This past week, my students have been writing a pretty involved ABAB pattern poem about a leprechaun who beats all odds whilst trying to tackle the quest of making it to the rainbow. The poems have been inspiring. They have given me hope that creativity still does exist within this world and in the hearts of all children. Not to mention, I have never seen so much fun writing a piece, and I suppose this has something to do with the fact that when you write a piece like this-the information and the story are entirely our own. You aren't writing about something you have read. You certainly aren't analyzing a text for themes or dramatic plot changes. You create the characters and the plot and the conflicts and the solutions. You truly get to make something your own. And this creates pride and hope, determination and a want to create well and to challenge yourrself and your invented leprechaun character. 

Sometimes I think people underestimate the power of creative projects simply becuase they are considered "fluff." But I must say. In reality, when you are asked to invent or create, you are relying on critical parts of your brain that perhaps you do not get to use very often. You are forcing your brain to explore an unexplored place and this involves grit and this involves flexibility and this involves risk-taking in realizing that the first line you create may not in fact be the line you are looking for. But the beauty of it is, that because it is your own, you can twist the words or tilt the plot whatever way you want. It requires an "out of the box" thinking when perhaps you are usually stuck inside the box. It requires a little bit of leprechaun magic to live a magical life. But it is the risk-taking, not the luck, that creates the true magic.