"Snow crunched under my feet." "My eyes darted back and forth." "An owl hooted." "Goosebumps rose on my skin."

            This is how 5^th graders in Mrs. Harken"s class described their senses in a scene about a "moose in the dark."

            Susan Clymer, children"s author spent last week with OTES 3^rd and 5^th graders teaching them how to write narratives and fiction and fantasy. For the narratives, Clymer encouraged the students to stick to topics that they knew or that had happened to them and to keep the topic narrow so they could easily remember it and describe it.

            Once the students decided on their subject they were asked to describe their five senses and their body reactions

            Clymer has 11 children"s books published, including three mysteries in the Animals in Room 202 Quartet: There's a Hamster in My Lunchbox; There's a Tarantula in My Homework; and There's a Frog in My Sleeping Bag.

            Deb Brady, library media specialist at OTES, wrote a grant to the Blue Valley Educational Foundation. BVEF facilitated funding by Harvey Bodker and CommunityAmerica Credit Union.