Every student will need a dedicated writing notebook. Students can personalize their notebooks with pictures or stickers. I recommend a composition notebook for young writers and a lined journal notebook for older writers (my favorite is the Cagie lined journal notebook from Amazon). You can call the notebook your writer’s notebook or commonplace book. Call it what you wish, but make sure your students know they can add to it whenever an idea strikes. Read more about designing and dedicating your notebook on my blog!

Another way to enhance the Creative Café experience is to allow each student to choose a “Creative Café mug.” This mug should be a coffee mug that speaks to the student’s personality or passions. Each student should fill the mug with sharpened pencils and colored pencils. Students may also wish to add other utensils such as colorful pens, calligraphy pens, and paintbrushes. Create a space to store the mugs and invite students to grab their mugs at the start of Creative Café. Alternatively, canvas pencil pouch bags or wooden pencil boxes can also be decorated with artwork to express each student’s personality and passions.