Creative Café

Back when I taught middle school, Creative Café, formerly Coffee Shop, was a time for my students to create and share their poetry, stories, and other talents. 

These days, I've found ways to introduce Creative Café to my own children. Someday we will do creative writing together, but for now, our focus is on art projects, narration pages, and other book-based activities. 

The basics for Creative Café are simple– we put on some coffee shop jazz or instrumental music, choose a spot with comfortable seating, and then we get to work on something creative! Sometimes I also offer refreshments. 

For older children, Creative Café time can be a time set aside for creative writing in a relaxed environment. I would begin by making sure every child has a writer's notebook to collect inspiration, lists, stories, and poems. Each writer can also start a Creative Café mug (see image above) to keep sharpened colored pencils, pens, and pencils. Choosing the mug can be a fun way to build excitement for creative writing time! 

(an example of a writer's notebook cover)

For older, middle-grade children, our website CreativeCafe.org offers inspiration and "spark your creativity" writing and art-based prompts that can be completed in a writer's notebook!

🎨 Need some ideas to get started? Check out the "Creative Café Time" we have enjoyed together!