Kids need practice writing, it is a critical skill for college! I can't tell you how many essays I wrote last semester - just for my history course! This Get To Know My Hometown Free Printable is just the ticket to work on those skills! What is a hometown? The town or city that a person is from, especially the one in which they were born and lived while they were young. Why should people visit your hometown? Should you leave it before you turn 25? What are the top five things you should do in your town if you were a tourist? These are all common questions people ask and that is what makes this a perfect exercise! Getting to know your hometown is a great writing prompt for you. Not only will your student be able to practice their essay skills, they will dig a little deeper into their local community and write about and Get To Know their Hometown. It is an exercise that will build them up in more than one way. Get your Get To Know My Hometown Free Printable here : learn … [Read more...]

One thing I learned when Sun Prairie Exploded, was the simple fact that a Hero comes in all different packages. It's not just the Marvel universe of characters or our first responders, it could very easily be the person sitting right next to you! My Meet My Hero Writing Prompt Free Printable came out of the fact that there were so many heros that day - all rushing to the scene to help, even my dad! We saw TV reporters helping move bedridden seniors down the street from the local senior center that was being evacuated from the fire "hot zone". We saw Moms and Dads jump in and help direct traffic or knock on doors to get people to safety. Local restaurant owners opened up their shops and whipped up meals for the Red Cross shelters. Kids had lemonade stands to raise money for the survivors. I could go on and on. This My Meet My Hero Writing Prompt Free Printable came out of the fact that there were so many heroes that day - all rushing to the scene to help, even my dad! is a … [Read more...]

This summer I have a unique opportunity through the Belin-Blank Center in Iowa to learn about Japanese culture with Kazumi Wilds, MFA in Book Art and award-winning illustrator of multiple children’s books about Japan! Learning How to Write a Haiku was on the agenda! In this class, we will explore Japanese history, culture, and society through her books, The Peace Tree from Hiroshima (2014) and All About Japan (2011), and others. Students take a hands-on approach to explore various aspects of daily life in Japan, including language and calligraphy, food and tea, books and manga, festivals and folk tales, and U.S.-Japan relations. We will take field trips to the University of Iowa Asia Library to read manga in English, and to the Library Special Collections to experience reading traditional Japanese books and illustrated hand scrolls in person. Other activities include writing calligraphy and name-stamp carving, creating a small handmade book for composing haiku poetry, among … [Read more...]