When I was a kid, I loved to read books and learned to write my own stories. I actually wanted to take up writing as a university/college course, but my parents wanted me to pursue a pre-Med degree (BS in Physical Therapy, which was quite popular at the time). So I thought my dreams of becoming a writer would never come true.
Fast forward to today though, and here I am, working not just as a writer but as an editor too! God really has different plans sometimes! I consider myself blessed to have found my “voice” as a writer, and I hope and pray I can help my own kids find their individual “voices” too, especially if one (or all!) of them wish to pursue writing as a career.
Whether or not this is the case though, I believe in the importance of helping kids find their “voice” through writing. That’s why I think programs such as EducAsian Learning’s Kids WriteShop are quite helpful. The WriteShop, as I wrote before, is “an integrated, balanced and progressive literacy program” that improves children’s reading, writing, speaking and listening skills by engaging them in “language and literature-rich activities in combination with explicit teaching of comprehension strategies.”
The WriteShop, which is still accepting participants by the way, is a great opportunity for kids to find their “voice”, especially through writing. Here are what two of the participants have to say about it, after a particular session on letter-writing:
“I superduperduper enjoyed it!” – Michelle, 9
“It was fun! I wish there was more time.” – Chab, 9
During the session, the kids explored the letter-writing genre using a variety of books as their “anchor text.” They learned about the first two steps of the writing process, i.e. pre-writing and drafting. They also learned to use the semantic map mapping strategy to help them focus on what they wanted to write about, and wrote an introduction to the topic for their journal of the week.
Overall, the kids learned about how to see the “voice” behind a written text — particularly letters — and how it is connected with one’s point of view. (I wish I had learned these things when I was their age!)
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If you are interested in enrolling your child in the Kids WriteShop program, here are more details about the succeeding sessions:
Kids Writeshop Calendar
24 Sessions from March 18, 2016 to April 1, 2017
4 Sessions per Module / 6 Modules in a year / 2 Saturdays a month
Php 8,000 plus VAT per module (with special discount of P500 per module)
2016
1ST MODULE
Poetry – May 14
Publishing Party – May 28
2ND MODULE
Introduction to Reading and Writing for new enrollees / Next Level: Reading and Writing for continuing enrollees – June 11
Opinion Writing – June 25
Persuasive Writing – July 9
Publishing Party – July 23
3RD MODULE
Introduction to Reading and Writing for new enrollees / Next Level: Reading and Writing for continuing enrollees – August 27
Journal Writing – September 10
Informational Writing / Cultural Writing – September 24
Publishing Party – October 8
4TH MODULE
Introduction to Reading and Writing for new enrollees / Next Level: Reading and Writing for continuing enrollees – October 22
Math Literature – November 12
Science Literature – November 26
Publishing Party – December 3
5TH MODULE
Introduction to Reading and Writing for new enrollees / Next Level: Reading and Writing for continuing enrollees – December 17
2017
Procedural Writing – January 7
Book Making / Shaping Literature – January 21
Publishing Party – February 4
SPECIAL MODULE
Patricia Pollaco and Maurice Sendak Author Study – February 18
Holiday Celebrations Around the World Literature – March 4
Additional Genre/ Bonus Genre Lesson – March 18
Publishing Party/ Culmination – April 1
For more information on The Kids WriteShop, please download the relevant event files here, or visit their . You can also follow on Facebook for updates.
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