During this time of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am so proud of all the children at my Children’s Club, The WRITE STUFF Kids Club. This is a club I started in the summer of 2015. It is a facility whereby I host daily, weekly and monthly workshops at various places around Donegal and Sligo. Children come along and read, write and talk all things stories and books. In short, children fuel their imagination in language and words. Our hashtag is #wordingfun.
On Thursday morning of March 12th I heard the announcement that schools in Ireland were to close that day for the foreseeable future. That meant that from that day also, I was unable to carry out my daily work. Initially I went into a state of panic. I took a few days to ponder what to do, and then decided to keep my kids reading and writing by setting daily tasks. And so a new group was born: #LetsWriteTogether at The WRITE STUFF Kids Club.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/2730941950294148/Since then, I have been setting daily tasks for children to write and draw, pen stories, create characters and more. The response has been amazing. Children who are already part of the club and many more are taking part. Some children are sending in their work, others are messaging weekly to say how much they are enjoying the tasks.
This has been a time of such uncertainty and yet it has been a time of immense creativity. children are certainly missing their daily routine, their school and their friends and family, but they are putting such effort into staying creative.
This group is open to everyone to join. Just pop along to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/The-WRITE-STUFF-Kids-Club-770836823044997/ and get creative too. You’re never too old to be a child and use your imagination again.
We have no rules and it is completely up to you how you write or draw your story. Every picture tells a story, so you don’t need any writing if you so wish. It’s the process of being creative that we focus on.
Sir Ken Robinson once said, ‘Creativity is as important as literacy’, and this is ringing so true in the modern day. Creativity is a means by which children (young and not so young) can build their confidence and their self-esteem whilst having great fun creating.
If you like books, you will love our club. I try and do some weekly readings to our kids also to keep up their love of reading and encourage them to never stray from stories.
We may all be staying at home just now, but we are allowed to travel wherever we want with our imagination. We may not be getting on an aeroplane this summer, but we can still travel lots with our stories. Get creative today and see how far you can travel and see how much fun you can have too.
GMcC
North West Culture Gal 