Grand View (pencil) by Analise Braddock, 11; published in Stone Soup February 2023 A note from Emma Wood Hello, Tomorrow, my son Sawyer will turn one! In addition to being the “baby” of our family, he has felt like a baby much longer than his sister did—slow to crawl, slow to talk, and he’s still not walking or waving!—so it’s hard to believe that, by tomorrow, his age will no longer be measurable solely in months. The rational side of me knew that of course, he would grow up, but the irrational side didn’t really believe this—part of me believed he would always be a baby. Our baby! I’ve been thinking a lot in the past couple of weeks about how drastically different my experience of the first year of Sawyer’s life was from the first year of my daughter’s life, and the role that writing played in that. I loved Margot fiercely but my depression and anxiety prevented me from really enjoying her. During her first year, I wasn’t writing at all—and in fact, it wasn’t until I began writing again that the mental fog began to lift. But during this past year, Sawyer’s first year of life, I never stopped writing—even if the writing was sometimes only notes dashed on my phone while I nursed him or rocked him at 2 a.m. And that made all the difference. This in turn has hammered home just how important writing and art-making are to mental health—and consequently how valuable and vital Stone Soup is. Writing is not just a way to… beget more writing. It is not “just” a means to develop creativity or critical thinking or to get better grades. It is a way to improve mental health, to nourish the mind and soul. Research has long shown that expressive writing has a major impact on mental health in both adults and children—it reduces stress, helps process trauma, improves self-confidence, and helps instill a sense of agency. Encouraging kids to develop a regular writing practice is one way to help combat the mental health crisis we are currently facing. My dream is to bring Stone Soup to as many kids in the country as we can—to get them reading and writing creatively, to change the world one writer at a time. A little over a week ago, we launched a GoFundMe to help realize this vision. As many of you know, like all print publications, Stone Soup has been in transition as digital media continues to change the publishing landscape. Now under new leadership for the first time in its history (that would be me!), we are poised to re-launch for the next generation. But you need your help to do so. We hope you will consider joining our GoFundMe campaign and help us continue to build the future we all want for our children and grandchildren. And for those of you have already contributed—my deepest thank you. Sending you warm wishes from Connecticut where we are experiencing record-low temperatures! Youth Advisory Board If you are under the age of 18, have ideas about how Stone Soup can grow or improve, and are interested in learning more about how nonprofits operate, please fill out this interest form. Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
bi-weekly
Saturday Newsletter: January 21, 2023
Refugee Project-Untitled Portrait 1, by member of the “Group Portrait Workshop,” run by Hands On Art Workshops, at the Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya A note from Laura Moran Hello, I sit to write this week’s newsletter after having just submitted a book review I wrote for an academic journal. The book was about people living in immigration detention centers in Australia—people who are seeking refuge in Australia but have not yet been recognized as refugees by the Australian government. Australia has a number of these facilities within its borders, and as the book illuminates, they function rather like prisons. But the book was about much more than the despicable conditions of detention centers and the daily deprivations suffered by those forced to live in them. The book was written from the perspectives of those who visit these facilities, those who recognize the fundamental equality of the people who live there and who seek to help them from a place of solidarity. Such help can take many forms, but more often than not, the most meaningful acts are the small ones—sharing food, sharing stories, playing a board game to pass the time. Through the lens of such connections, the book offers a counter narrative: one of humanity, hope, resilience and friendship that penetrates the grim circumstances it otherwise describes. I like to think a fundamental purpose of the Stone Soup Refugee Project, and indeed, the Stone Soup project in general, is foregrounding such humanity. By providing a platform for young people across the globe to connect with one another in creativity, we offer an opportunity to listen to one another’s stories, and in doing so, for a few brief moments, to see the world from another perspective. The portrait featured here was completed by a young girl living in Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwest Kenya. I know she would be happy that we are viewing it today. This portrait was submitted to us through one of the Refugee Project’s partner organizations, Hands On Art Workshops. As I seek to broaden the scope of the Refugee Project and forge connections with new organizations, please write to me at laura@stonesoup.com if you know of any potential contacts or have ideas you’d like to share. We, at Stone Soup, are always looking for volunteers to help us fulfill our mission of inspiring and empowering youth creativity around the world. For a full list of volunteer opportunities available at Stone Soup, please visit our new volunteer page. With warmest wishes, Class is in session! Please join us for the continuation of our virtual classes in the Winter 2023 term beginning January 21, 2023! Workshops run every Saturday until March 25th. Writing Workshop with Conner Bassett: At 11 a.m. Pacific time every week, Conner Bassett will teach his writing workshop focusing on the nuts-and-bolts of writing. Conner teaches English at Albright College and has experience instructing younger writers. He is a novelist, poet, and translator in addition to being a brilliant teacher. Please note: We regretfully announce that Isidore Bethel’s filmmaking class, Introduction to Short-Form Filmmaking, has been canceled due to low enrollment. We may offer the course in the future, possibly in a different format. If you have questions about the cancellation, please write to education@stonesoup.com. Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
