When the first person tested positive with COVID-19, the virus was only in China. But soon, as people traveled and spread germs and bacteria, the virus traveled all the way to the US. I live in New York, and right now there are more than 50,000 citizens in the state that have been diagnosed with COVID-19. We have not been quarantined (yet), but we are participating in social distancing and distance learning for school. When I took this photo, I was on a walk with my mother and sister. Because we live in a small town that’s walkable, this was a refreshing way to get exercise because we were stuck in our house all day. It was breezy outside, the kind of weather you expect when you know it’s about to start pouring rain at any minute. We went on the walk anyway, despite the threatening skies, for a breath of fresh air. I noticed how dark the sky was, and the contrast showed greatly against the blue sky that was barely still there. I looked up and said, “Wow, this really sets the mood of life right now–dark, stormy, and cold. No blue skies ahead, as far as we could possibly see.” We don’t know when this pandemic will cease or when scientists will find a cure. But what we do know is that if you wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, only talk to people virtually or when they are six feet away, keep your hands away from your face and most important–practice social distancing, you are decreasing your risk of contracting the virus and spreading it to others. We can only hope that our situation ends soon. Stay safe and be well. Grace Williams, 13 Katonah, NY
Saturday Newsletter: April 4, 2020
“Eyes on You” by Rebecca Wu, 9 (Medina, WA) Cover art for the April 2020 issue A note from William First things first. As our fabulous editor, Emma Wood, puts it herself in her now-switched-on out-of-office message: “I am busy welcoming our first child (and future Stone Soup contributor!) to the world.” We all wish her the very best of luck as she embarks on the greatest adventure of all: becoming a mother. This week, our fabulous new April issue was released, and we have lots of news on our new projects to help our young readers and writers through the current COVID-19 situation. Yesterday (Friday), we held our first Stone Soup Writing Workshop. Thanks to each of you who participated. Where the participants wish to, we will be posting work produced from the session along with our summary of what we did. I can tell you that what these young writers produced in half an hour was incredible, so I hope all of them decide to share their work with you via our website! Look out for that next week. Also, do consider joining the Friday workshop. It is held from 1pm to 2pm Pacific Time. The group is open to Stone Soup subscribers and those of you who have signed up for the Creativity Prompts mailing list. All you have to do to get on the list is click the link. Every weekday the newest COVID-19 Daily Creativity prompts are posted to our website. Even if you are on the list for daily emails this is an easy reference and archive to refer back to for teachers and all of us now-homeschooling parents. Ten prompts have been published already, and there is a new one every weekday, so there will be 15 by this time next week! Starting last Monday, the first prompt of the week is a Flash Contest. Pick up the prompt, and submit your response by the end of Friday. We will choose our top 5 early the following week, and publish them our blog and announce the winners here in the Saturday Newsletter. All the details are on our contest page. We supply some free content, but the entire website is accessible to all subscribers. Subscriptions start at just $4.99 per month for a digital subscription. This includes access to all current issues, 25 years worth of back issues, dozens of writing and art activities, and the right to submit work to Stone Soup for free. Subscribers also receive the daily Creativity Prompts and the right to join our online Zoom workshops. Month-to-month subscriptions, both print (which includes digital) and digital only, can be cancelled at any time. If you are not a subscriber, and have not already signed up, then sign up for the Daily Creativity prompts by clicking on the link. We have developed a good looking page that you can print out each school day morning. We are being told by kids who are using them that they are helping to keep them focused and keep their morale up. Kids on this list are eligible to join our writing groups. William’s Weekend Project: Keeping a Journal Jane recommended keeping a journal as the project in last week’s Newsletter. I want to reinforce this project by repeating it today. These are historic times. What you write about your experiences as they occur is something you will want to revisit when you are an adult. If you have already started a journal then skip this paragraph. If you haven’t started, then here is my advice. Start. Like, now. And no later than this evening. A journal is different from a memoir. A journal is a contemporaneous record of your life. It is what you write today about today. A memoir is what you write about today next year, or in twenty years. Journal writing is crisp, sharp, full of the confidences and uncertainties of the moment. The only day you can write about today when it is today is today! So. How are you feeling? Whats going on in your life? What did you do today? How are you feeling about the coronavirus pandemic? Are you sheltering in place? Are you safe? Are you afraid? Are you bored (see this week’s poem, below!)? Do you see friends? If so, online, only, or if in person with some rules? A journal is an open ended project – and what we have right now is lots of time and the need to keep focused. I started my journal yesterday. Until next week, April is National Poetry Month Did you know it was National Poetry Month? The Academy of American Poets is celebrating in a few different ways: Dear Poet, an annual education project featuring videos of our award-winning Chancellors and Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellows reading their work, and to which students can respond through letter writing. They will consider all letters for publication on Poets.org beginning in May 2020, and our Chancellors and Fellows will reply to select letters of their choosing. Poem in Your Pocket Day: Their interactive PDF can be downloaded for Poem in Your Pocket Day, which is happening April 30 this year. We’re encouraging the sharing of poems throughout the day at schools, bookstores, libraries, offices, and on social media with the hashtag #pocketpoem. Downloadable Poster: This year’s poster features artwork by tenth grader Samantha Aikman as part of our national student contest. Anyone can request a free copy of the official National Poetry Month poster on Poets.org for their library, classroom, or home. Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! Marco, our science fiction and fantasy, reviews one of his favorite books on the blog: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. Read the review to find out about the book’s unconventional setting, and why Marco thinks it’s such a fascinating story. Sabrina Guo, a Stone Soup author, has started the initiative LILAC (Long Island Laboring Against COVID-19) to raise money for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in hospitals. We’ve linked the fundraiser in the post and encourage you to
Weekly Flash Contest – final week August 24, 2020
Contest based on Monday’s Daily Creativity Prompt Every weekday morning from March to late August 2020, we published a Daily Creativity prompt. We decided to get everyone focused by turning every Monday’s prompt into a Flash Contest! For this rolling weekly contest, all you have to do is pick up the Daily Creativity prompt published on a Monday, and submit your response to it via Submittable by midnight PST on the Friday of the same week. Contest Details Genre: The Daily Creativity prompt will specify exactly what we want you to do. Make absolutely sure that you are responding to the prompt that was posted on the Monday of the current week by checking the date on the post. Find the prompt here. Look for the words “Flash Contest” added to the title (especially if you are looking on a different day of the week). Length: It depends on the prompt. Some of them will have specific instructions (e.g. write a 10 line poem, or a three paragraph piece of prose, or compose a still life photograph). Other writing prompts might be more open, suggesting you write a story or rework one you already have, or make a piece of art on a theme. Where the prompt specifies, follow the guidance on length and/or medium. If it doesn’t specify, it’s up to you how long or short you make your writing (but remember, this is a flash contest, so we don’t expect you to write a novel!). Age Limit: For the flash contests, we will accept work from those age 14 or under. Deadline: Fridays at 12:00 midnight (Pacific Time). Entry fee: Free! How to Enter: Via Submittable. Results and Prizes: We will select up to 5 of our favourites by the following Wednesday. Publication: We will announce the names of each week’s winners and any Honorable Mentions in the following week’s Saturday Newsletter; and publish the winners’ work on the Stone Soup Blog on the same day.
