Fall 2022 Classes
The following classes are currently available for enrollment.
Please note that we also teach small private classes that are not listed here.
If the offerings below do not fit your schedule, feel free to email us, and perhaps we can find a class for your young writer.
To register, please send an email to [email protected].
Please provide:
- The title of the course
- Your child's name
- Your child's age as of September 1
- A daytime phone number for us to reach you.
Either Writing Coach Shu-Hsien Ho or Royd Hatta will respond as soon as possible.
For the safety of all, we require masks during our in-person sessions.
World Literature: Voices Beyond Our Borders
A Literary Analysis & Writing Course for Ages 12-14
In-Person
Taught by Writing Coaches
Royd Hatta & Shu-Hsien Ho
Sept. 6 - Dec. 6, 2022
Tuesdays 1:00pm-2:15pm (12 lessons)
(No Sessions on Oct 11 & Nov 22)
Location: Redwood City Home
Hosted by parent Bridget M. in her backyard
Minimum 7 students
Maximum 10 students
Tuition: $495 per student
Includes lesson prep,
detailed feedback on written assignments,
travel fee, & up to 90 minutes 1-on-1 coaching.
Through the lens of some favorite vivid stories, we will explore the unique perspectives of the characters and their particular struggles in the world they live in.
Students will journey into Columbia, Afghanistan, and a fantasy world inspired by India's landscape.
How do these stories mirror their society or culture? What major themes, symbols, and metaphors emerge as a result? Students will use these readings and our discussions to inspire and write their own reflections, stories, and essays throughout our course.
Readings will include:
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A short story about villagers who react to a strange character who arrives in their coastal town. Magical realism. We'll provide a PDF.
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
Eleven-year-old Parvana lives in Kabul, Afghanistan during Taliban rule. When her father is arrested, she must disguise herself as a boy and become the breadwinner for her family.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
A fantasy novel about a boy who goes on an unexpected adventure to help his father regain his storytelling gift.
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Photo by Wanman uthmaniyyah on Unsplash
Includes lesson prep, detailed feedback on written assignments & up to 60 minutes of 1-on-1 coaching.
Imagine stepping into the mouth of a giant, diving through a black hole, or transforming into a superhero.
Just as Pinocchio entered unexpected and sometimes dangerous worlds in his quest to become human, this workshop will invite students to travel with their story characters and tackle the twists and turns of their amazing adventures.
We’ll tap into our imaginations with highly interactive storytelling games and brainstorming exercises, as we walk through every step of the writing process:
- inspiring a love for creative writing
- understanding the structure of a compelling story
- generating and organizing ideas
- writing with momentum
- revising for clarity and logic
- editing towards a final draft
Each student will be invited to present a reading on the last day of class.
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash
Includes lesson prep, detailed feedback on written assignments & up to 90 minutes of 1-on-1 coaching.
Similar in concept as the class above, but more in-depth with older students in mind.
This workshop will invite students to create and step into their hero's shoes to savor and explore each moment while moving towards a personal goal. Along the way, they'll face obstacles, threshold guardians, and villains to thwart their adventures.
We’ll tap into our imaginations with highly interactive storytelling games and brainstorming exercises, as we walk through every step of the writing process:
- inspiring a love for creative writing
- understanding the structure of a compelling story
- generating and organizing ideas
- writing with momentum
- revising for clarity and logic
- editing towards a final draft
Each student will be invited to present a reading on the last day of class.
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Photo by Sylvain Mauroux on Unsplash
Protest and Pursuit for Equality
An In-Person Literary Analysis & Writing Course
for Ages 12-14 (Grades 7-8)
Taught by Writing Coach Royd Hatta
(No session on Oct. 5 & Nov. 23)
Location: Mountain View Home
Hosted by Danielle in her backyard
This course will invite students to explore U.S. history and literature through the experiences of African Americans.
What are the forces behind their continual struggle for equal rights in education, the law, community, and political representation?
Students will develop their critical thinking skills while learning concrete tools for writing literary analysis essays. As always, we'll provide an essay structure and break down the thinking and writing into small steps. This course is open to both beginning and intermediate level essay writers.
Our group discussions will be based on the following readings:
MARCH: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell is a graphic novel memoir from the point of view of Georgia’s long-time Congressman John Lewis, who passed away in 2020. This first book in the series shows his childhood and his early non-violent activism during the 1950s and 1960s. He was an organizer of sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville and brought the attention of inequality for all Americans to see.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor, is a modern classic based on the author’s father’s experience in the South during the Great Depression. Through strong-willed Cassie Logan’s eyes, we see her and her family’s struggle to keep their land and their family together in spite of the rampant racism in their schools, their community, and even the internalized racism exhibited in a close friend.
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
March Book One - John Lewis Graphic Novel Biography
Includes lesson prep, detailed feedback on written assignments, travel fee & up to 60 minutes of 1-on-1 coaching.
Have you ever wondered how archeologists discover T-Rex fossils? Or what it would be like to live in Paris during the French Revolution?
This course is a space where students can explore a specific question or topic that intrigues them and learn concrete steps for digging into the research and creating a story or essay.
Past projects have included
- the life of a falconer
- the very first video game experiments
- the impact of plastic pollution in our oceans
- Verdi's female orphanage orchestra
- the archaeopteryx, the first possible bird
All topics are welcome. Students will share their readings on the last day of class. We invite you to join us on this special journey!
Lessons will include:
- Highly interactive, hands-on brainstorming exercises to inspire curiosity
- Opportunities to apply newly learned skills and concepts to real world scenarios
- A step-by-step process for developing researching, interviewing, critical thinking, problem solving, writing & revising skills
- Oral presentations of final research reports on the last day of class
To register, please contact:
[email protected]
Photo by History in HD on Unsplash