the books reach your school successfully and on time. Please fill out this form by April 22, 2022. (It should only take a few minutes).

    SECURING FINAL HEADCOUNT

    For the schools we’ll be visiting during the first few weeks of the tour, we’ll need to ship your books before school starts, so we’ll be basing your quantities on your 2021-2022 enrollment. We will be rounding up your current numbers by 5 percent to cover a potential enrollment increase. If your enrollment rises by more than 5 percent, we’ll ask First Book to send a follow-up shipment.

    For the schools we’ll be visiting from mid-October on, we’ll reach out in early September to ask you to fill out this form with updated enrollment figures.  These are the numbers we’ll be basing our book shipment on, so please try to be as accurate as possible!

    SHIPPING AND RECEIVING THE BOOKS

    We’ll ship the books to arrive between one to three months prior to our visit (though it might be less than a month for those of you early in the tour). It might be a good idea to figure out in advance where you’ll store them (especially if you have a large enrollment; books are bulky!)

    • FREIGHT SHIPPING (for deliveries 500lbs and over)

    When possible (for shipments 500lbs or more), the default shipping option will be TForce Freight (UPS’s freight department). The advantage of freight shipping is that someone from TForce will reach out to you personally to arrange a delivery date and time that works best for you and your school staff.

    The TForce driver will deliver the books to the school, but you and/or others from your school will be responsible for taking them inside.  It might be a good idea to bring the custodial staff some donuts and/or figure out where the hand truck is.

    •  GROUND SHIPPING (for deliveries less than 500lbs)

    For shipments under 500lbs, we’ll be using the “ground” option. For “ground” shipments, we’ll send you a tracking number that will let you know when to expect the shipment to arrive.

    We ask that you pay close attention and make sure that someone is available on the date/time the books are due to arrive. If no one is available and the books get sent back, we incur a significant financial penalty. If this happens, we’ll cover the costs, but we’d much prefer to spend that money on more books!

    HANDING OUT THE BOOKS

    Once your books arrive, please distribute them however works best for your community.

    Here are a few options:

    • Hand out books to all students and teachers in advance of our visit (along with our personalized video and educational materials). This gives teachers the opportunity to introduce us and our books before we arrive, do a classroom read-along, and/or for students to read the books independently before our visit.
    • Hand out teacher books in advance but wait until the day of our visit to hand out the student books. This option might be best if your teachers are interested in introducing our books but think your students are more likely to be excited about having/reading them after meeting us.
    • Give each teacher the option of whether or not to introduce the books in advance. In our experience, some teachers are interested in doing introductory lessons and others are not.
    • Perhaps there is another approach we’re not thinking of. That’s fine with us. The books are yours to use as you please!

    If you’re on the fence about which approach to take: In our experience across hundreds of school visits, the most successful ones have come when students are familiar with our books in advance—but we absolutely defer to what you think is best for your teachers and students!

    Customized  Video

    We will make your school a customized video (goofy, friendly, funny, and low-key) in which we introduce ourselves, mention your school by name, and let the kids know how excited we are about our visit.

    These videos tend to create a sense of excitement and familiarity that makes kids more comfortable interacting with us on the day of our visit (because we already seem like old friends).

    We will send you a URL to the video (which will be hosted on our site) one month prior to our visit.

    Feel free to use the video however you like—whether distributing it to teachers or media specialists, showing it in an all-school context, and/or sharing it with parents or local media outlets.

    Educational Materials

    We have developed pre- and post-visit lessons and exercises—one that relates to Everywhere, Wonder and another for The Cookie of Doom. We’ve also created a video-based drawing tutorial for both age groups. These materials are intended to help teachers:

    • prepare students to get the most out of our presentation by familiarizing them with the themes and topics we’ll be discussing
    • give students an opportunity reflect on, apply, and reinforce these themes and topics after our presentation
    • let students learn a few basic illustration tips and see how easy (and hopefully, fun) it is to draw

    These materials are meant to be helpful and not a burden. Please tell teachers that they are 100% optional.

    We will send you an email with links to these materials one month prior to our visit, but here are the links if you need them:

    Technology

    We need four pieces of equipment for a successful presentation. Please check to see if your school can provide these—and please let us know if you can’t!

      • Digital projector
      • Screen to project on (the larger the better)
      • TWO microphones hooked up to a PA or speaker
      • A podium is also helpful (if you have one)

    Our preference is for wireless handheld mics. Second best is wired handheld. Wireless headsets are also okay if need be.

