Category: Uncategorized

Hello friends! Young writers come in all varieties. If your family is anything like mine, there are a variety of personalities growing up under one roof. The “variety” that concerned me most during the back to school season was always my introverted writer. ​When the other girls were laughing, she didn’t seem to get the… Continue reading Will my child fit in at school this year?

Hello friends! Flying to Florida this month, I found myself sitting next to a woman who had an infant strapped to her front and her adorable son buckled up next to her. I know what it’s like to fly with children, so the mom (and the teacher) in me decided to engage the little boy… Continue reading Raising a Writer WITHOUT the Guilt

Hello friends! Sooo, I’m back in the classroom this week teaching 7th and 8th grade. When I first started working, my main worry was my girls. (Maybe you can relate?) How was I going to keep up with everything? It turns out, I can’t keep up. And, it also turns out, this is great news.… Continue reading The Power of Backing Off

Hello friends! On Monday, Steven sat and sat. It was the first day of Writer’s Workshop in first grade. He did not write one word while his friends began to fill pages about the small moments happening in their lives. I chose not to prompt him, or tell him what to write. Instead I gave… Continue reading Never Underestimate a Young Writer

Hello friends! Most writers can never say no to a book. But even so, we should keep a good eye on our young writer’s reading life too. This week, we’d like to share with you  7 simple tips for strengthening your home reading environment. 1. Surround your children with books. Yard sales, thrift stores, and library book… Continue reading Reading Like a Writer

Hello friends! The whole world is homeschooling right now. Some are probably doing it better than others. For me, it’s going about as well as I garden. That is–I look out at it and say, “Yep. It’s still there.” I see my daughters with books–they need to borrow my laptop sometimes for Zoom class–but that’s… Continue reading There is nothing wrong with surviving

Hello friends! One of the most common questions parents have asked me since we started online school is, “How can I best support my child’s writing efforts?” This is a question I ask myself day after day in the classroom. Here are a few guidelines I share with the parents of my students that might… Continue reading Supporting your writer at home

Hello friends! Usually here, we like to talk about the stories our children are writing. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the stories we as parents are telling. Getting good at telling just the right story can be key right now.   Today, I took my 17 year old daughter to an empty mall,… Continue reading We are our children’s storytellers

Hello friends! My brother stopped by the other day for a porch chat. (Porch chats are starting to be really normal now, aren’t they?) We both have kids starting college in the fall, and my brother said how grateful he is that his son Drake can write. Essays, applications, whatever he needs to write, are… Continue reading 4 Reasons Why Writing Camp Works

Hello friends! We hoped online camp would work, but we didn’t expect this. From one mom: “My daughters are waking up excited each morning. This is the first time they’ve WANTED to be on Zoom.” From another: “I feel like I had some free-time for the first time in months because my kids could navigate… Continue reading IT WORKED!