Señora McKay Creates Teachable Storybook

Last summer, World Language Department Co-chair and Spanish Instructor Jennifer McKay joined seven other Spanish teachers from across the United States to accompany the founders of the Pulsera Project around Nicaragua. McKay expected this to be an enlightening and exciting professional growth opportunity, as Pulsera has wonderful resources in Spanish for students in grades seven through twelve, even into the AP level. During her visit she noticed that they might benefit from adding some similar materials for the younger language learners.

What McKay did not know at the time was this professional idea would lead her down a path that would also help her achieve a long-time goal of writing a children’s book. It started with a chance encounter with a young brother and his sister, children of a coffee farmer. She became “fast friends” with the children by using simple guessing games and songs to get past basic introductions and learn more childhood and families in this part of the world.

McKay found that these two children evolved as characters in a storybook that she felt compelled to create in order to capture some of her memories of the trip. Upon complimenting an artisan on his brightly colored pulseras, McKay learned that "colors are happiness!" This visual, along with Pulsera's motto to "Color The World," provided a lens for her travel that week. How is happiness defined in this area of the world? As the book evolved, she wove colors, nature, and family to connect with the values that Nicaraguan families hold dear.

She structured the book by using an acrostic poem format and included those values: Peace, Union, Liberty, Dreams, Education, Respect, and Love. In Spanish these words create the acrostic P-U-L-S-E-R-A. McKay has also worked with her co-author and writing partner to write lyrics and music to bring the story to life in a teachable song and with a professional animator and musicians to create video lessons.

McKay shared: “This project has been a labor of love, and it has helped me to truly cherish this school year. I am delighted that the story, song, video, and lesson plans will become a part of the Pulsera Project curriculum available to 3000 schools later this summer.”

Congratulations to McKay for sharing her talents, creativity, and passion in a way that will have a long- lasting and positive impact on learning opportunities for countless students. To learn more about The Pulsera Project, visit www.pulseraproject.org. McKay's "Las Pulseras Que Hace Mi Mamá” animated story and song are expected to be released by September 2018.