July 19, 2012
As some of you may know, I’ve been in the process of launching a series of writing classes for children…a uniquely underserved group with huge potential for creativity!
It all began this past year with my own children as I noticed my daughter beginning to write stories and illustrations on scraps of white printer paper. She had an interest in creating and writing, just the way I had as a child, yet her desire was not being nourished in school. At the same time, my son was writing academic papers in History and English class, yet no one had taught him the basics of how to write a good thesis or the fundamentals of a superb hook. So in an effort to supplement their traditional education, I began formatting my daughter’s tidbits of stories into mini books for her, and I saw her pride soar. I began teaching my son the “ins and outs” of academic writing and watched his confidence skyrocket along with his grades as teachers began to hold up his work as the class standard.
Then I began to implement writing techniques with my middle school Girl Scouts. We created a troop newspaper in which each girl was responsible to cover one of our activities and write a catchy headline and article to document the happenings in our troop. Now, three editions later, I still smile as I distribute their newspapers and watch them search for their articles and bylines inside the pages.
That’s when it hit me: It isn’t that children today are not good writers and communicators; it’s that children are not given the proper instruction and opportunity to do so. Thus, Online Scribblers was born with the motto: “Every Child Can Be A Great Writer!” Our first session of summer classes was a hit and I think it was hard to tell who was having more fun – the teacher or the students. Now, I’m eagerly looking forward to the next series of classes and the ones after that.
Although I thoroughly enjoy teaching these creative little minds, I don’t enjoy the marketing side of things. There is a reason I was a writing major in college rather than a business student – but perhaps a class in marketing 101 might not have hurt. If any of you, my faithful blogger friends, have any great marketing tips, please pass them along!
Nevertheless, I may have been busy the last few weeks getting the word out about Online Scribblers, but now I’m back and full of topics to blog about. So there’s just one more thing… Is there any way to squeeze just a few more hours into each day?
Check us out at www.onlinescribblers.com!