    We’ve had bad luck with handheld mics with the speaker built into the mic itself. If this is the only option, please let us know in advance.

    But we definitely need TWO mics! We once tried to share, and it nearly ended our marriage [sweat emoji!].

    Presentation Space

    Choosing a Space

    We will present wherever you think works best, but our preference is for a space with:

    • A big screen. Our presentations are highly visual, so the larger we can project, the more the kids will get out of it.
    • A nice sound system. The louder and clearer our sound quality, the better able we’ll be able to hold the kids’ attention.
    • The ability to dim the lights/block ambient sunlight, etc (so that the slides look better).
    • A stage can be helpful, so that we can be elevated and kids can see us better, but it’s definitely not necessary.
    • Enough room for everyone to sit comfortably. Kids packed too tightly tend to get wiggly.
    • That said, we invite you to sit the kids as close as possible to us when we present. It makes the energy better when there’s not a big gap between us and them.

    SETTING UP THE ROOM FOR OUR PRESENTATION

    • We like to put our laptop on a podium that is situated near where we’ll be presenting. We will plug our laptop into whatever projection setup your school uses (whether directly into the projector or into an A/V system that powers the projector).
    • Near the podium should be the computer end of the cable that connects to the projector. We will travel with a variety of adaptors.
    • Ideally, near the podium will be a power strip or an extension cord with at least two three-prong outlets.
    • It would be ideal if you could have a tech person or someone familiar with the school’s projector and/or presentation system on hand to help us set up on the morning of our presentation.

    Our preference is for the kids to sit on the floor—as close as possible to the screen and as close as possible to us. That intimacy makes for a better presentation.  That said, we absolutely understand if your Covid protocols (or any other protocols) require kids to be more set back or spread out.

    We absolutely hope that all classroom teachers, librarians, and other educators will attend our presentations! We’ll be presenting themes (and jokes!) that relate to the books we’re giving away and that will serve as a shared point of reference for your whole community in the wake of our visit.

    If you have any questions about how to set up the room, let us know!

    The Day of Our Visit

    Here is the schedule for the day of our visit and a few thoughts about how to make things go as smoothly as possible.

    SCHEDULE

    We’re proposing the same schedule to every school, and we’d prefer to stick to it if possible.

    If you need to make adjustments, let us know, and we’ll do our best to accommodate them.

    7:30am–9:00am

    Arrival and setup

    Unless you say otherwise, we’ll plan to show up at 7:30am so that we’ll have plenty of time to park the bus, meet you, see the presentation space, set up and test the projector and microphones, get our kids and dog situated, and answer any questions you might have before we get started.

    We totally understand if you need us to get there earlier to park the bus before drop-off, for example. If this is the case, let us know, and we’ll make it work!

    9:00am–10:00am

    First assembly (pre-K–1 or 2–5, your choice)

    It makes no difference to us whether we present first to the younger or older kids. We’re happy to do whatever works best for your schedule.

    The first assembly will consist of 30-40 minutes of slides and presentation followed by 20-30 minutes of Q&A.

    Ideally, you’ll start seating the kids around 8:45am so we can start right at 9:00am. As kids come in, we’ll greet them at the door, give high-fives or elbow bumps, and answer questions as they get seated.

    You are welcome to have someone officially introduce us if you like, but feel zero pressure to do so. We start our presentations by introducing ourselves. So you can also just hand us the mic and say go!

    10:00am-10:30am

    Short break

    You can use this time to get the first group of kids out and the second group in. We’ll stand by the doors, saying farewell  to departing students before catching our breath, getting a drink, and checking in on our kids.

    10:30am–11:30am

    Second assembly (pre-K–1 or 2–5, your choice)

    The slideshow will be different, but otherwise, this assembly will mirror the first, so see above for a description of what to expect. We recommend starting to seat the kids by 10:15am.

    11:30am-12:00pm

    tech break down and group session setup

    We’ll pack up our stuff and head to wherever the small group session is taking place.

    12:00pm–1:00pm

    lunch/small group session

    We’ll spend 40 minutes talking to the kids and 20 minutes signing books, taking photos, and asking the kids to fill out a short survey. Here’s a more detailed description of this session.

    1:00pm (or so)

    our departure

    We’ll get back on our bus and head out. This part will be somewhat bittersweet, but with any luck, you’ll have a building full of excited teachers and students—and a bunch of books for them to read.

