Mission, Philosophy, and Class Structure
My mission, simply put, is to make writing fun!
My philosophy: The more children enjoy the experience of writing, the more they will want to write. The more creative writing skills they develop, the more tools they will have to take into other forms of writing.
Fearless Dragon Writers was developed to provide an opportunity for children to write in a no-pressure, non-judgmental setting, among friends. The club atmosphere enables children to come together, generate ideas, and inspire one another.
Fearless Dragon Writers welcomes writers of all skill and interest levels, those who enjoy writing, as well as reluctant writers. The Writing Workshops are "mentor-text." Each session is broken into three parts.
PART 1: THE READ-ALOUD: In PART 1, picture books or short excerpts of chapter books are read to the children to demonstrate a particular writing concept. The writing concept is taught and discussed, and then the Fearless Dragon Writers’ original Writing Worksheets are introduced. The Writing Worksheets contain several creative and fun writing choices based on that session's theme. These worksheets and an original ‘Writer's Block’ (filled with writing tips from published authors) help jump-start the writing process. In these lessons—anything goes! Some lessons include props, or theatrical elements—whatever it takes! All lessons employ humor and create a supportive space for young writers to develop. It is in this environment that children write their own stories—discovering their own words…. Which brings us to PART 2: WRITING TIME!
In PART 2, the children select a prompt from the Writing Worksheet (or develop an idea from their own imaginations!) and write their stories. Assistance is available for anyone struggling to find the right word or spell a difficult word. The children are free to create—and they have the added benefit of being surrounded by other young writers in this supportive environment. (Groups are small, so each student receives attention.) Then, we move to PART 3: SHARING TIME/GAME TIME!
In PART 3, we sit for “Snack n’ Share” as we share our stories aloud while eating allergy-safe snacks. Positive encouragement is offered so all writers feel heard. Lastly, we play Writing Games (MadLibs, Charades, Story Cubes, etc.) as we laugh our way to the end of each session!
Let's inspire our children to write by showing them they already have the words within.
Andrea Felcone has an English Honors B.A. degree from The State University of New York at Binghamton and 13 years of New York City publishing experience, including, but not limited to: Copywriting and Retail Book Marketing with Barnes & Noble-Corporate. A combined love of teaching children, writing, reading, and designing ridiculously elaborate theme parties has come together to create Fearless Dragon Writers, LLC. When she isn’t teaching, Ms. Felcone is writing! Her work has appeared in Motherhoodlater.com—as a featured contributor (blogger and theater reviewer) and for EatDarlingsEat.net. She has won the Legendary Letters Writing Contest and was shortlisted and published in the ‘6 Word Wonder’ Writing Contest. She is currently tutoring high school students with their college admissions essays; working on making Fearless Dragon Writers’ lesson plans available to teachers, homeschoolers, and parents—as well as writing a work of fiction.