My story as a writing child is well told and this has followed me through the years, given me an edge and broadened my scope. A strong writing skill often sets you apart and imagination is a plus where ideas are concerned. In today’s highly competitive world, writing is an essentially valuable tool and those who are quick with their words and can deeply analyze tend to do better than those who spend a long time browsing the internet. Reading helps and writing is the ultimate reward. As we prepare for our annual children’s writing workshop The Treasured Writers, now in its eleventh year, it seems like only yesterday that we decided that we should give kids something totally different from what structured school institutions offer them. Lessons in kindness, charity, leadership guides, painting, cooking, writing and learning about your environment.
The 2018 edition of the annual writing boot camp for children between the ages of 7-14 years has as its theme “Waste to Wealth”. While I will be happy to receive our 2018 participants on the 20th of August at Shehu Musa Yaradua center, our worthy partner, our guest resource person, the very resourceful Upcycle Architect, Binta Garba would be on hand to teach the kids how to convert what seems like a useless item to a charming item. Our subthemes this year aside from short story writing and essay writing include how to be a kinder person, using art for a greater good, money management and public speaking. We will also be having our very popular debate between parents and children about what each one does to annoy the other. We are so excited and we are now counting down to the 20th to run around, learn a lot, exhaust ourselves, enjoy ourselves and come out at the end of the week, better children. Here are five books in celebration of the 11th edition of The Treasured Writers for parents and children alike. Enjoy!
1) How to write your best story ever by Christopher Edge. This is a book that gives your kids the best writing advice including how to overcome writer’s block, how to create interesting characters and what word to use to best effect. It helps the child unlock story ideas and the book has lots of illustration. This book brings loads of information similar to our game at TTW, link a story where every child is expected to contribute a sentence to a collective short story. Too much fun.
2) Upcycle: 24 Sustainable DIY projects by Rebecca Proctor. In this inspirational and practical book 24 internationally acclaimed product designers show how to recreate their upcycle designs. This is inspired by the trend for recycling and craft and gives step by step instruction and everyone is encouraged to create their own upcycle design. Upcycle by the way also known as creative re-use is the process of transforming by-products waste materials, useless or unwanted products into new material or products of better quality or for better environmental value. TTW upcycle Architect Binta Garba has already given me a sneak preview of what we shall be doing.
3) Artful Scribbles, the significance of children’s drawings by Howard Gardner is an insightful book on the relationship between children’s intelligence and emotional development to the art works of children. Psychologists have long understood this relationship but Howard Gardner, who is also the author of Cradle to Cradle, has written one of the earliest books to explore this vital relationship between children’s art and their emotional, social and cognitive development. Just the simple painting of their palm and translating it unto paper makes a child feel special. Art and emotional development. Critical.
4) Red Ted Art: Cute and Easy crafts for Kids by Maggy Woodley. Use of paper, tissue paper and all sorts of artwork for children to play and learn with. Using recycled and inexpensive materials to make utterly irresistible things by parents and children and teachers and children. Not everything should be Math and English. Some kids learn better through examples, role play and playing. Those subjects pop up if a story is told to get them into it.
