Writerly Play Kit 022
Putting Your Heart on the Page
Writerly Play for Educators
Putting Your Heart on the Page
To you, our beloved educator members, we want to say thank you. Finishing out this school year has been a phenomenal feat of energy, creativity, and love.
Heading into the summer, we realize that hearts and minds are full and overflowing. We all have much to reflect on, to learn, and to consider as we move forward as educators, creative thinkers, and ultimately, as those committed to supporting youth and through them, our communities as a whole.
When my mind is full, one of the most powerful ways to find quiet, calm, and the perspective to engage in essential conversations, is to write. Sometimes that writing looks like a collection of journal entries, and other times that writing is creative. No matter how I engage in reflective writing, I find that it fuels me to return to my students with renewed perspective and energy.
In this WP Kit, we’ve shared a couple resources that may fuel your reflective and creative writing this summer. From our entire team at Society of Young Inklings, we wish you a healthy, restorative season.
THE CREATIVITY PROJECT
We shared this resource a few months back as one to use with your students, but I encourage you to look again at this book yourself this summer. Is there a prompt in this book that speaks to you, that sends you toward a creative piece of your own?
One thing I love about this book is that it’s a network of creative thinkers, inviting one another to think and dream and play. It continues to serve as a reminder to me that we’re in this together, that no one person is responsible for carrying the full weight of this moment, or any moment, alone. Together, we can create possibilities that we’d never be able to achieve on our own.Â
Our Story Begins
The subtitle of this book says it all: “Your favorite authors and illustrators share fun, inspiring, and occasionally ridiculous things they wrote and drew as kids.” I enjoyed this book on a variety of levels. I laughed, was creatively inspired, and also had the opportunity to reflect on what I could learn from the childhoods of these creative thinkers as I consider how to best support the developing voices of my own students.
LOOKING TOward NEXT YEAR
One of our board members, Tracy Piombo, is also an educator and librarian. She and I sat down for a conversation about using Society of Young Inklings’ resources in support of Writer’s Workshop and other writing curriculums.
If you’d like a personalized recommendation catered to the needs of your classroom, share a few details with us and we’ll respond shortly with a video recorded just for you.
What’s Up At SYI this Month?
This month, we talk to author Alicia D. Williams about her debut novel, Genesis Begins Again. She speaks to us about racism, gaining an audience, and changing directions during revision.
Here’s a peek:Â Â
Originally the story was about a girl who was bullied because she was a heavy weight. Her dark skin and coily hair was an afterthought. During my revision years (2013-2015), the theme of beauty started taking over the story. And for Genesis, it was her dark skin and kinky hair. Her need to be beautiful was the heart of the story. Why, above weight, was color an issue? Perhaps it was the memories of my childhood that danced around in my head or what I witnessed within my community. Perhaps it was the pictures scrolling across my social media feed, the gripes I had within the dating community, or even in magazine advertisements. Or, perhaps it was feeling the strain of it as an adult, still being made to feel insecure about my brown skin. But once colorism rose to the forefront of this story, I couldn’t ignore it.
“When I write now, I pretend I’m holding hands with the old me. I try to make sense of all those questions for her.”
-Meg Medina
INKLINGS CONNECT
THE INKLINGS BOOKS ARE HERE!
Order your copies at your favorite local bookstore or grab them from Bookshop.org. We can't wait for you to read them!
