As a fun creative break from our hectic schedule, my husband Pete and I have both taken up the Inktober art challenge this month.
Read moreGet Creative: Naming Houses
My husband and I have just returned from two and a half weeks in England, and one of the things we most loved there were the names of places.
Read moreGet Creative: Good, True, and Beautiful
In The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt, the Prime Minister is writing a new dictionary in which words are defined by the best example that illustrates their meaning.
Read moreGet Creative: Write with Your Nose
Here are two paragraphs I sometimes give my students to compare . . .
Read moreGet Creative: Random Word Doodles
A friend just told me about this app recently because it reminded her of my writing workshops, and I love it!
Read moreGet Creative: Just So Stories
Last week I wrapped up a year-long local writing class, and as I was thinking back over all the stories the kids wrote for me this past year, the ones that stood out the most were their Just So stories
Read moreGet Creative: Characters and Perspectives
Are you reading aloud as a family? This week, as you're reading, each person should choose one of the minor characters in the book (not the main character) …
Read moreGet Creative: Playful Poetry
Here's a playful poetry prompt for you this week:
1. Pick the book nearest to you, turn to page 27, and write down the third word on the page (not counting the, a, an, and, or but).
Get Creative: Acrostic Poems
The poems in The Lost Words (read about the book here) are acrostics – the first letters of each line spell a word, in this case whatever bird or animal or tree or flower is the subject of that poem, the "lost" word the poet wants children to rediscover.
Read moreGet Creative: Make the World Beautiful
Whether or not you've read Miss Rumphius (and I hope you do, immediately), you can put her challenge into action this week.
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