Introduction to this Stone Soup Art Activity In a way, the new year really starts with spring. Spring is the time for planting the garden and cleaning house. It is the time when trees get new leaves and when you can play outdoors well into the evening. It is the season when cycles begin again. […]
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Art Activity: depicting people working, with ‘Harvesting Tea’ by Achinda Siriwardena, age 7
Introduction to this Stone Soup Art Activity For the artist, every workplace is a separate world with its own unique environment of light, sound, smell, and activity, and each picture is a story in line, shape, and maybe color that tells about that special place. The seven-year-old artist from Sri Lanka who painted the picture […]
Writing and Art Activity: illustrate your own story, with “The Adventures of Pumpkin and Seegartus” by Nicole Schmidt, 9
Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing and Art Activity “The Adventures of Pumpkin and Seegartus” is about a friendship between two animals–a pony, Pumpkin, and a cat, Seegartus–both favorite pets of Mary. The author, Nicole Schmidt, begins her story with the birth of Pumpkin and his capture from a herd of semi-wild horses, and she […]
Writing Activity: revealing character through problems with “As Long as We’re Happy (part 1)” by Clea Rivera, 14
Introduction to this Stone Soup Writing Activity Here you find Part One of Clea’s story. In a separate activity, we’ll offer the second part. The main story, or plot, is about a teachers called Mrs. Davids, though there is a second story, something we call a subplot, about a little girl, Flora Pinecrust. Mrs. Davids […]
Art and Writing Activity: making a picture book with “When Smudgie Got Lost” by Karine Faden, 10
Introduction to this Stone Soup Art and Writing Activity Many of the stories we print in Stone Soup are both written and illustrated by the author. Many authors illustrate their own stories—especially authors of books for children. I am sure your library has books by authors like this: Maurice Sendak, Arnold Lobel, James Marshall, and […]
Writing Workshop #39: Ghosts (part 1)
An update from our thirty-ninth Writing Workshop A summary of the workshop held on Saturday May 1, plus some of the output published below In his second class in the spring 2021 series, William took us on a journey to the spirit world, looking at mysterious manifestations in fiction and popular culture, from Caspar the […]
Writing Activity: take a character on a believable journey from zero to hero
‘Tom Green,’ a story by 10-year-old Zahra Batteh, is a classic redemption tale. Tom Green, a horrible, spoiled, lazy young man loses all his money and privilege, and through a series of misfortunes and (eventually) hard work over several years develops compassion and gratitude, and becomes a better person. In the end, he finds happiness not […]
Daily Creativity #5: Flash Fiction of Social Activity
It’s Friday–time for some flash fiction! Think of an activity you like to take part in with other people–like football or singing or playing a board game–and write a narrative of fewer than 250 words in which that thing is at the center of the action.
Writing Activity: Using Framing to Add Depth and Power
Emma McKinny’s story “Windsong,” is about going to a performance of Dr. Atomic, an opera by John Adams with libretto by Peter Sellers. Her father is the lead singer. You can use your research skills to get information on the actual performance and its reviews online, but here we want to focus on one element of the […]
Writing Activity: challenging prejudice and developing empathy through storytelling
The story by 11-year-old Nate Sheehan, “Conrad and Fate” is about prejudice based on a student’s ethnicity. This story, set in the late 1950s is about prejudice against Japanese people, something that was very strong in in the United States during and some time after World War II, which ended in 1945. If you follow […]