"Elephant Community Press is an amazing organization with innovative ideas for encouraging young writers. Having her work published helped build my child’s sense of self-worth and having the proceeds of the books go to charity taught her about how her work can make a difference.
Christine is an inspiring, engaging and dedicated instructor who challenges her students to do their best work in a fun, inspiring environment. Under her guidance, my daughter has built her self-confidence and deepened her love for writing. This is hands down my daughter’s favorite extracurricular activity — and as a side note, it has helped her enormously in school too!"
"I LOVE this writing class. It's my favourite thing to do each week!!!"
"Thanks very much once again for the wonderful program you have conducted in the school. The kids have enjoyed it thoroughly and of course learnt a lot. I can clearly see that my daughter has benefited from all the guidance and encouragement you have provided. There was a lot of personal attention given to each child, which is truly amazing given that these were group sessions."
"My favourite thing about the workshop was exactly the whole thing!"
"I liked making the school magazine because it's a great honour and I was very proud when I received it. Also, others could have a copy of the magazine too! I think the magazine is a good chance for us to show our writing and it's a keepsake for us."
April to June 2010 Workshops
New workshops start April 12th! Workshops at our centre run for 9-10 weeks from April to June. Workshops at our partner schools will follow the school calendars and run from January to June. Please see the Schedule page for the specific days and times for each workshop.
New Reading & Vocabulary Workshops
Age: 8-10, 10-12, 12-14
To supplement our project-based workshops, we are pleased to offer new Reading & Vocabulary Workshops in Spring 2010 for students to bolster their vocabulary and strengthen reading and literary analysis skills. Students will read a variety of texts, practise reading strategies, play vocabulary games, and write short pieces where they can put their new skills to use!
Storyland
Age: 4-5
Storyland introduces younger students to the world of storytelling. Through reading, writing, and arts and crafts, students explore stories, expand their imaginations, develop listening and reading skills, and gain self-confidence.
Slices of Life
Age: 6-8
From Curious George to Angelina Ballerina, children love reading book after book about the many adventures of a favourite character. In this workshop, students develop a character for their own picture book series and capture different slices of the character’s life. Students will look specifically at story structure, character development and unifying elements across the series.
Diary Tales
Age: 8-10
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney has captured the imaginations of kids all over the world in the past couple of years, but life stories told through diaries--fictional and not--have had a long history. In this workshop, students will look at examples from other diary stories and discuss how writers use diary entries to give insight into their characters. Over the course of the term, students will develop their own characters to feature in a diary tale.
Going for Gold: Sports Stories
Age: 8-10
There are countless stories about individuals and teams going for the gold medal or vying for the championship, and their trials and tribulations along the way. Whether the sport of choice is gymnastics, football, or swimming, these sports stories honour the athletes’ passion, perseverance and pursuit of success. Students will study examples of sports stories and then work towards writing their own for publication.
Once Upon a Times: Creative Journalism for Kids
Age: 8-10
In this workshop, students learn to write like real journalists and publish a creative newspaper based on fairy tales and nursery rhymes! Students learn to write news articles, identify different angles or perspectives, and write in an objective style. Besides news stories, students also examine other genres within a newspaper, such as advice columns, classified ads, horoscopes and sports news.
Tall Tales
Age: 8-10
“I caught a fish THIS big!” is a classic example of exaggeration, the heart of the tall tale. Common in American folklore, tall tales tell stories of heroes who are ‘larger than life’, who defy everyday challenges and solve problems in remarkable and often wildly funny ways. In this workshop, students study examples of classic and modern tall tales, and consider how to make these tales believable, as they write their own.
The Art of Persuasion
Age: 9-11
New creative essay writing workshop! Students explore the art of persuasion through a range of creative writing, speaking and role-play activities. Over the course of the term, students learn and practise the key skills of developing and supporting an argument — in a fun and imaginative way!
Around the World
Age: 10-12
Travel stories have taken readers young and old across oceans and foreign lands without ever leaving the comfort of their homes. Students examine the characteristics of compelling travelogues and consider the stories of the passports, suitcases and other objects that accompany travellers around the world.
Choose Your Own Adventures
Age: 10-12
In this workshop, students will take an in-depth look at the classic Choose Your Own Adventure books, in which the reader takes the starring role and makes the decisions that determine how the adventure unfolds. Students analyze how Choose Your Own Adventure stories are written, apply logical reasoning skills as they plan out alternative scenarios and endings for their own stories, and exercise all their creativity to bring the stories to life.
Escapades at Camp
Age: 10-12
Going to camp can be one of the joys — or horrors — of summer vacation, and there are countless stories that detail the hilarious adventures of kids at camp. In this workshop, students look at examples from classic camp stories, and try their hand at writing their own. Students develop strategies to create their own humorous characters and scenarios, and bring life at camp right into your home!
Young Detectives
Age: 10-12
From Encyclopedia Brown and Invisible Inc. to Cam Jansen, Nancy Drew, and Sherlock Holmes, mystery stories have captured the imaginations of readers young and old for years on end. In this workshop, students read examples of mystery stories, discuss their favourites and not-so-favourites, and analyze the characteristics of a mystery story that draws readers in and gets them thinking! While immersing themselves in the genre of the mystery case file, students draft character sketches and plot outlines to develop their own story.
Survivor
Age: 12-14
The perils of being shipwrecked on a deserted island or surviving in the midst of an unfamiliar forest have been told in adventure stories ranging from Robinson Crusoe to Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain. We look at real and fictional stories of wilderness survival, and consider what it takes to write a convincing survival story. Over the course of this workshop, students cast their characters away to some forsaken place and then help to bring them home again.