As a child, Steuart W. Weller Elementary School kindergarten teacher Amy Frenck filled notebooks with tales and drawings, dreaming of one day publishing her own book. Since 2013, Frenck has been a kindergarten teacher, guiding young students through their first year of elementary school. Two years ago, Frenck’s two loves–teaching and writing–came together as she published her first book. Now, the enthusiasm of her students inspires her to continue to write and share her stories.
Frenck’s journey as an author started a couple of years ago when she created a vision board that included her long-time dream to publish a book. That dream turned into Gary O’Harey: I Will Not Eat a Carrot, a story about a rabbit with a picky palate.
When Frenck read the story to her class, “I was blown away by their reaction,” said Frenck. “They saw my name on the book and realized that their teacher had written a book. They wanted to check the book out of the library. They told their parents about it, who asked how to get a copy. Their enthusiasm inspired me to write more. So, I started writing stories about the little moments that happened in our classroom.”
Frenck went on to write a story sock snowmen who come to life and a keepsake book capturing special class moments. Her newest book, Welcome to Kindergarten: A Special Book to Start Your Year, helps students get ready for kindergarten, sharing all of the great learning that will happen in their first year of elementary school.
Frenck said that the best part of this new adventure is seeing her students become excited about reading and writing. She’s watched her students fold paper into booklets, add illustrations to their stories and dive into storytelling.
“I noticed that my students started writing stories too. This experience is encouraging them to love reading and to love writing, and that is so cool,” said Frenck.
Frenck said that she hopes to continue to write and share her stories. “It’s brought me so much joy, especially seeing how much it has inspired my students to love reading and writing.”