"Take My Word For It!" - creative writing for kids

Check Out These Creative Writing Samples from Our Chabot Class!

Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.

Here are some writing excerpts from our young authors (and some of their parents!) at Chabot Elementary's Spring reading:

 

By Helen

Prompt: This I Believe...

 

By Tess

Prompt: You are home by yourself. The postman comes to the door to deliver a package. It's a large box wrapped in brown paper and says in big black letters, Caution: Content Dangerous.

 

By Grace

Prompt: You are home by yourself. The postman comes to the door to deliver a package. It's a large box wrapped in brown paper and says in big black letters, Caution: Content Dangerous.

 

Then, both the kids AND their parents were asked to form a story starting with "Just then..." and using the characters George, Charlie, Greg, Obama, and Dr. Bob Shishkabob.

See what they came up with!

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: Miraloma Day 4

Today we discussed the relationship between dreams and creation myths, focusing specifically Aboriginal and Native American cultures. Students watched a video, read explanations of the myths and then discussed them before writing their own myths. While they were very proud of their work, many were reticent to share them on the blog today because a number of them will be reading these pieces at the reading/exhibition tomorrow afternoon. These excerpts were taken directly from the dream journals of three students:  

Titus

I was sleeping in my bed in my dream and I don’t really know how this happened, but in my dream, I dreamed that I fell off my bed and that everything started spinning. 

I was Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We were fighting the Triceratons (which are basically Triceratops on tow feet). We were trying to defeat their imaginary leader, Traximus.

 

Elizabeth

Monday night I dreamt that I called up my friends and the next day me and my six friends rode to Stonestown Galleria for free ice cream. It was Alessandra, Sohila, Riong, Faith, Praise and Michelle. On the way back, we got eaten by a cabbage. Too bad for him, we ate our way out. Next, we were surrounded by carrots. We also ate them up. Next were squashes. They exploded on us then we were gunked with squash juice. We turned around and headed out the other way and everyone slept over at my house. The next morning, I saw a thing that had donkey legs and a tail, an eggplant head, a cabbage body, a carrot neck and olive eyes. Then I woke up.

Calla

I dreamed that I was frozen in a giant cube of Jello and I could not get out. Then my brothers, Jonas and Jasper were going to eat me and the Jello, but the Jello wasn’t locked, so I got out and became a giant. 

I dreamed that I was in my house and three giant furry monsters were playing cards.

In the afternoon we talked about Aborigine dreams and looked at examples of their traditional dot art. We sketched  ideas and then each student painted a piece depicting a favorite animal:

Isabella did a jellyfish, Madeline did a tiger, Emily painted a dolphin, Calla a spiral/snake, Emil a dragonfly, Elizabeth did a polar bear, Emogene painted a turtle, Eli a panther, Titus did a lizard and other animal, and Junior painted an entwined snake and lizard. The results are awesome!

 

Where would you go with this? Creative writing prompt

Our challenge to you is to look at the photographs we post and see where they may take you, and your pen.

Let your imagination wander freely! And, please feel free to share comments you have, or stories, poems, musings that were spurred on by this week's photo.

Happy writing!

 

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: Miraloma Day 3

Here are some of the beautiful writing samples from camp yesterdays morning!

Eli

(Pencil Dream. Personification Exercise.)

If a pencil had a dream it would probably be of drawing because that is what they do best. If I were a pencil I would have a dream about being a pencil and being a pencil is quite easy because you just stand there and do nothing at all, but, if someone picks you up you will start drawing and you will draw a picture of a plane or a car or a grinder and lots of things. If a pencil has a nightmare, it would probably dream of getting its tip broken or not being able to draw.

 

Choochie

(Excerpt from exercise in which the students attempted to write stories that bore no resemblance to reality.)

There I was, lying in my bed, thinking about how normal my life was as Catherine Davis. I wanted something different to happen. I got out of bed to take a shower and go to school. As I looked in the mirror, it turned red and orange and spun and sucked me into a different dimension where I was a fairy and giants were going through the portal. I tried to stop them but they pushed me. A big man fairy told me to go with him and he brought me to a little tree that was hollow.

 

Titus

(Pencil Dream. Personification Exercise.)

1. If a pencil had a dream it would probably be about dreaming of how many times t got sharpened in one day or being back at the store. Maybe being a pen.

2. The pencil dreamed about being back at the store in a box with all of his pencil friends. He broke out and tried to leave but a little kid found him and left the store with him in his pocket.

 

Elizabeth

(Spaghetti Nightmare. Personification exercise.)

I’m spaghetti and I have nightmares. Nightmares that are strong. I’m put in a pot with boiling water, wishing I had a flight gear, a flight gear to fly out of the pot. I’m afraid that it will kill me by cooking, cooking in a pot that’s nice and hot. But once I’m taken out of the package, I want to scream and yell, for I know I’m going to be boiled, boiled on a flaming hot grill.

