I was lucky enough last wk to get a phone call from a lady in Clondalkin, asking me to run a kids writing workshop. 1.5 hrs, 15 kids 6,7,8 yrs old - during normal working hours.... AAARGHH. Somehow got the time out from a very sound boss, and put together a program of work, with alot of help from friends who know more about kids and writing than me.
One of the best exercises was a brainstorm of memories from their walk to the library. And the results were brilliant:
a sinister staring cat, a green school, grandparents gardens, new places they hadn't been, crossing lots of roads, 4 magpies, a big red squirrel eating a nut, having to be quiet in case people were asleep, smell of bananas, tree with buds, red, green, yellow, black cars - though not all those colours on the one car, a wedding not going ahead - because of the weather, rubbish on the ground (bottles and crisp packets, and no I didn't make them write a poem about it), 4 planes that looked small because they were far away, Tesco, Hairdressers, a silver nissan, some people walked slow, some people made "CHCHHCHCH" noises all the way there, it was cold, the traffic was noisy.
It was a great old experience so it was. Loved the bit when I handed them out blank pages to write on, and got fifteen faces full of consternation as they were worried about the lack of lines to write on.
Amazing kids - each and every one.
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