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. You can read more about it here. 

These days, I've found ways to introduce Creative Café to my own children (you can read the story behind the name here). 

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. 

To structure our Creative Café time, I've designed a framework that invites children into a creative process that includes contemplating, conversing, connecting, collecting, creating, and celebrating!  

I've designed several workshops that lay a feast of beautiful ideas to spark each child's creativity. These workshops, most of which are literature-based, are great for classroom teachers and homeschooling parents teaching a wide variety of ages.

Creative Café is a fabulous way to inspire creative writers and thinkers. You can check out my free Creative Café: The Basics guide to get started or jump right in by downloading one of my print-and-go Creative Café workshop guides!  

Additionally, I run a website, CreativeCafe.org, which offers inspiration and "spark your creativity" writing and art-based prompts that can be completed in a writer's notebook! Ideal for middle-grade writers! 

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