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! 

Fresh Page

If there’s one thing I know about creating, it’s that each fresh page has hope in it. 

I like to think that each day on this planet is a fresh page, 

and every day we get to make our own mark on it. 

The more bright, beautiful marks we make, 

the more we inspire others to do the same.

Yes, times are scary. 

Those of us with small incomes, small makers, small businesses, 

(anxiously awaiting the publication of our first books, etc), 

these times will affect us in big ways.

 

But here we are. 

And today is waiting. 

A fresh page. 

With hope in it.  

Waiting to see what we’re going to do with it. 

 

Let’s do it, friends. 

Let’s paint up every single page we get 

with our best, most unique, most generous work. 

I can’t promise it won’t be hard or scary. 

But we can hold on to Light and Love 

and everything that’s good. 

And send our own expressions of it into the world.