Ok camp is almost here, we don't have a lot of time, and really shouldn't you be packing? (Don't forget your journal and favorite pen/pencil!). Let's make this challenge short and sweet and extra ridiculous. One of the hardest things for a writer can be finding the perfect name for your characters. I'm going to give you 3 characters, your challenge is to come up with a first and last name for each (middle name is optional). Alright, if I wrote a story about three kids in h

An acrostic poem is a poem in which the first letter (or syllable or word) of each line or paragraph spells out a word, message, or name. These are generally pretty quick and easy to write, but I bet you can create something uniquely compelling. Introduce yourself to your campmates by writing an acrostic poem about yourself using your name. It can be your full name or just your first name or nickname. You may write a sentence or phrase for each line or just one word. Wri

YWER is a week away! Let's do a bit of a word play challenge. One week, weak one, week one, one weak. The word week gives us a lot to play with; it is a good rhyming word and it has a homophone (one of two or more words pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling -such as the words to, too, and two). Write a short story or poem (no more than 200 words) with the word week as your inspiration. Week or weak should appear in your piece at least once, but i

YWER Camp is 12 days away and we thought we would set up a series of fun challenges to help our inaugural scholars get writing. Each challenge will be listed on our blog over the next few days. Do as many or as few as you like and bring them with you to camp (there may even be awards!). Challenge #1 Our Camp name is YWER. We pronounce the name- Why We Are. Write a poem or short story entitled Why We Are. It can be about anything. If it is a poem it does not have to rhy

Last weekend we took a tour of the camp facilites so we could get a sense of what our YWER weekend will feel like. Wow! Camp Ducan is beautiful! This is a photo of the main lodge where we will eat our meals. It looks out over the lake. This is an example of a cabin to which you might be assigned. Boys will be in one cabin and girls will be in another. Here is what the cabins look like inside. Comfy and cozy! The main lodge has a rec room with ping pong, air hockey, and

Our YWER 2026 Swag is here! Grab a hoodie, tshirt, or sweatshirt for camp. 2026 marks the very first year of YWER. If you are attending this year you are an OG Scholar! Make sure you grab one of our tshirts to let everyone know you were there for the very begining. Congratulations you are a YWER Inaugural Scholar! You can select any style you like. My favorite is the mens basic ringer t-shirt shown above but there are many styles from which to choose. Make sure you brin

The Youth Writers Educational Retreat will be led by experienced, current Waldorf teachers from Da Vinci Waldorf School in Wauconda, Il. Libby Weston is the current second and third grade combo Class Teacher and Grades Chair at Da Vinci. She holds a degree in K-8 Education and is also a professional puppeteer specializing in writing original theatrical productions. Kevin Kane is the current fifth and sixth grade combo Class Teacher at Da Vinci Waldorf. He received his Bachelo

YWER will take place at beautiful Camp Duncan. YMCA Camp Duncan is located at 32405 N Hwy12, Ingleside, IL 60041. Just one hour from Chicago, Rockford, and Milwaukee, YMCA’s Camp Duncan has offered summer adventures for youth for more than 100 years. YMCA Camp Duncan’s 340 acres on Fish lake is accredited by the American Camp Association.