Enroll your child in a summer program that's both educational AND fun!

Schools are great at teaching students to read. But they often ask students to write something without teaching them how to write. That's what we do. We want every student to become an author. Maybe it won't be the next great novel, but the student will develop confidence, motivation, and write with more ease.

And we realize this is summertime. No homework; all work is done in class.

So, imagine a writing class where the most important focus is to turn your child into a writer. It happens in an environment where children do all the things authors really do:

• Write what matters to them.
• Understand the strategies they need to draft, revise, edit, and publish.
• Effectively put language to use.
• Write to a specific audience, with purpose.
• Apply correct conventions and form.

What will Writers' Workshop give your child?

• Time to write, in an environment that encourages written expression
• Ownership of his/her “product”; children are encouraged to write about things they know and care about
• Response, with frequent individual student-teacher conferences
• The foundation for good writing
• A lasting framework for writing
• Publication of his/her work. Students in Class PN-K and PN-1 will take home their completed work on the last day of the course; all others will have their work published in an anthology to be mailed in March 2013.

All students will learn the stages of the writing process.

• Choosing a topic
• Drafting and illustrating
• Responding and revising
• Proofreading and editing
• Publishing

Each Writers' Workshop session consists of these elements:

• Mini-lesson about good writing
• Writing block time
• Individual student-teacher conference
• Sharing time

What would you see if you took a peek into the class? Students gathering together for a teaching demonstration, followed by a sustained writing time with individual feedback and guidance from the teacher. Lastly, there is a time to share, celebrate and reflect.

What can you expect to happen in Writers' Workshop? Your student will connect writing to reading by identifying what authors do, take personal responsibility for effective writing, and see the writing process as doable, manageable, and enjoyable.

The magic of your child's writing will come home on the last day of class, and, for most students in most classes, a keepsake anthology will arrive at your home the following March.

For our July 2012 session we have classes available for students at every level from Kindergarten through 11th grade (grades completed in 2011-12 school year). There are some one-week classes and some two-week classes, some morning classes and some early-afternoon classes. Topics available, depending on the grade level of the student, include Personal Narrative, Essay, Fiction and Teen Fiction. All of our instructors are certified, experienced SRVUSD teachers.

Please don't hesitate to call or email us with questions.

Our classrooms are at the Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Bollinger Canyon Road and South Gale Ridge Road, in San Ramon, opposite the Bridges at Gale Ranch clubhouse.

Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church
9015 South Gale Ridge Road
San Ramon CA 94582

Our mailing address can be found on our Contact Us page.