 
 

Calla

(The Glasses Dream. Personification)

One night I dreamed that my owner was going to run in a race. At the race, he started to run and at the middle, I fell off and he stepped on me and I went flying to the middle of the ocean. A shark ate me. Inside the shark’s belly, it was slimy. Then I found another pair of glasses that pointed its wand at me and said, “Reparo.” I was repaired! Then me and the other pair of glasses swam out of the shark’s belly. 

 

Madeline

(Pencil Dream. Personification)

My widdle wondwing pencil

Patted on his toes

Then he gave a sniffle all the

Way through his nose

Then he wrote

(I’m very glad) and this is how it goes:

Last night I tried to sleep

I even counted sheep

I also ate some meat

But I knew I couldn’t sleep.

I wondered why and started to sigh

I’ll just clean my seam, then I thought, I know

I MUST DREAM!

I sat in my case and

Began to change

My Hobbit inside of a globbit

And I knew I just had a dream!

Now it may seem

That I am starting to gleem because

Now I’ve had a dream.

 

Anonymous

(My dream)

I was flying over the ocean. The moon shone over the ocean. The stars twinkled lazily. I dived down, down, through the clouds in the starry sky and glided, arms outstretched, into the ocean. Silence… deep, utter, thorough silence… I saw the stars in the sky blinking, the moon smiling… as I drifted down they faded, went out. Darkness. Darkness surrounding me as I drifted down, down…into nothingness.

Later, we finished our surreal paintings and added "something" behind the door- you'll find out what on Friday! 

 

We talked about how our thoughts and activities are often recycled in our dreams and using recycled materials each student created a sculpture of a character, animal or imaginary creation. Students used glue, tape, glue guns etc. and many chose to paint all or part of their sculpture. 

 

Afterwards each student sketched their sculpture, named it and described it in their sketchbook.

The Oracle of Stamboul: a Book Published by Our Very Own Michael David Lukas!

Some of our kids can now officially brag that they have taken a creative writing class with a real published author. Not only that, but a great one!

Congratulations to our instructor Michael David Lukas on the continuous success of your new book, The Oracle of Stamboul, which published in February of this year.

The Oracle of Stamboul is a historical novel about a preternaturally intelligent little girl who becomes an advisor to the Ottoman sultan and, through her advice to him, changes the course of history. It is the story of an eight year-old orphan who pushed back against the tides of history and changes their direction. Influenced by Charles Dickens, Roald Dahl, Italo Calvino, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Oracle of Stamboul is an evocative, magical historical novel that will transport readers to another time and place--romantic, exotic, yet remarkably similar to our own.

Michael says that working with kids inspired him throughout his writing. Read his story in Publisher's Weekly. 

To read an excerpt of the book, see some of the glowing reviews, and learn more about Michael, visit Michael's website.

Michael is still very dedicated to his work with students at "Take My Word For It!" We feel privileged to have such a star on our team!

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: Lafayette Day 3

Today we wrote a Dream World Story in which anything was possible (unlike in the real world) and personified objects by writing dreams or nightmares that object had. Then we made it into a comic strip!

Check it out!

 

Andy from his Dream World Story:

She replaced the toothpaste with a brown polish and when Justin squirted it the brown polish came out but Justin didn’t notice and started brushing his teeth and in one second he said, “What the BEEP!”

Andy's comic of the banana's dream:

   

 

Ruby personifying a cup:

Someone was just careless and dumped salsa and avocado in me.

 


Suah- from her Dream World Story:

Then I came across a giant door floating in the air.

 

SJ personifying a lightbulb:

One day my human owner went to Korea for two months.

 


Genie from her Dream World story:

With the monkeys on your back, you and your friend stretch out your pearl white wings and when nobody is looking you fly up into the sky.

 

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: Lafayette Day 2

Take a look at some of the outstanding work our students did yesterday at our camp in Lafayette!

Our theme for the week is Dreams. This writing is from a writing activity where the kids imagined (daydreamed) a walk through the forest where they find a key, a cup, a meadow, a dwelling, etc. The way they describe each thing they find tells us something symbolic about them, as symbols in our night time dreams do.

The books they're holding are their writing journals that they collaged and made into their personal dream journal.

 

Andrew describing “the path”:

I saw a green bumpy path and walked on it, but it moved! It was a gator!

 

 

 

 

Suah describing “the cup”:

Later along the path I find a cup. Not plastic, but metal. It had these beautiful designs that made the cup look like it was an ancient piece of artwork.

 

 

Betsy describing “the cup”:

I see a cup. The sort of cup that they would serve at a rundown bar at the corner of town.

 

 

 

Genie describing “the meadow”:

I walk into the meadow, pick some flowers, and trudge along my way, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a golden key and cup in the other.

 

 

Seung-ju describing “the key”:

And on the path there is a key to a door. It is golden and has a symbol of a tree.

 

 

 

Ruby describing “the cup”:

I see something sparkling glass. It is covered in dirt and moss.

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: Miraloma Day 2

Yesterday morning, on Day 2, we kids continued to write tirelessly about dreams - no pun intended :)

This time see some of our students "dreams for the world":

 

By Emogene

My dream for the world is that people will not litter.

