Students in our after-school and community classes are exploring all the different ways writers generate ideas, and put captivating words on the page.
Here are writing excerpts and some photos of our young authors working with instructors, Michael David Lukas and Jenny Chu at Thornhill Elementary in the East Bay:
3rd - 5th Grade:
By Izayah
“My favorite food is sushi. My favorite sushi roll is a 49er roll. I could eat sushi all day. If someone had a food fight with sushi I wouldn’t be part of it!”
By Emily
“Brownies are brown. Brownies are good. Brownies are any shape and size. You can have them with whip cream or a cherry on top.”
By Benji
“Looks like a boiled-on mustache. Smells like a plant or a green house. Tastes bad. Feels hairy.”
By Leah
“It’s in a can. It has artificial flavoring. It’s sour but sweet. It’s weird but normal. It’s yucky but delicious. IT’S LEXI IN A CAN!”
By Matthew
“They pick me up and eat me. They call me a cutie (mandarin orange) but they do not love me. I would be happy with my carrot friends.”
By Rachel
“This green bean looks like a green bean. My green bean is like a unibrow. My green bean is crunchy.”
By Mayer
“Mr. Carrot was a nerd. He met some hippies and hobos. He was the leader of them.”
By Brooks
“I love pie because it comes in different flavors. It has a soft delicious inside and a crunchy outside. It’s good for throwing.”
By Sophie
“Oranges small like me / Smooth as a baby / Silent as the air / Sweet as candy / Sour as a shriveled plum”
By Makayla
(excerpt from "Escape of the Refrigerator")
They took the Mrs. to the BLUE JAIL PALACE and put them in a dungeon filled with gummy snakes. Of course they weren’t real but they thought they were. "Guys...guys can you hear me?" "Yeah." "Yup." "Open up the vent and meet me in Antartica. We’ll be cold but free, they have Free Food Land there." "Ok bye." "Bye." "Why what did I say that? The things I have to do for my friends."
.................... A WHILE LATER (500 HOURS later)....................
"FINALLY," Mr. Grumpy Brocolli said. "I’m here in Antartica but not only that, I’m in Free Food Land. I’m free, it’s me. I’m free!"
By Emma
“I’m a little lobster, I squiggle down the road. When I see some water I say, Oh No!”
By Lauren
“Bacon, bacon…is my favorite food. I like it because it’s juicy and crispy. Bacon is in all my favorite foods like omelets.”
By Madison
“My green bean is a unicorn horn. It tastes like water. It smells like nothing. It is a banana filled with seeds.
By Sam
“It’s rubbery, green and good. This green bean is like ice cream.”
By Gabby
“Hello, I’m Mr. Lobster. I don’t like being a gummy lobster because everyone eats my kind! I live at the factory on the floor.”
By Aidan
“I am a gummy lobster. I sit in a candy store all day. Kids come up to me and then their mom drags them away.”