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

After-School Student Writing: Thornhill Elementary 2nd & 3rd Grade

Alesia

Exercise: Story Starter: Who and Who? Did what? When?

Funky Chunky Monkey played volleyball with me in my backyard at noon. He came to visit and it turned into a play date. After volleyball we went to the park. We went on the slide and the swings. Then I put him in my pocket to go home and bake cookies.

 

Arianna

What is one of your future goals or dreams?

I want to go to Venezuela because my aunt and uncle live there.  I want to speak Spanish there.

 

 

Ben

Exercise: Write a dream or a nightmare from the perspective of an animal

Grizzly Bear

One day I was looking for food when I slipped on a clear rat…or was it a mouse? Turtle? Cupcake? Wait…It was clear so it was probably a cupcake. No, it’s a water thingamajig! Or…what do they call it? Water funky thing or water glupaja or…water botty! Nah, it’s probably just a water bottle. That’s it! A water bottle! 

 

 

Gulzar

(Spelling intact)

Chloe the buttefly fairy went to her castle after a long fly in the forest with her moth boyfriend Tom. That night she dreamed about an evil fox coming to eat her and Tom saving her. When she woke up shd usual breakfast nector ceral with flowers on the side. When she went out side to see Tom on his mornig fly. She also saw a fly beside him. She went over and asked who is this and Tom said this is Isabell my training partnet. I just started training for the national flying compation. If I win I will be on TV and they asked to pick aperson to be on t.v. with me and if I win I will pick you and he did.

 

Jaimie

Free Write Prompt: If I had a magic eraser, I would…

Once upon a time there was a bumble bee who found a magic eraser. She found out that she could erase anything so anyone who picked a flower got erased. Anyone that cut down a tree would also get erased. The bumble bee erased any machine that cut down nature. The bumble bee thought that the eraser is really useful so she erased cigarettes and fires and cars.

 

 

Maxwell

Exercise: Write a dream or a nightmare from the perspective of an animal 

Bottlenose Dolphin

When I was a calf I got separated from my pod. There’s more, do you want to hear? Sure you do. Okay, back to the pod thing. I got stuck in a net and got washed up on shore. I was taken to the Clearwater Marine Center. My tail was too infected so they had to cut it off. So sad, so sad, but now I have a replacement tail. 

 

Maya

Simile

The moon was as sad as a grave yard.

 

 

Michela

Writing Prompt: I wonder how many people are crying right now?

One day my boss said I wonder how many people are crying right now? Will you go find out for me? How? I responded.Well, you will need a backpack with shorts, jeans, tank tops, long sleeves, binoculars, running shoes, fancy shoes, summer shoes, two notebooks, five erasers, ten pencils, twelve pens, swimming suits, phones, cameras, food, drinks, cups, plates, silverware, napkins, gifts, and much more. The special thing is a time stopper. You will go to every country in the world. Once you have counted everyone in the country you will sprinkle one drop of the liquid onto the country, which will stop everything. But it will go away after four hours. You put tallies on the paper, he said, for each person crying. I set off and had a long and exciting journey. I came back and he said I had done a great job and he gave me two thousand dollars and I left.

 

 

Robert

Writing Prompt: Why would faeries do this to me?

Why would one fairy put a curse on me? The one fairy turned me into an ugly beast and they erased my memory and they called me the Ugly Beast. The Ugly Beast lived alone and wished for a wife and eight kids. But he could not look for a wife because he was locked in a tower. And his pretend mother but hi mother said the people tried to kill the beasts.

 

 

Sidney

Exercise: Write a dream or a nightmare from the perspective of an object

Violin

So you want to hear the whole story (well sort of a dream). This will take a while. “That is fine,” said the Bass. Ok, I was dreaming that Mr. Trumpet, Mr. Clarinet, Mr. Saxophone, Ms. Flute, you and me went on a stroll down to Music Café. “Every Tuesday morning we will perform,” I said.

 

Sophie

Exercise: Write a dream or a nightmare from the perspective of an object

Violin

I had a crazy dream. Wait, I have to start from the beginning. Ok, this was the dream. I was going to my friend Bow’s house. I was worried because she was mad at me because I couldn’t have a play date with her. I went to her house and said sorry. She popped out one of my strings. It really hurt. That was the most scary nightmare ever.

 

Check Out These Creative Writing Samples from Our Thornhill Fall 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 writing excerpts from our 2nd grade authors at Thornhill Elementary:

What have "Take My Word For It!" kids been up to? Check out Thornhill Elementary 3rd - 5th grade:

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 writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructors, Michael David Lukas and Jenny Chu at Thornhill Elementary in the East Bay:

3rd - 5th Grade: 

By Izayah

“My favorite food is sushi. My favorite sushi roll is a 49er roll. I could eat sushi all day. If someone had a food fight with sushi I wouldn’t be part of it!”

 

By Emily

“Brownies are brown. Brownies are good. Brownies are any shape and size. You can have them with whip cream or a cherry on top.”

 

By Benji

“Looks like a boiled-on mustache. Smells like a plant or a green house. Tastes bad. Feels hairy.” 

