Campfire Tip #7: Encourage Creativity

If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want some syrup to go with it—but if you give a girl an octopus book and some thread, she just might make the most gorgeous pillow you’ve ever seen!

If you’ve been with Blackbird & Company for a while, you know the grand finale of every Literature guide arrives in the form of the Section 5 project. Students have the freedom to pour as much or as little time into these projects as they feel inspired.

Over the years, we’ve been WOWed by our students’ talents. Each writer brings some new twist to old stories, a fresh perspective that shines. And in Session One of Pages classes, our Pages Online student, Gwen, raised the bar for the Section 5 Project. Inspired by The Soul of an Octopus, a Level 4 novel, her project brings the WOW!

Take a look at this pillow. The painstaking detail in every stitch, the beautiful and warm color palette, the elegance of the underwater tentacles—chef’s kiss!

While sewing and embroidery might not be immediately identified as writing practice, creating a project like this teaches a host of lessons that can be applied both to writing and life.

For one, this project is about putting vision into reality. Gwen had an idea and traveled step-by-step—gathering materials, creating a pattern, sewing little section by little section—towards her masterpiece. The ability to tackle complex goals by breaking them down into parts is an essential skill for writing. It sounds a lot like crafting a thesis, finding evidence, and developing a hook!

Another product of creating a project like this is grit. Though I’ve only embroidered a handful of times and never very well, I’m familiar with the vast patience embroidery requires. And to create an octopus with this level of detail and precision? That took a lot of discipline!

This is where holistic education comes in. We are in the business of creating well-rounded individuals, not writing robots. Gwen’s talents and perseverance exemplifies the Blackbird spirit.

~Claire S.