Creative Learning, Part 2: Family Story Journal

Friends with kids at home, I thought I’d share our latest creative learning project. 

It’s a Found Story Journal for the whole family. 

The rules are: 

• The journal gets left on the table along with pens and story aids. (More on those in a minute.) 
• The writing has to be done in secret. 
• We have to be sneaky! We can only write in it when no one else is watching. 
• Only 1 celebrity /pop star cameo per story. 
• Each entry continues from the previous one.     
• Each entry keeps to one page or less.

Our story aids:

These help if anyone gets stuck and needs an idea boost. 

*STORY CARDS: They’re made by Eeboo, & illustrated by Stephanie Graegin, (author-illustrator of LITTLE FOX IN THE FOREST and FERN AND OTTO (publishing later this year).

*STORY CUBES are a fun and tactile way to provoke ideas. They're called Rory's Story Cubes.  

If you don’t have something like the cards or the dice, not to worry! 

*STORY IDEA JARS are a longtime favorite.

 

The WORD JAR keeps scraps of paper with random words on them. 

The STORY SPARKS JAR holds phrases like “locked in a cage,” “a door to nowhere,” “the boat with a hole in the bottom,” “a mermaid with wings.” 

It took like five minutes to write a list, cut it up and stick in jars.

Times are rough, kids have homework, but creativity and writing can always bring some joy.

Wish us luck! 

My entire life is about sneaking in art and stories into all the rest of life. 

If I could illustrate my taxes, I SO would. 

Anyway, I hope this idea will be a fun one for my family - and for yours! 

If you try it, will you share how it went with me? 

Tag me in your photos so I can share, too.  

Peace, friends! 

Here’s to all the good stories that await! 

SNAIL MAIL AUTHOR LETTERS

Hello lovelies. 

Many of you are home with kids due to the current world health pandemic. {That is a sentence I never thought I'd write. }

But here we are, facing fear with courage and creativity. And in that light, I would like to offer some ideas. 

I got to homeschool my kids for four sweet years. 

During that time, we enjoyed heaps of knee-deep creative learning. 

In case it helps anyone who suddenly has a houseful, 

I thought I'd share some favorite creative learning projects with you over the next few days.

SNAIL MAIL AUTHOR LETTER PROJECT

One of our favorites was when we tried to write 100 letters to children's book authors & illustrators. Life jumped in and we only managed about 35 or 40 letters, but many authors wrote back & won fans for life! 

Some authors sent bookmarks and "swag." 
Some drew the kids beautiful pictures. 


Thank you Nina Laden!Thank you, Dana Sullivan!

Our very dear Kim Baker sent my girl Winnie a PICKLE t-shirt. Swoon!
 Rayna received a package from author-illustrator Evan Turk that had two of his books in it!
 

  This project incorporates:

• LITERACY (read an author's book)
• CRITICAL THINKING (What questions do you have for the author or illustrator after reading it? What do you wonder about? What connections do you have with the author or book that you can share?)
• RESEARCH (google author & hunt down a mailing address - or mail to the author c/o the publisher address)
• WRITING (How to write a letter is a helpful thing to learn! We always did a rough draft, edits, final draft)
• ART (I always had the kids add an illustration inspired by the author's book)

Stay tuned for more homebound learning ideas over the next few days!

Book Club for Two

I love my small one.

She sparkles. 
She is bursting with ideas.

When she wants something, she tries to make it for herself:
Cell phone. Laptop. Stilts.


This girl is going places.
And she loves to read!

But she's been struggling in math.
Her teachers decided the best way to help
is to pull her out of Book Club for extra math help.

I know she needs it.
I know it's a good thing, but, oh, the sting!

Friends, have you ever been there?  

Here's our silver lining.

Over the winter break, Birdy picked up her sisters' Wells and Wong book by Robin Stevens
and started reading.

She didn't put it down! She kept telling me,

"Mama, I really like this book." 

"Mama, I love this book!"

So I had an idea.
We're making our own Mom-Daughter Mystery Book Club.
Just us.
And siblings, if they want to.

I bought a stack of Wells and Wong books.

I stocked her with a notebook and sticky notes and question prompts.

Now we can infer and predict and monitor for meaning,

or we can just cuddle up in our pajamas
and read.

Here's to making our own silver linings.

Have you ever done a Parent-Kid Book Club? 

I'd love suggestions!

Our first BOOK CLUB list:

{by Robin Stevens, American editions, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddely}

Murder is Bad Manners

Poison is Not Polite

First Class Murder

Jolly Foul Play

Mistletoe and Murder

School's out!

Goodnight, pencil jars. 

Goodnight, lunchboxes. 

 School's out!

Hello, sunshine books.

Hello, swing seats. 

Hello, sandy feet. 

Summer is in session!

Summery reads:

 

   

 Sam and Jump by Jennifer K. Mann
A Beach Tail by Karen Lynna Williams, ill. by Floyd Cooper
Listen to Our World by Bill Martin Jr & Michael Sampson, ill. by Melissa Sweet
Surf's Up by Kwame Alexander, ill. by Daniel Miyares
Ocean Sunlight by Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm
Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin

Poet Tree

Apparently, it's Poetry Month.

Only, I've been a little distracted.
I skipped off to the city
for my local SCBWI meeting -
an art show,
a lecture from book-wise and witty
editors Mary Kate Castellani and Caroline Abbey,
and then a consultation and workshop with
art director, professor, and story genius Joy Chu.

This is the same Joy who guided me over the last two winters
in visual storytelling classes through the UCSD online extension program.

I'm still reeling with inspiration.
I could have listened for days. Months. Years.

Now I'm home, all bright and hopeful,
waiting for my brain to shape so many beautiful tips
and ideas into working order.
Time to let the front thoughts simmer.  
Time to play with poetry.

We started with a poet-tree.

The wildebeests and I cut out branchy trees and labeled each branch with simple word:
sky, go, sea, etc.
 
Next, we cut out dozens of leaves - in all flutters of color,
because it just looks more exciting that way.

Each branch grew rhyming leaf words:
sky = cry, my, pie, etc.


Because we like to make life even more thrilling, and sometimes complicated,
I thought it might be fun for the older wildebeests to thread their leaves on yarn.


Winnie added a button.


Pip used gold pen. She's really into gel pens lately.

And their finished masterpieces.

I'd love to meet a tree like this someday, shimmering with colors, yarns, and words!
I think I'd move in.


I'll share more poetry play next time.

Until then, here are a few favorites:

A Kick in the Head, An Every Day Guide to Poetic Forms - compiled by Paul Janeczko, ill. by Chris Raschka

The Random House Book of Poetry - edited by Jack Prelutsky, ill. by Arnold Lobel

Switching on the Moon - collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Peters, ill. by G. Brian Karas

Chicken Soup With Rice - by Maurice Sendak

When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne, ill. by Ernest Shepard

Now We Are Six By A.A. Milne, ill. by Ernest Shepard