Dream Keepers Blog

Last night, the Dream Keepers wrote about icky stuff. The assignment came from Dawn DiPrince's wonderful book, Unjournaling: Daily Writing Exercises that are NOT Personal, NOT Introspective, NOT Boring.  Here are a few examples I came up with: Icky is sharing deodorant with your six brothers. Ickier is sharing a toothbrush. Icky is cleaning out the couch, pocketing the change, and eating the dust-covered candy. I challenged the Dream Keepers to come up with icky stuff that would make me cringe with disgust. They did. Here's a sample of their work: Icky is picking up gum from the ground and eating it. Icky is when someone pops out their leg bone. Icky is chewing on your toenails. —Tramonta Garner, age 10 Icky is frying chalk, dirt and rubber and eating it as steak. Icky is eating fire extinguisher foam. —Brandon, age 11 Icky is a dead bird in the house, surrounded by flies. —Brianna Icky is playing with your hair while you are in line...

Tonight the Dream Keepers tried to write short poems with long titles, an assignment from Dawn DiPrince's wonderful book Yoga For the Brain . Here's the example I wrote: What Happened when John decided to Do His Laundry the Old-Fashioned Way: with a Bar of Soap, a Rock, and a River. Threadbare Underwear. The assignment is harder than it sounds, and the Dream Keepers had a tough time with it. But they still came up with some good samples. Read their work, and then try writing your own! By Elly: What Elly Was Left with After She Ate A big Juicy Hamburger in Two Bites. Yummy Tummy. By Leroi: What the Owner Said When He Took His Pet to Meet the New Vet, who Already Had Met a Dog, a Frog, and a Bunch of Cats. Oh No. By Daquan: What Happened When I Took A Bone from a Dog Who Had Had It a Long Time. Fight. Bite. By Tierra: The clock stopped at 11 O'Clock. Tick Tock?

You know what an urban legend is, right? You've probably even fallen for a few. Here are some I found while visiting Snopes , the go-to site for discovering if that warning email you got from your Auntie is true or a hoax. Here are some interesting legends I pulled off the site: *Disposable chopsticks are loaded with carcinogens. *Canola oil is toxic. *Coca-cola was originally green. Tonight's Dream Keepers had the opportunity to write their own urban legends—or at least the teasers to go with them. Here's what they came up with. When you're done reading, I hope you will be inspired to create your own! Beware of crooks using video games to steal your pants. (I want your pants.com) --Terrance Beware of crooks using the tooth fairy to steal teeth. --Terrance Don't leave your house! Killer squirrels on the loose! --Elly Beware of crooks taking coats. They're cold, and they're coming. --Shay Beware of sticky fingered crooks. They're stealing honey! --Shay

At this week's writing group, I sent the young people to different corners of our writing space to think up sill warnings. You know the kind. When you see them, you want to shout, "Duh!" My new hair straightener came with the warning: Do not use while sleeping. Most peanut butter jars now have the warning: Contains nuts. I challenged the Dream Keepers to come up with their own warnings. Here are the best ones: On a bathroom door: Warning: may contain smells. On the library: Warning: contains books. On jelly: Warning: M ay jiggle. On book: Warning: May contain challenging words. On boys: Warning: May giggle like a girl. On bicycle: Warning: Do not sleep while riding. Now it is your turn. Can you add some silly warnings to our list?

On Monday night, the Dream Keepers met for their annual holiday party. We ate cookies, drank lemonade, and wrote letters to Santa. Afterwards, each of the children chose a book to take home. One of the younger Dream Keepers asked me, "You mean I can keep it forever?" "Forever." "Yes!" she cheered. All of the young people—eight boys and two girls—were equally thrilled to take home a book. This year's collection of books for the young people came from generous donations by the Zonta Club of Milwaukee, people who purchased books through our Amazon Associateprogram, and two individuals who donated their own gently used books. Many, many thanks! I was thrilled to read their letters to Santa. I hope you are, too. Enjoy. Dear Santa, I want things to change. Let there be peace instead of violence. I want everybody to have a house and a car. I don't want anybody on the street. Sincerely, Damarious Dear Santa, I want God for Christmas. I want to meet Hannah ...

Last week, one of the Dream Keepers wrote a scary story and shared it with the group. He had us all looking over our shoulders for ghosts. The author, Jaimie, is pictured above. His story follows. Enjoy! Little Lyric by Jaimie Bogard-LaMar “Come on, Lyric,” said Deseree. “The last bell just rang.” “I’m on the homecoming committee, remember?” “Oh yeah. So you have to stay. Well, I’ll see you later. Just don’t be here alone,” said Deseree. "Wonder what she means by ‘Don’t be here alone,’" thought Lyric. After Lyric and the homecoming team were done for the day and about to leave, Lyric remembered. Uh oh, she thought. I left my jacket in the locker room. My mom said if I left it one more time, she wouldn’t let me go to the homecoming and all of my work would be for nothing. So, Lyric rushed to the locker room and saw her jacket lying on the bench. As she was about to grab it, she heard a banging sound. She looked around to see what it was. And she saw a locker door...

We've done six-word memoirs. Tonight the Dream Keepers wrote six-word scary stories. Read and enjoy! (Then write and submit your own in the comment field!) A vampire destroys the city with power. —Tramonta Garner (pictured above) One virus. One town. No survivors. —Jaimee Bogard-LaMar, 14 One girl. Many monsters. What's next? —Jaimee Bogard-LaMar, 14 Big zombie eats eyeballs. City blind. —Elisha Branch, 14 One house. One family. Both gone. —Elisha Branch, 14 Knock, knock. Who's there? Killer mysterious. —Derranesha, 12 Baby cries. No answer. What happens? —Derranesha, 12 Ring, ring. "Hello." Please help me. —April, 12 The spooky monster ran towards me ... —Sonya, 17 The worm crawls into the brain. —Sierra The slippery, slimy monster grabs two. —Quintoya Eskridge