    *Afternoon of our visit (STUDY participants only)

    administer Student Survey #2*

    If at all possible, administer the second student survey while our visit is still fresh. If it’s not possible, please have them take it the day after. (This item applies only to schools participating in the research.)

    JUST THE SCHEDULE (WITHOUT ALL THE BLAH, BLAH, BLAH)

    •  7:30am–9:00am – arrival and get set up
    • 9:00am–10:00am – first assembly (pre-K–1 or 2–5, your choice)
    • 10:00am-10:30am – break and transition time
    • 10:30am–11:30am – second assembly (pre-K–1 or 2–5, your choice)
    • 11:30am-12:00pm – tech break down and group session setup
    • 12:00pm–1:00pm – lunch/small group session
    • 1:00pm (or so) – our departure
    • *that afternoon (study participants only)– administer Student Survey #2*

    Here is a printable version of the schedule!

    A FEW ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE DAY OF OUR VISIT

    It would be extremely helpful if you and/or someone else could be available during the entirety of our visit—to answer any questions or for troubleshooting. We’ll be sending you an email asking the name and cell number of whoever this person(s) will be a few weeks before our visit date.

    You are welcome to invite whoever you like to attend our presentations—whether parents, colleagues at other schools, local media, etc. The more the merrier!

    Small Group Session

    We would like to have lunch with a small group of students (8-10 works best) with a particular interest in writing and/or drawing. Note that we are not asking you to send us only your star students! We’d be happy to meet with kids who might be struggling academically (or otherwise) but who you think might benefit from getting to meet and talk to us personally.

    The session will consist of a 40-minute Q&A followed by 20 minutes of book signing.

    During the book-signing part of things, we’ll ask the students to fill out a short survey we’re using to research a picture book we’ll be making as we travel. (The survey will consist of three simple questions about America.)

    Please have a name tag for each participating student. (A simple, MY NAME IS sticker-style name tag works fine. It really helps the conversation if we can address the kids directly by name.)

    Also, please make sure each student brings his/her/their free book so that we can sign and dedicate it. (Perhaps this will be the moment when these students get their books, depending on when you decide to hand them out.)

    If possible, please have a pack of sticky notes on hand. We’ll ask that, while we’re talking with the kids, you or someone else writes each student’s name on a sticky note and places it on the title page of their book so Robbi can sign the student’s name without having to worry about spelling it correctly.

    In our experience, it works best to hold this session in a room where we can have an uninterrupted discussion and students who weren’t selected won’t pass by and wonder what’s going on.

    If you’d like to invite a few educators or administrators to attend as well, that’s fine, but we’d like the focus to be on the students as much as possible.

    Please send home this Small Group Permission slip with each of the students you select. The form lets the parent(s) or guardian(s) of these students learn what the session is about and requests their permission to 1) photograph their student and/or 2) potentially feature their student in a social media post, and/or 3) potentially include an illustrated portrait of their student in a book we’re making. Please have these permission slips available for us to collect on the day of our visit.

    Note that if a student’s parent(s) or guardian(s) don’t grant permission for either of these things, that student may still attend the session! We just won’t feature them in our social media posts or include them in our book.  

    If you’re able to feed us lunch during this session, great! If not, no worries. We’ll have snacks on hand and can grab some lunch once we hit the road.

    Our Kids

    Our four kids will be traveling with us. They are: Alden (who is 14) and her brothers Kato (12), August (10), and Jasper (5). They are sturdy, adaptable children who spend a month every summer living off-grid on the Alaskan tundra. We imagine our kids will do one (or more) of the following during our visit to your school:

    • sit in the back of the gym/cafeteria/auditorium/library and heckle
    • sit in the bus and do their homework
    • interact with your students in any number of meaningful ways (read on)
    Alden & Kato

    Alden & Kato

    9th & 7th grade

    Alden (9th grade) and Kato (7th grade) could be available to meet with groups of your students to talk about our travels, do a drawing demo, an origami tutorial, or answer questions about middle school.

    Augie & Jasper

    Augie & Jasper

    5th grade & Kindergarten

    Augie (5th grade) and/or Jasper (kindergarten) would be delighted to spend the morning as honorary members of your fifth grade or kindergarten classes, respectively.

    If you’re interested in our children being part of a day in the life of your school, let us know! But no pressure! They will be perfectly content to spend a few hours in the bus. 

    Following the Tour

    Our tour will double as a year-long, virtual road trip of America’s historical, cultural, geographical, culinary, and architectural wonders—and we invite anyone who’s interested to join us as we travel. We plan to focus on America’s hidden treasures and off-the-beaten path communities.

