Nothing Like Seeing the World through the Eyes of Little Labbers with Big Imaginations. Week Two of Summer Programs are Coming to a Close

Working with 3rd-5th grade writers is simply a tremendous treat. The way they think about the world and the humor that guides them is remarkable. Every task is a welcomed challenge and they have such confidence in what they set out to compose. This is why the Anton exhibit at the Walsh Gallery was such a hit. I took teachers their last week (the pop tart), and this week the teachers brought the kids. You can see the big-eyed happiness for exploring such work...

...we went with a theme of Cooking up Words and the weeks focused on culinary writing experiences (which we'll continue next week with much variation). Many of the kids choose to come back for a second week so I want the experiences to be different. We're tapping the summer Olympics for sure with Recipes for Excellence. 

I enjoyed hearing the young people tell me how much fun they were having and how this is making them writers. I also love hearing the parents tell me that the kids go home and continue to write after dinner. We've been doing this for 13 years...at this point the data seems to lead to consistent findings that what we are doing works. There are a few, of course, that don't jive with the work but I can count those kids on one hand (and zip code demographic of Verooka Saltz-type kids...they made themselves extremely memorable...as do their parents).

Today, the young people display their writing ... novels, poems, drawings, comics, stories, and jokes. We record presentation for the parents, still drawing on the Covid reality of smaller crowds whenever possible. No one likes to get sick.

I'm looking forward to unwinding, however. It's non-stop from sunrise to sunset while all is in action. Weekends I need to recover.

I definitely need to get rest.