Here’s what the kids think…

  • "Mrs. Kristin saved my college essay. She took what started as a very generic and formal essay and helped me find my own voice.”

    – Liam, 12th grade

  • “Thursday Night Writes are always fun and interesting and helped me gain confidence as a writer!”

    – Madeline, 7th grade

  • "It feels like family."

    — Allie, 7th grade

  • "I loved doing Mrs. Kristin's writing class. I learned how to make strong characters, descriptive settings, creative poems, and had a great time doing it. All the classes were filled with laughter and fun. Mrs. Kristin encouraged me to write more and made me feel confident about my writing. She was so kind and funny. After I took her writing class, I was able to make my stories come alive with magic. I am so thankful I got to take her writing classes."

    — Haley, 6th grade

  • "Mrs. Kristin not only teaches the craft of writing, but she also made the writing process more fun and hands-on for me. Giving us different prompts each class, and also throwing in new situations in our stories challenged us in a fun way. If you are thinking of signing your child up for a writing class, I highly recommend that you try this one before any others. I give Mrs. Kristin an A+."

    — Current student, 7th grade

…and the adults.

  • "First, let me say, sign your child or grandchild into one of Mrs. Kristin's Wordshop sessions as soon as possible! Any of them will be great and a really fun learning tool for your child. My granddaughter was in a writer's class this past summer, and again one this fall called "Fracturing Fairy Tales." She totally enjoyed each of the classes. And, a bonus for me, I got to listen to what she learned all the way to and from Mrs. Kristin's house. Heard many a great imaginative story and had a great review of fairy tale structures and history. As a retired middle school librarian, let me add that if your child can read and write and enjoys both...there is nothing that can stop your student."

    — Pat

  • "The Wordshop has been a fantastic place for our daughter to share her passion for reading and writing with peers, something that we haven’t found outside of school before. The variety of classes and clubs offered as well as the drop ins like Thursday Night Write have really sparked her interest and allowed her to explore different facets of reading, writing and analysis in a super fun environment. The growth we’ve seen in both her writing and her confidence as a writer has been amazing!”

    – Jennifer

  • "Mrs. Kristin provides an encouraging and comfortable environment that has challenged my son to explore different genres and discuss texts at a deeper level. She values the thoughts and ideas of the group, while skillfully stretching them to go beyond a surface read. Being able to join up with other middle schoolers and an experienced coach has been a great experience for my son, and I highly recommend Mrs. Kristin's classes!"

    — Michelle

  • “Having the guidance of a professional writer to help our son with his college essay took so much stress off of us as parents! “

    – Steven

Plus a note from the guy who hears it all

Justin is the guy doing the dishes, finding extra glasses, and wrangling the dog. He’s Mrs. Kristin’s favorite writer.

As a person who could rank his favorite literary devices, I can tell you that Kristin is so good at what she does as a teacher. Because she hosts most classes in our home, I overhear her coaching a kid as he revises essays for college applications and the National Merit Scholar program. I pick up parts of her lessons about punctuation for a student who struggles with commas and quotation marks. I eavesdrop on discussions about mood and tone. I can sometimes hear her lead book clubs about Judy Blume or graphic novels. During the most recent Friday Night Write, I dropped the dinner dishes I was washing so I could tackle the too-good-to-pass-up writing prompt with the high school-age writers.

Best of all, though, she has built a community. These young readers and writers, whether seeking extra help with the tricky English language or routinely producing tight pieces of fiction from 30 or 40 minutes of writing, have a place to belong and another grown-up who cares for, cheers for and inspires them. These students might not realize it, but they now have a mentor, if they want one, in Mrs. Kristin. The kids embark on world building together, share their writing and give each other constructive criticism. Several of them have become close friends who send group texts, celebrate birthdays and hang out together. Sometimes the kids act rowdy while they are supposed to be writing, but that is a sign they feel comfortable enough to be themselves because they have found their people at The Wordshop.