 

By Leah

“It’s in a can. It has artificial flavoring. It’s sour but sweet. It’s weird but normal. It’s yucky but delicious. IT’S LEXI IN A CAN!”

 

 

By Matthew

“They pick me up and eat me. They call me a cutie (mandarin orange) but they do not love me. I would be happy with my carrot friends.”

 

By Rachel

“This green bean looks like a green bean. My green bean is like a unibrow. My green bean is crunchy.”

 

By Mayer

“Mr. Carrot was a nerd. He met some hippies and hobos. He was the leader of them.”

 

By Brooks

“I love pie because it comes in different flavors. It has a soft delicious inside and a crunchy outside. It’s good for throwing.”

 

By Sophie

“Oranges small like me / Smooth as a baby / Silent as the air / Sweet as candy / Sour as a shriveled plum”

 

By Makayla

(excerpt from "Escape of the Refrigerator")

They took the Mrs. to the BLUE JAIL PALACE and put them in a dungeon filled with gummy snakes. Of course they weren’t real but they thought they were. "Guys...guys can you hear me?" "Yeah." "Yup." "Open up the vent and meet me in Antartica. We’ll be cold but free, they have Free Food Land there." "Ok bye." "Bye." "Why what did I say that? The things I have to do for my friends."

.................... A WHILE LATER (500 HOURS later)....................

"FINALLY," Mr. Grumpy Brocolli said. "I’m here in Antartica but not only that, I’m in Free Food Land. I’m free, it’s me. I’m free!"

 

By Emma

“I’m a little lobster, I squiggle down the road. When I see some water I say, Oh No!”

 

 

By Lauren

“Bacon, bacon…is my favorite food. I like it because it’s juicy and crispy. Bacon is in all my favorite foods like omelets.”

 

By Madison

“My green bean is a unicorn horn. It tastes like water. It smells like nothing. It is a banana filled with seeds.

 

By Sam

“It’s rubbery, green and good. This green bean is like ice cream.”

 

By Gabby

“Hello, I’m Mr. Lobster. I don’t like being a gummy lobster because everyone eats my kind! I live at the factory on the floor.”

 

By Aidan

“I am a gummy lobster. I sit in a candy store all day. Kids come up to me and then their mom drags them away.”

 

What have "Take My Word For It!" kids been up to? Check out Thornhill Elementary 2nd grade:

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 writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructor, Emily Phillips at Thornhill Elementary in the East Bay: 

2nd Grade:

By Anneke:

Carrots are a crunchy orange and they vibrate in my mouth. They make me feel silly.

Chocolate tastes like dark oceans swelling.

 

By Austin:

Recipe of Me

To make an Austin you have to have:

2 pounds of toys

1 pound of golf

1 cup of soda

Blend it. Add 1 cup of milk. Mix it up one more time. Have it after you have eaten a lot of sugar. Use a straw because this smoothie bites very, very hard.

 

By Emma:

Dear Tortellini,

I think you are a sweet sun-shaped thing of a food. Your best friend is pesto. You walk around in my plate until you fall in my trap. You hang on to pesto while you float through my mouth. Pesto is brave and you are too, but you both are scared as you fall down, down, down.

Love,

Emma

 

By Gwen:

Dear Chocolate,

You are so good and tasty. When I eat you, you feel soft. When I suck on you, you start to dissolve in my mouth. Can I marry you? You are the best.

Sincerely,

Gwen

 

By Michaela:

ALLITERATIONS

Sofia’s sausages smell.

Snails sniffing sandwiches.

 

I AM FROM POEM

I am from the all the animals.

I am from the smell of good.

I am from the unknown.

I am from the smell of the wild.

I am from magic.

I am from the smell of flying and spying.

I am from the beauty of nature.

I am as a delicate as a feather.

I am from the sound of water.

I am as a light as a feather.

I am from the chirp of a bird.

I am from the gift of happiness.

 

By Nuala:

Dear Spaghetti,

You are as slimy as a snake, as white as a beluga, as pretty as a dolphin. Oh my spaghetti, you are most excellent.

Love,

Nuala

 

By Rachel:

Dear Bagels,

Your best taste is cheese. You’re crunchy. You’re good. You’re surprising. I wish I could have you every day.

Love,

Rachel

 

By Sidney:

Dear Ice Cream,

Thanks for writing to me in your ice cream pen. (Can you write in strawberry next time? I did not like the earwax so much). You’re so tasty, cold, delicious, and a sweet yummy chunk of yummy-ness. Please send me 1,000 strawberry, 500,000,000 cookie dough, 4,000,000 mint chip and infinity spoons.

Love,

Sidney

 

By Sophia:

 

Persona Poem- The Shark

 

I am fun and dumb

I wonder who you are

I hear blupe-blupe

I see a fin

I want some food

I am fun and dumb

 

I pretend to eat a fish

I feel water on my tail

I worry I will die

I cry because I can’t find food

I am fun and dumb

 

I understand I might die

I say I need to find some food

I dream that I will not die

I try to find fish to eat

I hope I find my parents soon

I am fun and dumb