In 2017, I mentored a group of third and fourth graders at Harriet Gifford Elementary School. I had two groups of six students who had been identified by their teachers and staff as young ladies who could benefit from additional support in the form of a mentor. I decided to call the group Fly Girls Academy, and I focused on helping the girls learn what it means to be fly.
One way I did that was by teaching them how to express their feelings and thoughts through writing. My hope was to provide them a healthy tool to process their emotions and spark a love of writing. I found a poetry writing workbook, but it wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
I wanted the girls to have an experience similar to what I had in graduate school. I studied creative writing, and the classroom was much like a science lab. We tried various experiments and tested different chemicals in the many forms and styles of poetry. My teachers encouraged us to model our work after we read. They showed us how to use lines and images from other writer’s work to jump start our work. We learned how to steal gracefully, and this broke writer’s block for me.
Using this approach didn’t take away from my uniqueness and authenticity as a writer, it encouraged it. It also taught me the composition of a good poem and became a well of creativity.
I wanted to create a similar, age appropriate experience for my girls. I couldn’t find a book that did that so I wrote How to Create a World. I’m revising it now and working with a graphic designer and an illustrator. I’ll be sharing my progress with you and telling you more about the book. The book will be released sometime this fall. If you want to pre-order the book, save $3 off the list price and receive a swag bag, you can order your copy here.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you again soon.
Take care
Chasity Writes 