    Our storytelling will include the following:

    • Matthew will share photos and daily essays about our travels.
    • Robbi will post sketches of the places we see and the people we meet.
    • Our daughter Alden will make videos that offer the kid perspective on each US state.
    • Alden and our oldest son Kato will host a monthly “show” about their experiences on the road,
    • We’ll host weekly livestreams to give updates and answer questions.

     The best ways to follow along are on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or the Tour Blog.

    For Tour Hosts Only, we’ll be posting behind-the-scenes photos and stories about our school visits on the hosts-only Tour Host Facebook Page. Please join us if you haven’t already! But please also know this is totally optional! There will be no mission-critical info posted there.

     

    Promoting the Tour

    Here are some resources you can use to help familiarize your admins, teachers, parents, students, and/or local community about the tour.

    Features our trip blog, inquiry form, social media handles, research project info, and comprehensive FAQ.

    Features R&M story/overview, info on our books, and a page of fun downloadables.

    A brief overview of the tour mission and objectives in our own words also provides a glimpse into our personalities and presentation style.

    A three-page PDF providing a succinct introduction and overview of the tour. Feel free to share it with anyone who might be curious about what we’re up to!

    Feel free to send this press release to local papers, blogs, TV stations, radio stations, or anyone else you think might be interested in learning about the tour and helping to spread the word.

    A web page that offers a high-level overview of the goals, methodology, and potential benefit of the tour research project. 

    Tour Route

    Here is an interactive map of our route that includes all 52 schools we’ll be visiting as part of the tour (minus Hawaii, where we’ll be flying via Atlanta in February). Our actual route contains more zigs and zags, but we’re keeping that one private because it includes the street addresses of many friends—including some of you! (Thanks for your hospitality!)

    (Feel free to share this link with teachers, students, or anyone else who might be interested!)

    R&M Contact Info

    Email works best for most inquiries, but we’re sharing our mobile numbers for use on the day of our visit (or the day before, if need be!). Please do not share with the folks at TMZ.

    The Research Project

    Many thanks to those of you who have agreed to participate in the Busload of Books Tour research project. The data we’ll collect could quantify the positive impact of author/illustrator visits, making it easier to secure funding for future author visits and other literacy programming.

    You and your school will be a part of history!

     

    The following explains the process and outlines the related steps.

    Research Action Item Timeline

    Here’s an at-a-glance timeline of the steps that relate specifically to the research project.

    2-4 weeks in advance of our visit

    • Send research info form and permission forms (either opt-in or opt-out) to parents (one month in advance)
    • Send research info again via email or e-newsletter (two weeks in advance)

    A few days before our visit

    • Conduct student survey #1
    • Conduct teacher survey #1 (the day before or the day of our visit, before the assembly)

    The Day of Our Visit

    • Conduct student survey #2 (the day of our visit, after the assembly)
    • Return first three surveys to research team using the pre-paid shipping box or envelope provided (for schools using paper surveys) (as soon as the surveys are complete)

     

    One month after our visit

    • Conduct student survey #3
    • Conduct teacher survey #2
    • Conduct administrator survey
    • Return all three month-after surveys to research team using the pre-paid shipping box or envelope provided (for schools using paper surveys) (as soon as the surveys are complete)

    Parent/Guardian Information and Consent

    Research Project Info Forms

    The research team has provided two forms that explain the project in straightforward terms—addressing goals, methodology, student privacy, and the potential benefits of the research.

    You may distribute these resources to parents and guardians in whatever form works best for your school—whether on paper, via email, or in your school newsletter.

    Please send out the Research Project Info Sheet approximately one month prior to our visiteither along with or prior to sending the permission forms (see RESEARCH PERMISSION FORMS section below).

    A week or so later, please send out the Research Project FAQ in a different format—perhaps via email or online newsletter—to increase the chances parents will see it and learn about the project.

    About a month before our visit, we’ll send an email reminding you to circulate these forms—along with the forms you’ll be sending to allow parents and guardians to either opt-in or opt-out of their student participating in the research (see RESEARCH PERMISSION FORMS section below). 

    Research Permission Forms

    About a month before our visit, please download, print, and send home either the opt-in or opt-out forms (below)—depending on your school’s or district’s rules or preferences, as indicated in your Intent to Participate Letter).

    The opt-in approach requires parent(s) or guardian(s) to explicitly give their permission before their student may participate in the research.

