Steamboat Pilot & Today

Hayden — He rides a Harley Davidson and sports a goatee, but that's not how he captivates a room full of children.

It's Justin Matott's creative writing and youthful enthusiasm that mesmerize elementary school students, and those skills were on full display Tuesday at Hayden Valley Elementary School.

Matott, a best-selling author of adult and children's books, spent Tuesday entertaining -- and educating -- Hayden youngsters. He visited Yampa Elementary Monday.

After two morning assemblies filled with storytelling and a behind-the-scenes look into a couple of his more popular books, Matott conducted creative writing workshops with the school's third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classes.

"My goal is to inspire the kids who like to write and to try to find the kids who don't like to write and give them a new perspective," Matott said. "I think a lot of kids get the impression that writers are geeks."

During the workshops, Matott discussed the main elements of a story and let each group of students develop their own ideas.

Using a worksheet to help build story ideas, the fourth-grade students came up with some creative characters for their story -- a peg-legged, talking peanut, a purple and blue mouse named Umm and 2-inch, wart-covered Colored Goblet.

"Isn't it wonderful that we get to decide what to do with our characters?" Matott asked the fourth-graders. "It's like we get to move the world."

Matott helped the children develop plot lines for their creative story and let them break into groups to come up with exciting verbs for the story.

All the while, his sense of humor and enthusiastic personality kept the interest of the students.

Not only did the students learn from Matott's presentation, but they also had fun in the process.

"It was a lot and a lot of help," fourth-grader Ryan Romine said. "And it was pretty neat. I really think he expressed the characters well."

Teachers appreciated the workshops, too.

"Stories are very challenging," fourth-grade teacher Laura LeBrun said. "For (the students) to see how much fun it is to put a story together, it's really exciting."

"They need to meet real writers," she said. "I think they don't always realize authors are actual people, and that the process is difficult for good authors, too."

Matott, who said he's visited more than 200 schools since he was first published as a writer, relishes the opportunity to teach kids -- and learn from them.

"I love it," he said. "I do it three to four times a week. I find that almost every school teaches me something. Kids are great little teachers, and they don't even know it."

It's Justin Matott's creative writing and youthful enthusiasm that mesmerize elementary school students, and those skills were on full display Tuesday at Hayden Valley Elementary School.

Matott, a best-selling author of adult and children's books, spent Tuesday entertaining -- and educating -- Hayden youngsters. He visited Yampa Elementary Monday.

After two morning assemblies filled with storytelling and a behind-the-scenes look into a couple of his more popular books, Matott conducted creative writing workshops with the school's third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classes.

"My goal is to inspire the kids who like to write and to try to find the kids who don't like to write and give them a new perspective," Matott said. "I think a lot of kids get the impression that writers are geeks."

During the workshops, Matott discussed the main elements of a story and let each group of students develop their own ideas.

Using a worksheet to help build story ideas, the fourth-grade students came up with some creative characters for their story -- a peg-legged, talking peanut, a purple and blue mouse named Umm and 2-inch, wart-covered Colored Goblet.

"Isn't it wonderful that we get to decide what to do with our characters?" Matott asked the fourth-graders. "It's like we get to move the world."

Matott helped the children develop plot lines for their creative story and let them break into groups to come up with exciting verbs for the story.

All the while, his sense of humor and enthusiastic personality kept the interest of the students.

Not only did the students learn from Matott's presentation, but they also had fun in the process.

"It was a lot and a lot of help," fourth-grader Ryan Romine said. "And it was pretty neat. I really think he expressed the characters well."

Teachers appreciated the workshops, too.

"Stories are very challenging," fourth-grade teacher Laura LeBrun said. "For (the students) to see how much fun it is to put a story together, it's really exciting."

"They need to meet real writers," she said. "I think they don't always realize authors are actual people, and that the process is difficult for good authors, too."

Matott, who said he's visited more than 200 schools since he was first published as a writer, relishes the opportunity to teach kids -- and learn from them.

"I love it," he said. "I do it three to four times a week. I find that almost every school teaches me something. Kids are great little teachers, and they don't even know it."