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100% written and illustrated by kids ages 8-13

Stay Creative with Stone Soup: Resources

When the global Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic was declared, Stone Soup implemented new programs and additional activities to keep young people engaged and creative. With schools closed, and students cut off from friends and spending extended periods of time in isolation, sheltering in place, or on lockdown, we knew our readers and contributors would appreciate more ideas to keep them busy, and new ways of bringing them together with other members of the Stone Soup extended family. Some of these are activities you can do by yourselves or with siblings and other family members at home; others are Zoom classes where you can interact with other Stone Soup readers and writers. Everyone is welcome.

Starting September, our Daily Creativity prompts are moving to a Weekly Creativity schedule. These prompts challenge you to make a piece of writing (a poem, a journal entry, a story outline, a review) or art, or music, or a spoken word recording, or other piece of creative work. All the prompts we have written are brought together on this page – see below. The first prompt of the month  prompt is also a Flash Contest!

Also starting September, our Stone Soup Writing Workshop and Stone Soup Book Club are following a new schedule. Starting September 12, they will take place on Saturday mornings (PST), with Book Club taking place on the last Saturday of the month and Writing Workshop on each other Saturday. These sessions remain free for subscribers and open to all. Booking will now be required: full details and booking options will be published before September 7. Click the links to find out more and read about what the two groups have been doing since March!

Plus, we are continuing to publish regular blog posts focused on current events, recording young writers’ thoughts and experiences. To submit your writing about COVID-19, BLM or any other current topic, visit our Submissions portal.

Sign up to the mailing list to receive a weekly email that brings the Weekly Creativity prompt and links to our Book Club and Writing Workshop bookings right to your mailbox!

Creativity Prompts

Weekly Creativity #125 | Flash Contest: Write a Story with Traditional Opening and Closing Lines
Write a short story that begins with “Once upon a time, in a land far away...” and ends with “...and they all lived happily ever after.” This prompt is our November Flash Contest. Please check the Contest page for full details ...
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Weekly Creativity #124: Draw a Subject as Though Looking Through a Thermal Camera
Pick a subject and draw it as if you were looking at it through a thermal camera ...
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Weekly Creativity #123: Write a Story Set in Medieval Times
Write a story set in medieval times ...
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Weekly Creativity #122: Write about the Concept of Heaviness
Spend 15 minutes thinking about HEAVINESS, and write down every word you associate with it–different nouns, verbs and adjectives; colors, sounds, weather, moods, places, people–as many as you can. Read through your word list, and use the images and ideas that most appeal to you to write a one-page story ...
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Weekly Creativity #121 | Flash Contest: Write a Poem That Can Be Read Up or Down
Write a poem that can be read both from top to bottom, and bottom to top ...
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Weekly Creativity #120: Write about Someone You Know as a Superhero
Write a story about yourself, or someone you know, as a superhero ...
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Weekly Creativity #119: Draw a Bicycle from Memory
Make a detailed drawing of a bicycle–from memory ...
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/ art activity, COVID-19, Creative Prompts, daily creativity, weekly
Weekly Creativity #118: Write a Poem Inspired by a Miró Painting
Write a poem inspired by a Miró painting. (Hint: it can be as silly as you want it to be, and probably won’t make sense.) ...
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Weekly Creativity #117 | Flash Contest: Write flash fiction from the perspective of an object
Create a piece of flash fiction written from the perspective of the first object you saw when you woke up this morning. Your narrative should be no longer than 250 words. This is the first weekly prompt of September, so it is also the topic for our monthly flash contest: ...
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Weekly Creativity #116: Write a Story about Aliens
Write a short story about someone discovering aliens ...
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You can see more writing and art activities on our Activities pages.

COVID-19 Blog Posts

Covid-19 in China: layered paper cut art by Alina Ji, 13

Covid-19 in China: Layered Papercut Art Alina Ji, 13 At the start of the pandemic, Alina Ji spent two months ...
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Together, a poem by Ethan Van, 10

Together Ethan Van, 10 Talking together. Chatting together. Homework together. Playing together. Running together. Left school. Can’t go outside. Talking ...
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Spring-20, a poem by Patrycja Wanat, 13

Spring-20 Patrycja Wanat, 13  Kite tails should be in the sky,  Bees are flying by. Spring has arrived! Everyone should ...
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Life of a Pencil by Amruta Krishnan Srinivasan, 9

Life of a Pencil Amruta Krishnan Srinivasan, 9 Man’s best friend is a dog. Amruta’s best friend—a pencil. Well, I ...
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Quarantine, a poem by Shravya Sethi, 11

Quarantine Shravya Sethi, 11 The light, not of sun The clash of a noise Coming from the box It's not ...
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Weekly Creativity #120: Write about Someone You Know as a Superhero

Write a story about yourself, or someone you know, as a superhero ...
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Weekly Creativity #119: Draw a Bicycle from Memory

Make a detailed drawing of a bicycle–from memory ...
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The Tyrant Virus, a poem by Benjamin Wu, 11

The Tyrant Virus Benjamin Wu, 11 The Coronavirus shows no intention of going away Bulking up and gushing out day ...
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Julia Marcus

My Room, a poem by Julia Marcus, 13

My Room Julia Marcus, 13 Four faded white walls, two open windows, two closed doors, three paintings, one whiteboard, and ...
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We are standing by ready to publish additional Blog posts by our young writers on everything related to the COVID-19 pandemic. On this page you’ll see the latest on COVID-19, and you can visit the Stone Soup blog to read all the blog posts on every topic. If what you read makes you think, leave a comment for the author! And, if you have something you want to say, submit your writing and ideas to the Blogs and Book Reviews category on our submissions portal. Remember–blog submissions are free.