thefriendlymoth

Writing our own Canon

Well, our puppet show performances came off well last week. What I mean by that is not that it was perfect by adult standards, but that the students felt really good about it. They enjoyed it and worked with a tremendous amount of focus to make it their best. Also, there were cupcakes. Kenneth Koch,Continue reading “Writing our own Canon”

Act 2, Scene 3, Mountain Lion Sits in his Cave

We have just finished our second-ever attempt at writing plays and, while I know I’m biased, I think they came out pretty good. Playwriting with children can be a little daunting, partly because the results can be so bad: stiff, surreal, melodramatic. Yet playwriting can also be a great exercise in collaboration, storytelling, character-building, plot, humor,Continue reading “Act 2, Scene 3, Mountain Lion Sits in his Cave”

How to Build an Animal Nest

While my students wrote many moving letters for change this spring, there is one letter I wanted to share here, partly because you all are exactly who could enact the vision it describes (much better than the president!) and partly because I think it expresses something so beautiful and essential about what it is likeContinue reading “How to Build an Animal Nest”

Letters for Change

Writing is at its essence communication. However, unlike much communication, writing can cross barriers of time and space and society. Most of us will never sit down for a chat with the president, but we can send him a letter, which will be read (at least by someone), and added to the tally of opinions, andContinue reading “Letters for Change”