Brandi's Place

For today’s activity, your students get to imagine themselves all grown up and doing a very important job!  To begin, first have your student(s) give several examples of different careers and talk about what they do. Write them all down where the students can see (add more that you can think of). Then, tell them to choose a career and close their eyes and imagine doing that kind of job. *You could find a book at the library or go online to find more information about the career they have selected to write about. (see below) Now to begin your writing activity, start with the sentence “If I were a ______, I would…” For example “If I were a veterinarian, I would take care of sick animals.”  The next sentence (can be more than one, especially for older students) should describe how they intend to carry out that duty. "Whenever someone brings me their sick pet, I will do everything I can to help that pet get better." The last sentence(s) states why they have ch

Writers will tell you “write what you know”. And that is true. It is difficult to write much about any subject of which you are ignorant. Writers very often draw from their personal experiences in order to create their stories. In this activity, we will encourage your young authors to get out and have some experiences to write about.  My own children really enjoy going out into our wooded area on our land to explore. So while we are homeschooling this year, I have been implementing some nature hikes into our lessons. Obviously writing is a subject I am particularly passionate about. So, it has been fun developing creative ways to get my kids writing about what they find in the great outdoors. This is an activity you can use in your school classroom, your homeschool, or just as a fun weekend activity. A great time to do this activity is when you are at the park, or if you are traveling to an area that has some beautiful natural places to explore. But there are th

Why should you teach your students creative writing? During most of our school days, the main push and focus is Math, Science, Reading, and Social Studies. But, what about writing? And some may argue that kids are able to do plenty of writing during the course of their other subjects so adding writing as a separate subject might seem unnecessary. That may be because they do not understand the value creative writing has and how it can actually enhance a child’s ability to learn the other subjects. Okay, now really, how can “Once upon a time…” really help a kid with math or science? Good question! I’m glad you asked! The answer lies in the creative writing process itself which not only allows a writer to bring a story together, but also to train their mind to organize and process data. The Creative Writing Process (in a nutshell): Brain Storm Draft Revise Edit Publish During brain-storming , young writers are often encouraged to create a flow chart that

Here's a fun little poem I wrote back in high school about a couple of silly aliens who's friendship gets a little stressed when they go on an adventure together. Enjoy this silly rhyme! As with all my poems, you are welcome to share and use however you wish as long as you do not remove my name.  (text) Chip and Blip By Brandi Peterson I know a Zip, his name is Chip. He went on a fieldtrip in a spaceship. Chip brought his friend Blip on the trip. And together, they made a comic strip. On the trip they ate a chicken strip Dunked in bean dip Stirred with catnip. Chip and Blip’s friendship suffered hardship. Chip put Blip through a guilt trip Because Blip hit Chip with a whip. They won a championship For their comic strip And got a scholarship To the Space Ship University. On their return trip Blip got a stiff upper lip when Chip hit him with a poker chip. After the field trip on the spaceship They stayed in fellowship

  Last week was our FIRST EVER week of home schooling for our 3 rd grader and our PreK girls! It has been around 110 ° in Oklahoma City for the past few days, so we decided that it would be a great time to get started and enjoy a break later in the fall when it’s cooler.   I’ve been a little nervous about the idea of homeschooling. I wasn’t sure if I was up to the task. But this week has been absolutely terrific and A.J. and L.A. LOVED schooling at home.    Because it was our first week, I didn’t break out the main curriculum I have selected just yet. Instead, we played math games together so A.J. could brush up on her math facts. We explored some current science articles produced and short videos by Answers in Genesis and discussed their impact. And we also discovered some “ancient ruins” in the yard where the girls had to make a conclusion about the history of a make believe family when they found some items buried in the dirt (I buried them beforehand).   This is just

 I am a dreamer. I love stories, either reading them or writing them. If I am not reading a story, I am writing one in my head. Only sometimes do I actually write them down. Does this sound like you? Does your brain reach for a story like a street drug? Do you ever say "I'm sorry, you're interrupting me." to someone because you're busy conversing with the voices in your head? Then maybe you are born to be a writer!   But, where do you begin? You've probably heard this before: Write what you know! But it's so true. Even if you are coming up with a fantasy world where everything is different than reality, there has to be some feelings, experiences, or interests you can draw from to inspire your story. Think about: What do you like to do? What do you enjoy reading about? Then, sit back and daydream. Go back to pretend land like when you were a little kid and imagine your story playing out like a movie in your head. They say every character in an aut