As a fun creative break from our hectic schedule, my husband Pete and I have both taken up the Inktober art challenge this month.

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.

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.

Here are two paragraphs I sometimes give my students to compare . . .

A friend just told me about this app recently because it reminded her of my writing workshops, and I love it!

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

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) …

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).

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.

Whether or not you've read Miss Rumphius (and I hope you do, immediately), you can put her challenge into action this week.

In Henry and the Chalk Dragon, Jade Longswallow tells Henry and Oscar that she will be their bard during their adventures. A bard is a poet who recites or sings poems in praise of a hero’s brave deeds.

What stories do you love so much that they're always swirling around in your imagination? What books do you wish you had written? What author do you most want to be like?

What is your family's code of chivalry? What is your definition of nobility and honor? What rules shape your life together and guide how you treat each other and other people?

The idea for my first novel, The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, came to me when I was on a hiking adventure in England.

Let your imaginations loose and be a family of crazy inventors this week! No actual hammers, wires, or test tubes necessary. These inventions are entirely imaginary.

I’ve been in a tempest of lesson planning for summer camps, library workshops, and online classes.