I got a chance to talk to Joel Arquillos of 826LA this past week. The 826 projects have “outlets” in several cities, offering free tutoring and creative writing classes for kids after school, as well as doing outreach to schools during the week. They have summer writing camps. But the best part of all, is they have a sense of magic about them, that helps inspire the community they serve.
Here, Dave Eggers asks members of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) to get involved with the public schools.
The stores for the various 826 projects carry fun products- like a Bottle of Chaos you can buy from the 826NYC storefront- The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store, or the Mermaid Bait & Repellent from 826 Valencia’s Pirate Supply Shop. More importantly, they have great books of kid’s writing, and even a great lesson plan book- Don’t Forget To Write, that’s winging its way to me as we speak.
The lessons from everything the 826 projects do is that kids benefit so much from one on one attention- from knowing they are important. They benefit from adults being silly and playful and capturing their imaginations.
I think we all need a little of the 826 spirit in our lives.
And I, for one, will be finding my way to Brooklyn SuperHero Supply as soon as I can get to New York.
2 responses so far ↓
Kelly Damron // Mar 27, 2009 at 9:11 am
A while back I made a conscious decision to be more playful, with my kids and my husband. I tend to be a very serious person, although I love to laugh and have good “clean” fun. Relaxing a bit and really enjoying the playfulness of my children has been a true blessing.
In addition, I’m giving them every chance to be a kid. For example, yesterday we had an appointment with the dentist and I let Pack Rat and Copy Cat wear their dress up clothes and shoes. The women at the dentist office LOVED it that they were all dressed up. It’s not everyday you see young girls looking like princesses in public!
Whitney Hoffman // Mar 27, 2009 at 9:19 am
The sense of play is about the most important thing you can give anyone, kid or adult. Those smiles just change my whole day. Seeing a dad chase his kid, everyone giggling the whole way yesterday was like that for me- it makes me nostalgic for when my kids were that age, and makes me want to hear them giggle now, every day.
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