Raising a World of Writers: kids & creative writing

I recently completed another 8-week after-school creative writing session for 4th and 5th graders. Peanut Butter & The Pen, a food writing class with the organization Take My Word For It, culminated in another fabulous reading at our local independent bookstore. The kids wrote about food they love and hate -- commercials for food, imaginary food, and personifying food by creating food characters. 

Their writing excerpts, including stories, odes and recipes gone awry, will soon be added to the Take My Word For It blog and Facebook page. 

Meanwhile, here's a preview of some of their best work, taken from a writing exercise using similes and metaphors to describe the following types of food:

"Chips taste like rotten twigs snapping between your teeth." 

"Chocolate melting cake is sweet and a bit salty at the same time with a hint of mint. It tastes like chocolate clouds." 

"Bubble gum is as greasy as my mom's frying pan and as soft as a pillow." 

"Barbeque ribs taste like the ribs of an alien animal with traditional mushed brain sauce." 

"Mushrooms have a mushy, slimy and nasty taste. They have a frothy texture." 

"Macaroni and cheese is so slimy and gooey that you think it's worms slithering in your mouth." 

"The salt [on chips] looks like sparkling snow." 

"It would be a white chocolate ganache with a citrus glow in the dark extract that would look pink under dark light." 

"Chips: as crunchy and hard as iron mixed with diamonds." 

"Chips: crunchy like beetles getting crushed. Corn on the cob: rubbery like a trampoline." 

And, here's a surprising blog post titled "6 Ways to Raise a Writer: Easy things all parents can do to help their kids express themselves with the written word" -- refreshing for its atypical writing advice! Happy writing.