By Ainsley Hall
SPRING MILLS — Kelly Gray, a pre-K special education teacher at Spring Mills High School and local author, recently released her first book written for adults.
“Miss. Kelly’s Whimsical Pre-K Classroom Vol. 1” talks about some of the fun projects and lessons she has done with her class and teaches others how they can do it themselves.
Gray has written nine children’s stories, many of which focus on her cat, Delilah, and her adventures. This year, she decided to try something new by sharing how she transforms her classroom and makes class fun every day for her students.
Throughout the school year, Gray wears an apron that matches her theme of the day and transports kids to places all over the world.
“Nothing is normal in my classroom,” Gray said. “It’s my dream for kids to experience something magical, and so, I try to create that in my classroom. It also helps them to not be afraid and feel more comfortable while they are away from their parents.”
Just recently, Gray transformed her classroom into a safari, with animals all over walls and even hanging from the ceiling. She’s also taken her students to London and Yellowstone Park, where she recreated the stone arches. Gray even talked about how she keeps a box in the teachers lounge, where she collects cardboard and other trash to use for her projects.
Gray is passionate about teaching and having teachers support each other. She works alongside other pre-K teachers and teacher’s assistants in the county, who do their best to work together and find ideas to help their students.
It’s this passion that led her to compile all her projects so that she can inspire other educators.
“I want to get teachers excited again,” Gray said. “Sometimes they come out of their classrooms very sullen, and I understand that it can be hard. But I want to try to remind them to get excited, because then, the students will be excited, too.”
Gray has a lot of ideas for her classroom and her books — so many in fact, that she had to make “Miss. Kelly’s Whimsical Pre-K Classroom” into two books. Volume 2 comes out in July, and Gray hopes teachers everywhere will feel inspired to try something new in their classrooms.
Gray is currently working on a book about a dog, retellings of classic children’s books and a Christmas-themed book to come out later this year. To learn more about Gray’s work, visit the Barnes and Noble website and search for her author name — Kelly Ann Serdynski.