 

By Junior

I wish I could help people in cancer. I want to help my friend Miles end his cancer because he is very talented and he is the only one in the school that can do the splits and because he is only eight.

 

By Choochie (Naomi)

My dream for the world is that there is world peace because war is causing a bad influence on children and destroying the world. I also want global warming to stop so the animals in Antarctica will have a place to live. I also want the doctors to find a cure to AIDS, cancer and diabetes. I also want everyone in the world to be happy and no people to get discriminated against for their color or their size.

 

The following are some samples from our exercise designed to illuminate personality traits:

 

By Madeline

The glistening leaves shown on display by the old pine trees while I walked through the clan of trees taller than my wonders of how many trees there could be. I heard some rustling, then a quiet breeze and I saw a crack of sunlight escaping through the branches of the forest. The sunlight touched down on a small rocky path with dirt sprinkled on top of the rocky road. The path seemed to go on and on through the forest and out into the middle of nowhere. Suddenly I tripped and right in front of me I saw and old rusty key. I picked it up and stuffed it into my jean pocket.

 

By Isabella

It is a dark dense forest with big great green pine trees. It is misty and cold and the birds are no longer singing their melody. It smells of water because there are dewdrops on the blades of grass underneath your feet. Now the owls are waking and swooping around you, looking for mice! Now you follow an owl and it leads you to a path. The path is dirt and looks as if no one has used it for years. Weeds are sprouting up and there are puddles in the dirt making cold soft mud. It curves around the forest like a snake so you can no longer see it.

 

By Emily

If I were in a forest I would hear birds, all different kinds of birds chirping. I would smell wet leaves and dry dirt. I would feel wet leaves and soft animals. I would see all different greens and different flowers, different animals. I found myself walking on a path. The path had big flat stones in the dirt. As I walked along, I wondered to myself: this path looks manmade. I wonder who made this path. Just then my eye fell upon something shiny. It was a key. The key didn’t look like a house key; it looked like an old fashioned key. I decided to pick it up.

 

Then, after lunch, we talked about Surrealism and how artists channel dreams and symbols. We looked at examples of a game surrealists  played called "Exquisite Corpses" where one person draws a head, folds over the paper and passes it to the next person to draw a torso etc. We had a great time seeing the results of our group drawings and decided to draw another round! You'll see our results on Friday. For our next project we talked about symbols that the students used in a morning writing exercise and drew and painted a surrealist painting that included a key and a door. We cut out the door image so it "hinged" and tomorrow each student will draw or write something to put behind the door.

After a HOT Monday, all of us enjoyed the cool breeze on Tuesday and took a few breaks between projects for outside activity in the wonderful playground.

 

Keep checking back for more updates on our wild summer adventures!

Why Not Write Wednesdays? Creative Writing Prompt

Some Wednesdays we challenge you to pick up your pen and indulge your budding author self with our writing activity. See where your imagination takes you, and feel free to share your ideas in the Comment section!

Here's one to try:

Ever wished you had all the money in the world? Pretend you just won a million dollars. Write about what you would do with it! Here's a start: "I can now officially call myself a young millionaire because..."

Summer Camp 2011 - Daily Diary: Miraloma Day 1

Hello parents!

This blog is to keep you informed about what's going on in camp - because, as we all have experienced, sometimes our kids don't tell us very much about what they did all day!

As I think most of you know, the theme of the week is "Dream It Up," where we will be swimming around in our imaginations, dipping into our dreams, and then picking up a paintbrush and pen to record what we find.

 

We had a blast at camp yesterday! Take a look at some of the great pics we got, and a few writing samples below:

 

 

Writing:

Below see Naomi and Calla's dreams/nightmares and Elizabeth's dream for herself...

By Coochie (Naomi)

My family took me to Palm Springs. When we got back, we visited my aunt, Rita. Then my parents left me and my sister, went home and adopted two more kids. Then my aunt died and we got sent to an orphanage in Japan.

 

By Calla

 

I went to a science museum and I went into a room with three skeletons. One of them was a shark, one of them was an alligator and one of them was a lion. I went into the room and then there was a flood and all of the animals became real. They chased me out of the room. Once I was outside, they turned back into skeletons.

 

By Elizabeth

 

When I grow up I want to be a pastry chef. I want to live in San Francisco and one place I would like to travel to is Spain. For middle school, I want to go to AP Gianene. For high school, I want to go to Lowell. For college, I want to go to UC Santa Cruz.

  

Then, our afternoon of art started with a paint exploration mixing colors, spattering, stamping and rolling paint to create a cover for each student's sketchbook. After the cover was dry each student punched holes in paper securing their sketchbook with a rubber band and a twig. Throughout the week your child will be sketching their ideas. Sewing and stuffing a Dream Pillow with a pocket to for a dream message was our next project. Some of the students completed their pillow and we will have time tomorrow for those that didn't. Students also started a mural that they will add to this week.