Writing and Ribcages

In addition to an exciting return to Snowboarding, last weekend brought about the newly conceived Packwood publication: The Random Ribcage: Freedom for Freedom's sake. 

I've always been interested in trying to figure out how to integrate more conceptually involved activities into the recreational status quo of after school activities in the area we serve. Tutor tuesdays are a bust and while the refreshing craft offering here and there at Open Gym feels worthwhile, it isn't enough. I want to learn about these kids' creative brains! 

And so a couple of weeks ago, I put out a call to hold a writer's group with the hopes of making something for print. A surprising amount of kids signed up but on Saturday, an unsurprising number of those kids were no-shows. At first I was a bit bummed but with the Pass getting good snow, I knew a few had taken advantage and couldn't blame them. However, I managed to rope in my three book group kids and we ended up having a lively and engaged discussion. 

I'd made up a list of activities and printouts with the assumption that I might have to spearhead some inspiration with prompts and examples but the conversation ended up taking its own course. I began by asking the kids to share what kind of writing they liked to do and then we talked about all the different kinds of writing a publication could focus on. Ultimately, they decided they wanted it completely non-discrimatory, coming up with ideas for real-life interviews with our friend recently back from Africa, to outlandish rumor columns featuring (good-humored) locals. 

What ended up taking a good chunk of our first meeting was the name process. At first, everyone just shouted out their suggestions and we made a big list to vote from: Freedom Gazzete, Grab Bag Gazzete, and finally The Weekly Ribcage were our last contenders. We liked Ellie's unique Ribcage submission but there was no way we'd produce something weekly and we needed a filler word. That voting process took up the rest of the time. The adults in the room loved "eclectic" but the kids vetoed it and by the end, we'd settled: The Random Ribcage. 

I was thrilled to see the enthusiasm for the project and each of the kids had 110% interest in fundraising/getting sponsors to print for town-wide availability.

The following Saturday, our meeting got cut short but we did manage to complete an interview activity that we will use for writers' profiles in our first issue. I had the kids make their own list of questions and partner off to "interview" one another and then I took their pictures. I'd intended to have us share our own pieces of writing so as to get a sense for one another's style and while we didn't have the time, my preparation for the meeting had led me to dig out some of my own works from the archives. That was interesting.

The next time we meet, it is my hope that we start to get down to the meat of content. With months counting down to the end of service, I would at least like to see the first publication successfully take flight. Maybe then, it will plant a creative seed here that can outlast my stay...