Thursday, June 10, 2021

Expanding Young Minds With Writing Prompts


Today on the blog my guest Jennifer Ayer Drake recently released her new book, "Unlocking Kids' Brain Power: Semi-Weekly Writing Prompts to Expand Young Minds." I'm super excited to share her book with my grandchildren this summer--I think it's a great way to keep them busy and from complaining about being bored. 

This book is also handy for adults who need a little motivation to get creative and sharpen their writing skills! Jennifer's prompts are especially helpful to writers like me who often suffer from Writer's Block. Her ideas rev up my imagination so that I can put clever words to the page. Here's what Jennifer has to say about her new book: 

Summer is here! Be sure to keep your kids' or grandkids' minds in shape to avoid the summer slide backward. After coming off a particularly unusual and difficult academic year, most kids will benefit from the extra writing practice this summer.

Writing is not only a critical skill needed for most jobs, it’s also an incredible outlet for creativity. Get your kids or grandkids to write once or twice a week and watch their academic performance and overall creativity skyrocket! This book contains two writing prompts for each of the 52 weeks of the year. This book is geared primarily for ages 7-14, but the majority of the prompts work for kids (or adults!) of all ages.




Unlocking Kids' Brain Power: Semi-Weekly Writing Prompts to Expand Young Minds
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B096TQ6VD9

Here is an example of some of the prompts in the book. Try a few and see what you come up with!

Week 1:


Prompt 1 – What if the world existed upside down? What if the ground was up in the air and buildings hung from it and the sky was underneath us? How would life be different? What would work better? What would be harder? What would be really funny about that world?

Prompt 2 – Describe your perfect vacation. Where would you go? Who would be with you? What activities would you do? 

Week 2:


Prompt 1 – Invent a new animal. What does it look like? Where does it live? What does it eat? How does it fit into the ecosystem? Draw a picture of it, too!

Prompt 2 – Write a short skit between two people in which one of them is hiding a secret. What secret might they be hiding? Why? Is the other person able to figure out the secret? What happened if the secret gets revealed? Or what happens if it doesn’t?

Week 3:


Prompt 1 – Create a new country. What would you name your new country? Where would it be located? What kind of climate does it have? What system of government does it use? Give it a history. Has the country been involved in world wars? What else happened in the country’s history?

Prompt 2 – If you went camping and realized that you forgot to bring your tent, what would you do? What would that day be like? Would you improvise? Would you go home? Ask for help? Write your story.



BIO:

Jennifer Ayer Drake: Jen lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband and two sons. In addition to writing and raising her kids, she runs a children's theatre company that strives to instill public speaking skills, confidence, and courage in kids. She runs two other small companies as well, and she moonlights as a professional actor. She holds a BA from Penn State University and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University. Prior to having kids, Jen worked as a counterterrorism policy analyst at the Department of Homeland Security.

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