Every Wednesday our creative writing prompt challenges you to pick up your pen and indulge your author self! This week, make someone you love a poem for Valentine's Day! Use metaphors and similes like: "I love you like I love warm socks straight from the dryer" or "You are the cherry on top of my ice cream sundae." Here are some images to help inspire you!
Want to meet some of the talented teachers inspiring our students everyday? This month we're featuring our very own Lisa Barratt!
Name: Lisa Barratt
Currently working at: The Bentley School, The Crowden School
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
What’s your favorite bookstore? WH Smith in Paris, France
What’s your favorite VERB? Dance
If your life was a book, what would be the title? My Momma Wears Point Shoes and Other Stories From A Trailing Spouse
Did anyone inspire you to be a teacher? How? My students inspire me everyday. Together we explore other writers, take risks and develop our own skills as authors.
Every Wednesday our creative writing prompt challenges you to pick up your pen and indulge your author self! What would a musical world look like? Full of stairs that played like piano keys and telephone lines that strung like the strings of a harp? Write about the sounds you would encounter and the music you would make throughout your day!
From bedtime stories to beliefs, check out the poems and tales concocted by our class at The Booksmith in San Francisco this Fall! From her Bedtime Story:
Kings, queens, princes, princesses, emperors and empresses came from playgrounds far and wide, from playground Calldia to playground Zngwillia. It was amazing. Even Princess Ellsia from the park of Blaziall, the playground of playgrounds, was there.
-Lainey
From “This I Used To Believe”:
I used to believe that… tooth fairies were real. I grew up. Now I think that it is my mom, dad or grandparents. I used to tell my mom and dad in the morning that I got money from the Tooth Fairy! My mom and dad just congratulated me. Now I think that the Tooth Fairy is fake. My sister still believes that the Tooth Fairy is real, but I can understand that because she is only 5 years old.
-Sequoia
From "My Name Is":
My name is made from something that disappears easily.
I found him in a brain and named him Bob
My name can hide away from people, hatred, want and life.
If I lost my name he would flinch, cry and weaken. I will find him again and he will renew.
-Sabrina
From "My Name Is":
My name came from mischief. My mom and dad got the name from a movie. The movie is Milo and Otis.
-Milo
From "This I believe":
I believe that ghosts exist. I believe that spirits exist. I don’t believe that when there’s darkness it’s harmless.
-Alex
Every Wednesday our creative writing prompt challenges you to pick up your pen and indulge your author self!
Imagine the moon has been knocked out of the sky, tumbled down to Earth and landed in your backyard. Write a short story about the moon's descent, the world's reaction, what you discover, and more!
Many of the students who enroll in our classes start out the session with big doubts. They doubt they will ever like what comes out of their pencils, that they will ever want anyone else to hear what they’ve written and that they will ever, ever like writing.
We’re happy to say that we specialize in converting reluctant writers into enthusiastic ones. When parents contact us wondering if their kid, the one who runs away screaming whenever he has to write, will survive our class, we can point to our impressive track record of converts and encourage them to sign up and see what happens. We promise we’ll refund them their money if their child is miserable and in 8 years we’ve never had to make good on that promise!
How do we do it?
- It’s our philosophy that when their imaginations are engaged, kids are more enthusiastic about learning.
- It’s our belief that every child deserves to be heard and at the beginning of each session we tell them that. Once they’re convinced we mean it, they take us up on our offer and dive into creating stories and poems, trying new techniques, learning new terms and sharing what they’ve learned and written with the rest of the class.
- Writing is a bold, creative act. It’s fun and there are no wrong answers. Kids are inherently imaginative creatures and with a little encouragement and guidance, they can tap into a well-spring of ideas in no time!
Even kids who cannot sit down long enough to write a paragraph, or are English language learners can feel successful in our classes. We encourage them to tell us their stories verbally and we write them down. Just seeing their words on the paper works wonders for their self-esteem.
If there’s a young (would-be) writer in your life who’s dead set against doing writing assignments and complains they can’t think of anything to write, don’t give up on them! Hiding beneath her negative attitude and recalcitrance is an expressive, original voice that with a little coaxing will come roaring out!
-Sondra HallFounder and Director, "Take My Word For It!"