Kids Talk Story

How do I start?

Start with your own circle of family and friends. Or, build a relationship with a local school. Ask to borrow or rent a classroom after school. Hand out flyers and speak with parents. You'll be amazed at the number of parents who need help with their children's writing skills.

Once I get started, is it hard to keep it going?

Once you get started, you'll find that kids will have such a good time, they'll start inviting their friends. In addition, you'll want to do the following:

Send out flyers on a regular basis
Offer promotions and discounts for sibling and referrals
Give free talks to parent groups
Advertise on Craigslist and/or traditional media
Try to have your local paper write an article about your group

Concerning the curriculum, does it change month to month? How long does it take to go through the entire curriculum?

One of the things our teachers enjoy most about the Kids Talk Story curriculum is its flexibility. You can adapt it to the unique group of children you're working with at the time.

Every week is a new lesson
You can spend as long as you want on each lesson
You can repeat lessons

Do the kids get bored? What keeps them coming back for more?

Once they start writing about themselves, it seems children really buy into the program. Remember:

We make writing fun
They like the snack
They like being with their friends
They like the extra attention from a caring adult

What is the concrete sense of completion or accomplishment each month?

Each student sees the body of work build up over time. One fun game the kids play is "Word Count" in which they see the number of words they've written in each assignment, each session, and each month. In addition, you can:

Keep track of points for effort and/or good behavior
Reward with small treats or toys
Award Ribbons (available through this site)
Send progress reports home to parents

If the program continues 10-12 months of the year how many books do the kids write during that time?

This is entirely up to you. We've had students complete a book in as little as two months. Another choice is to publish a book in one year, but provide other tangible products in the interim such as notecards, letters, or laminated bookmarks.

For the younger kids, I'm assuming they finish their books faster than the older kids, so what do they do with the rest of the time/months?

We model our program on the dinner table idea. A family has children of different ages and they might all do their homework together. The older children work on their stories while the younger children work on activities such as alphabet coloring, pictures and labeling. You can assemble all their materials at the same time as the older groups.

Do you get the kids/parents to sign or agree to a commitment/contract for a number of months? Do the parents prepay month to month or do you have them give you post-dated checks at the beginning for the whole year or 6 months at a time?

This is a good idea, especially if you can offer a discount for paying three months ahead of time, for example.

I'd like to teach a Friday night sessions for the middle school kids. Is 12 years old and up a good age range for the Friday nights?

Yes but we've gone as young as ten. It's a good idea to be flexible, allowing for brothers and sisters, especially.

What is the minimum number of kids you needed to make it fun for them as a group as well as profitable?

Six. But if you have a few absences, which does happen, you'll find that the children who do come enjoy the extra attention.

Do you ask kids to bring in their own art materials, papers, paints, colored pencils, etc. or do you supply all of it?

We supply all the materials; it's much more convenient for the parents that way. The materials required for writing don't amount to much—just pens and paper. Art supplies, however, do tend to add up. We suggest you make your shopping list ahead of time and include the additional cost in the tuition.

How often should the class meet?

We recommend twice a week if possible for the best results. Excellence in writing demands daily practice. At this time, we don't send homework as it can be overwhelming for the parents, but we do stress practice. Rome wasn't built in a day!

Does your website offer ready-enough-made brochures, fliers, posters that explains the program and we can insert our own dates/times/rates and print out?

Yes.

Frequently Asked Questions