Fall Writing Classes with Holly Van Houten
Holly Van Houten has worked as a writing instructor at USC, Pepperdine
University and CSUN and for the past several years has worked with homeschooled
children, of all ages, at the Huckleberry Center for Creative Learning.
For more information, or if you would like help determining which class might
best serve your child, email Holly at hollyvanh@gmail.com
Tuesdays
9:30-11:00 Novels to
Knowledge: Classic Literature (Ages
10-13)
11:00-12:30 Read to
Write: Coming of Age Classics (Ages 13+)
1:00-2:30
Keyboarding and Creative Writing (Ages 8-12)
Thursdays
9:30- 11:00 Short
Stories: Creative Writing & Classics
(Ages 13+)
11:00-12:30 Powerful
Paragraphs (Ages 8-11)
1:00-2:30 Writing a la Mode (Ages 9-12)
Novels to Knowledge: Classics (Ages 10-13; Tuesdays, 9:30am) Students in this class
will read (or re-read) classics, discuss them in class and write an essay on
each. Our classics for the fall semester will beTreasure Island,
The Secret Garden, The Prince and the Pauper, Swiss Family Robinson, andAround
the World in 80 Days. Even if your child has read some of these
before, this class will offer the opportunity for in depth literary analysis
and class discussion to prepare students to articulate their ideas about these
classics in essay form. Check out the full description at the following
link: http://www.hucklearning.org/#!novels-to-knowledge/c3c7
Read to Write: Coming of Age Stories (Ages 13+; Tuesdays, 11am) Students in
this class will read (or re-read) classics, discuss them in class and write an
essay on each. Our classics for the fall semester will be To
Kill a Mockingbird, Emma, Hamlet, Lord of the Flies and Jane
Eyre. Even if your child has read some of these before, this
class will offer the opportunity for in depth literary analysis and class
discussion to prepare students to articulate their ideas about these classics
in essay form. Read full description at the following link: http://www.hucklearning.org/#!read-to-write/c1ce5
Keyboarding & Creative Writing (Ages 8-12; Tuesdays, 1pm) Learning to
type accurately and at a fairly high speed, improves students willingness to
write longer essays and creative stories. It also encourages revision, which is
key to good writing. This class combines standard QWERTY typing instruction
with creative writing. Over the course of the semester, students will
learn proper fingering and play lots of fun games to improve typing speed, but
they will also be learning the fundamentals of creative writing (plot design,
detailed description, perspective, mood, etc) as they write 5 stories of their
own. Check out the full description at the following link: http://www.hucklearning.org/#!keyboarding--creative-writing/c144q
Short Stories: Creative Writing & Classics (Ages 13+, Thursdays, 9:30am) Students
in this class will write 5 original short stories of their own, while learning
specific skills and techniques through literary analysis of classic short
stories by some of the masters of the genre – Edgar Allen Poe, Charlotte
Perkins Gilman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, O. Henry, Shirley Jackson, Guy de
Maupassant, and many more! Read full description at the following link: http://www.hucklearning.org/#!short-stories/c5w6
Powerful Paragraphs: (Ages 8-11; Thursdays, 11am) This class begins by
teaching students how to structure individual paragraphs, but by the end of the
semester, students will have learned, step by step, how to construct full
5-paragraph essays. It is a wonderful course for teaching kids how to
develop their ideas and keep them organized. Check out the full
description at the following link: http://www.hucklearning.org/#!powerful-paragraphs/co49
Writing a la Mode (Ages 9-12; Thursdays, 1pm) This course takes students
through many of the "modes" of writing: description, narration,
definition, classification, comparison/contrast, cause & effect, etc.
Students will be writing 5 paragraph essays (or longer) as they practice these
skills. Check out the full description at the following link: http://www.hucklearning.org/#!writing-a-la-mode/c1vwv