    The opt-out approach gives parents or guardians the option to exclude their student from participation; absent a response, the assumption is that permission has been tacitly granted.

    Research has shown that the opt-out approach yields a larger and more diverse (racially and socioeconomically) data set. For this reason, opt-out is our research team’s preferred consent method.

    Students will also have the opportunity to opt out of participating in the research if they so choose. Teachers will be provided with a brief script to read to students before they administer the survey. This script will describe, in kid-friendly language, the purpose of the project and how the data will be used.

    Feel free to send the permission forms home with the Research Project Info Sheet if that’s easier, more efficient, or (in your experience) helpful to families to get both at the same time—but please do not send home the permission forms prior to sending the Research Project Info Sheet.

    NOTE THAT THESE FORMS DO NOT NEED TO BE RETURNED TO US OR THE RESEARCH TEAM. Their sole purpose is letting you know which students are eligible to participate. Once the surveys have been completed, you are free to either keep or get rid of the permission forms.

    The Various Surveys

    There are six surveys total (three for students, two for teachers, and one for administrators).

    Depending on your school’s preference, the surveys will be administered either on paper or online using a professional-grade survey software Qualtrics.

    For schools choosing the paper-based approach, the research team will send envelopes containing bundles of surveys for each classroom along with pre-addressed boxes for returning the surveys once they are complete.

    These are the six surveys and when to administer them:

    • Student Survey 1 (a day or two before our visit)
    • Educator Survey 1 (a day or two before our visit)
    • Student Survey 2 (the day of our visit, after our presentation)
    • Student Survey 3 (one month after our visit)
    • Educator Survey 2 (one month after our visit
    • Administrator Survey (one month after our visit)
      Please administer this survey to 4-6 key administrators, librarians, media specialists, literacy specialists, and other Title 1 professionals who provide school-wide services.

    How to administer the surveys:

    Before Robbi and Matthew’s Visit: students and teachers should complete their pre-visit survey. The best time to do this would be in the day or two before the visit—or prior to the assembly on the day of the visit.

    After Robbi and Matthew’s Visit: students should complete their post-visit survey. The best time to do this would be immediately after the assembly or the following day.

    FOR SCHOOLS USING ONLINE SURVEYS
    One week prior to Robbi and Matthew’s visit, we will send an email that includes two links: one for teachers, and one for students. Teachers and students will use the same link every time they complete a survey.

    FOR SCHOOLS USING PAPER-BASED SURVEYS
    The research team will send your school a package that includes one envelope of paper surveys for each classroom. These envelopes will contain everything your teachers will need to administer the pre- and post-visit surveys, including:

    • A consent form and pre-visit survey for participating classroom teachers and instructional aids
    • An information sheet and script for teachers that provides instructions and information on the student survey administration process
    • Pre-visit student surveys printed on GREEN paper
    • Post-presentation student surveys printed on YELLOW paper
    • One-month-post-visit student surveys printed on PINK paper

    Once the surveys are complete, teachers should return all surveys to the envelope in which they arrived. It’s critical that all papers stay together in one classroom group. This makes it possible for us to measure change over time, which is our key research question. Once all of the envelopes have been collected, your school will ship them back to the research team in one box using the pre-paid shipping provided.

     

    Research Project Web Page

    We’ve put together an overview page you can share with anyone who is asking questions about why we’re doing the research, how it will work, and what the positive impact could be. It also includes bios and photos of the research team, who are wonderful, interesting, kind folks—and almost all of whom are former elementary educators! Feel free to contact the research team with any questions.

    All the Forms and Documents, All in One Place!

    Our Endless Gratitude

    We know how much time, work, effort, and energy it takes to host us! We can’t thank you enough for your willingness to take it on. In turn, we will do our best to provide a fun, engaging, memorable experience—one that, with any luck, will leave a lasting impression on your community and inspire your students to read, write, draw, and recognize their own extraordinary capacity.

    The latest on Instagram:

    The Daily Minute: 11.28.23
    In which Robbi lets us peek into her process, which no longer includes great heaps of sugary snacks.
    ...

    26 0

    The Daily Minute: 11.27.23
    In which Robbi will be drawing all night on a deadline, and Matthew is heading to the sleeping loft.
    ...

    37 5

    Slow start over here this morning. ...

    36 0

    The Daily Minute: 11.16.23
    In which we take a soggy tromp through Tilghman Neck.
    ...

    38 1

    Whoever you are, take your seat on the bus!

    Our adventure is your adventure. Our country is your country, too. Follow along with us!