Saturday Newsletter: January 7, 2023
Bicycle, Elevated (Canon EOS Rebel T7) by Joey Vasaturo, 12; published in Stone Soup January 2023 A note from Emma Wood Hello all, I can still remember the first story my daughter, Margot, told: “Once upon a time, Sawyer [her brother] went to sleep.” That was back in June and now, at two years and nine months old, her stories have grown increasingly complex. Last night, she was telling me an incredible tale about a bunny-frog who couldn’t find its way home and ran into an abominable snowman. After a few exploits involving a mountain, a cave, Rudolph (the reindeer), and a chandelier, they went home together and had tea. Watching her learn how to use language has been thrilling and inspiring in the same way that reading submissions for Stone Soup is thrilling and inspiring: she, and all children in the Stone Soup age range, often use language in totally novel and original ways. Sometimes it’s unintentional—a kind of “happy accident”—but other times it is more than that: she is trying to make a metaphor or simile. “What does it smell like?” I asked her the other day about a cookie she held up to her nose: “It smells like chocolate pancakes!” She’s never eaten chocolate pancakes: she made them up. She reminds me every day that children don’t have to try to be creative and totally original—that creativity and originality are intrinsic to childhood. As I take the helm of Stone Soup, I have been reflecting on our mission. I see what we do at Stone Soup as valuable in so many ways: we affirm and cultivate that natural creativity of childhood. But we also do so much more: we give children a voice and a platform; we encourage them to read and to write, which in turn fosters critical thinking and deep feeling; through the magazine or our books, we offer an opportunity to slow down, to turn off the devices, and practice true focus. As I work on updating our mission statement, I would love to hear from you: What makes Stone Soup valuable to you and your family? Write to me at emma@stonesoup.com or join us at our Donor Meeting on January 14 at 10 a.m. PT. I can’t wait to hear from you. New year, new term! We are happy to announce the continuation of our virtual classes for the Winter 2023 term beginning January 21st, 2023! They will run weekly through March 25th. We are additionally thrilled to once again present Isidore Bethel’s filmmaking workshop and are incredibly grateful for his continued partnership with Stone Soup. Also on offer is Conner’s popular writing workshop! For the year of 2023, we plan to alternate Conner’s and William’s workshops to consolidate and boost enrollment. If you were looking forward to William’s class, check back in the spring and try out a course with Conner or Isidore in the meantime! Introduction to Short-Form Filmmaking with Isidore Bethel, meets at 9 a.m. Pacific Time every Saturday. Isidore is an award-winning filmmaker who will guide students through the process of making their own film. Discussing and writing about other filmmakers and their work will complement the students’ own filmmaking journeys. Sign up here for Short-Form Filmmaking. Conner’s Group: At 11 a.m. Pacific Time every week, Conner Basset will teach his writing workshop focusing on the nuts-and-bolts of writing. Conner teaches English at Albright College and has experience instructing younger writers. He is a poet and translator in addition to being a brilliant teacher. Sign up here for Conner’s workshop. From Stone Soup December 2022… The Story of the Puddle and the Frog By Ava Shorten, 12 There was once a river. For years, this river had flowed gently all the way from the top of a great mountain down into a forest, where it joined up with tributaries and eventually ran into the sea. Until, that is, it stopped. The river had been blocked up with sticks and stones at the place where it ran out of the forest and into the sea. No matter how much the poor river tried, it could not trickle in or around this blockage. The river began to dry up. The sun became high in the sky, until at last the river was nothing but a puddle in the shade of a large willow tree. The puddle was within sight of the ocean, and every day he yearned to reach it, and yet he couldn’t. One warm summer’s evening, a young frog hopped up to the puddle and began to splash around. The puddle spoke to him. “Have you ever been to the sea?” he asked the frog. The frog looked around in surprise, and then realized it was the puddle speaking. “Yes,” replied the frog. “Many times. Have you?” “Once I was there every day,” said the puddle mournfully. “Until my river was blocked, and I dried up to the size of a puddle. Tell me of it,” he begged. “I long every day to be able to flow into its wonderful coolness, and yet I can’t.” Read more… Stone Soup is published by Children’s Art Foundation-Stone Soup Inc., a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization registered in the United States of America, EIN: 23-7317498.
