Class

Little Writers, Big Worlds (for Ages 6 to 8)

This full-day summer writing experience is designed especially for young writers to explore storytelling through animals, imagination, and play. In the morning, students will read and write stories about beloved pets—both real and imaginary—building confidence with basic story structure and sharing their ideas. After a midday lunch and enrichment break to recharge and move, the afternoon invites writers to stretch their imaginations by drawing maps and creating fantasy towns where their stories can unfold. Together, the day balances reading, writing, art, and creativity in a supportive, joyful environment for early writers.

SESSION 1: Stories About Pets (for Ages 6 to 8) with Holly Day

In this class for early writers, we’ll read stories about companion animals as a group, then work on writing and sharing stories about our own pets, both real and imaginary. Basic short story structure will be discussed, with an emphasis on how to convey each child’s love of their subject.

LUNCH AND ENRICHMENT:
We'll break for lunch with more activities that will inspire us to express ourselves while having fun! We may explore Gold Medal Park to seek creativity outside the classroom! Please bring a packed lunch.

SESSION 2: Fantasy Town (for Ages 6 to 8) with Blythe Baird

In this class, we’ll learn how important geography is to our stories by building workable fantasy worlds for our characters to live in. We’ll start with drawing maps of the place we’d like our characters to live in, with special attention given to geographical features such as waterways, mountains, and even nearby planetary bodies that can be incorporated into our stories. We’ll talk about the rules of writing place-based fiction (ranging from the basic laws of science to the physical limitations of characters), and how to step outside those rules to make our stories even more interesting.

Aspiring writers, grab your notebooks and pens, and let’s write at the Loft!