Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Day 3 of Week 1: Taking Advantage of the Walsh Art Gallery at the Quick Center, to Inspire New Ways of Thinking About Character and Storytelling

I love the ways CWP's stellar teacher-leaders navigate campus space to bring students the best we have to offer. It's always wonderful, too, when the curators of the art exhibits have material that speaks to the summer programs. This year's For Which It Stands was perfectly operational for all our programs, and added a nice flare, as this week's Novel Writing I - Character Matters reported to me. I was busy doing my pirate argh-u-ment exercises with Little Labbers when the photos started coming my way. It quickly inspired me to think, "Wait...all our programs should visit."

We had another nice day of cool air, which was even better when I finally walked Karal at 6 p.m. (needed to clean up after kids, deal with a menacing kid who locked his cellphone in a locker and couldn't remember the digital code he put in to charge it....good news is that campus ITS is used to college kids being idiots, too, so they solved the issue quickly (with angry mom in tow wondering why he'd do something so silly).

Youth is wasted on the young. 

Today will be some dialogue exercises with older kids and much conferencing to see where everyone is with their writing. All hands will be on deck for the little kids to type Thursday/Friday. I also have the first mute kid who, I realize, has also been silent on the page. His parents simply want him to have the social experience, and he's come a long way. Yesterday, he nodded his head that he would talk to his friend he made and tell him what he wants to be written, and that I can be in the room with them to put it to page. We'll see how this goes. I had a 9th grader once why had dysgraphia and that's how we use to operate. He'd kvetch with friends and I would record. The issue was not with his intelligence....it was in finding the way for him to communicate in a way that works for him.

Finally, years ago I wrote an 'argh'ument song to the tune of Let It Snow. Yesterday, Scarlett (an intern I hired for the summer who is a voice major at Dickinson) led the kids in a rendition of the song. It was amazing. I'm going to get her to record it for me! I'd love to make a video of the kids and their argumentative essays with her singing as part of the show!

Onward. Time to make the donuts.


May the Muppets Be Triumphant, Always. One More Week to Go with Literacy Labs & Wonderful Memories Were Secured (Kermit, Included)

Still not sure who sent me the random Kermit t-shirt, Rainbow Connection, but I remember singing it in elementary school choir and another 4...