Curiosity Encouraged

While I’m dreaming of a warmer, sunnier season, I’m here in the grey drizzle, feeling the winter pull to get quiet and put my energy into being more present with my people and creative work. I don’t do presence as well when I am on social media.

It’s going to be quiet here, but all is well! Lots of new classes and exciting things are coming up!

The best ways to connect are text, email, calls, and my newsletter.

Wishing you all a very happy new year!

Signing off,

Xo Kelly

Sweet day with my people 💕 Food, Legos, food, walk, food, car shopping, food, Mario Cart, food. Full in all the ways.

Happy Solstice! May the longer days shine peace.

Last day of classes for 2024 💕

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

To the kiddos, teens, families, and women writers who choose my classes each week, who trust me with challenges and share vulnerabilities, who laugh at my ridiculous jokes, you allow me to do the work (play) I love. I am so very grateful!

I am joyfully tired and ready for a break, but I can’t wait to see you next year.

Happy birthday to my little sister!!! We’re so lucky we got you!

Here’s what’s coming up in Creative ELA in 2025.

- 12 Creative Writing Studio Classes

- 10 Book Clubs- members choose the books

- Free Classes- Vision Boards, Play with Figurative Language, ELA Help for Parents

- 11 Creative Writing Classes, including Myths & Fables, Time Capsule Zine, Photo Stories, Poetry, Co-Create Class Stories, Create a Puppet Show, and Narrative Writing.

- Community Read Around for writers to share their writing with family and friends

- The start of a student-created Literary Magazine.

I’m so grateful to the growing Creative ELA community. I’d love for your family to join. Membership is $15 per month per family and includes all of the above, plus flex classes and a ton of ELA resources.

Message me with questions, or visit my website to learn more!

Coming up in December! Join me for our final 2024 classes 📝✏️

My heart is full!! So very grateful for my people.

About to freeze our buns off, but at least we get to do it together and see animals 🥶🦁🦭🐻🐻‍❄️

New Winter office (aka my son’s room) makes me miss him and feel like he’s here. Three weeks until I hug the 6’4 person I somehow birthed yesterday.

Are your kids participating in National Novel Writing Month?? Here's a class to get them started. It's on sale :)

Celebrate National Novel Writing Month All Year Long- Flex Class November is National Novel Writing Month, but we can celebrate novel writing and the novels we love all year long. Come use your favorite novel to gather inspiration for your writing.

Some of you asked for a recipe for my lentil stew, so here you go.

But first, you should know that if I ever started a restaurant, it would be called Winging It because that’s how I cook. I eyeball pretty much everything, so this recipe is not exact, but it’s as close as I remember :)

I made it in a crock pot, but you could do it on the stove.

2 cups broth (I used chicken)
3 cups of water
1 can black beans drained
1 can tomato sauce
1 onion diced
2 carrots diced
3-4 Yukon Gold potatoes diced
1/2 head of garlic diced
1 cup of green lentils
2 tsp or Harissa paste (don’t skip this unless you don’t like spice)
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper

Things I didn’t have, but would have added- frozen corn and peas, diced ham or chicken, jalapenos, peppers

Put it all in the crockpot or pot. Bring to a bubble. Let it simmer until everything is soft or all day like I did.

If you cook it in a pot and want it like stew, maybe half the water and then add more if you need it. Otherwise, it may be more like soup.

Freezes great!

Let me know if you try it.