Whilst our junior journalist, Henry Peacock, has had his article about being part of our 5th Bonkers Book in children’s magazine, First News, Space, Hats & Magic has had rave reviews: “It’s the best book yet!” says one mum. Our young authors are busy tasting success and reaching for new literary heights. Congratulations to them all, to all our volunteers and young mentors and thank you to everyone who continues to support us, especially the National Lottery who have once again chosen to fund our community, not-for-profit initiative for 2022/23.
Course 44 continues next Saturday with Don’t Lose the Plot: Boss It!, a guide on how to plan and write a fiction, non-fiction, comic or other story. Our final course of this school year begins on June 11th and will run for six Saturdays, bookings for which have just opened. Come and join us! You’d be very welcome 🙂
The book is a super mix of fantasy fiction, stories about space, magic and … a murder of hats. Is there such a thing? Isn’t it a ‘murder of crows’? There’s snake-throwing and talk about our chamber – the infamous ‘Pit of Death’. To give you some idea of what kind of writing is in the book, here is Etta’s amazing BLURB, voted ‘Best Blurb’ by our young pentopaperers:
‘Are you ready to enter a world where children are allowed to let their minds run wild and put their imaginations into one little book? Jump into your spaceship and whizz to the wonderful world of Doodah! Meet the crazy, cooky, cool, funny, happy, funky characters that bring our stories to life. Disappear into the Planet of Poem where we write about the moon and snowmen and crime, where every other sentence rhymes!
Does this interest you? If it does, you have found the right book!‘
Thank you to our amazing volunteers, Josh, Harriet, Caity and Carina who have helped the children get their ideas down onto paper this past year. They have provided all the sparkles and surprises we needed – and in bucket loads. Thank you all. We will welcome Orla back to the room for the new course and are super-excited about the contribution she will make.
What We Do: At Pen to Paper we teach literacy skills in a fun and interactive way, in a friendly and supportive environment. We use a wide variety of fun activities, tasks and games to help children aged 7-11 to develop creative writing skills, explore their imaginations, creative thinking skills and self-expression. A strong emphasis is put on developing social skills, making friendships, and building self-confidence and self-esteem.
Working alongside the school curriculum to support and complement academic learning, we operate in an informal and non-pressured setting.
When and Where: Courses run on Saturday mornings from 9.30 am to 11.00 am at the Alton Maltings Centre, Alton, with the occasional double. Places are strictly limited at a cost of £25.00 per child, per six-week course.
Self-Development: When children move onto secondary school they have the opportunity to come back to work as Young Mentors and then at sixth form/college they can come in to work as Volunteers which helps with the volunteering category of such schemes as the Duke of Edinburgh. Do get in touch if you would like to volunteer. We are currently looking for one to two college volunteers for September 2022 onwards (Enhanced DBS check an essential) for a three-, six- or twelve-month commitment.
Who We Are: Run by course leader Sarah Lucas – writer, publisher, workshop provider and language tutor – courses are held during term-time avoiding half-term holiday weekends where possible. Now in its ninth year, Pen to Paper has been successful in its bid for funds to cover the school year 2022-2023 from the National Lottery’s Community Fund and extends a big ‘thank you’ to all who have supported us over the years.
Where to Find Information: Contact Sarah on 01420 587351 or at puttingpentopaper13@gmail.com for more details.
Want to talk to us about your child’s literacy needs? We look forward to hearing from you.
Sarah Lucas
Pen to Paper, 07500 359308, puttingpentopaper13@gmail.com