On Monday afternoon, Lemon House Publishing, a space for supporting 8 to 12-year-olds in writing, illustrating, and publishing their own children’s books, had the last session of its eight-week winter program.
The first six to seven weeks of the eight-week program are dedicated to the writing process, while the last few sessions are devoted to helping students illustrate and finish their book with an author biography, dedication, and synopsis.
With branches in Newton, Needham, and Chestnut Hill, Lemon House Publishing was founded five years ago by Jacky Lamenzo Sinha, a former early childhood educator and a self-published children’s author of Addy Wants to Fit In.
Before Sinha opened Lemon House Publishing, she visited multiple schools in Boston to speak about her book’s contents and writing journey. She explained how this led her to recognize a need for creative extracurricular activities for children in the community.
“What started happening in these author visits and conversations with these kids was that I was realizing that there is a huge interest on the kids’ side in writing their own books,” said Sinha.
Using her background in early childhood education and experience writing a children’s book, Sinha created a writing curriculum that successfully supports second to sixth graders in their writing process, from finding ideas to peer editing.
“We have our Lemon House workbook that every student gets when they start the program, and that’s our guide for how they come up with their own story and their rough drafts,” said Sinha.
Sinha explained that students first come up with their characters, and from there, she helps them explore.
“We help them take their story from beginning to the finish line, and how their character attempts to solve their problem a few times and then finally succeeds,” said Sinha.
Emma Kondrotas, a teacher at Lemon House and Wellesley Public Schools, said the curriculum is based on research and other writing curriculums
“It’s very structured, but it also allows for a lot of flexibility and creativity,” said Kondrotas. “It’s something I hadn’t worked with before, but I think it really does help students feel like they are writers and they’re published. It helps them take ownership of their stories.”
Kondrotas also emphasized the program’s importance in boosting students’ confidence and writing skills, benefiting both enthusiastic and struggling writers.
“The brainstorm process and the peer editing process is really the chunk of the class,” Kondrotas said
Compared to traditional classrooms, the peer editing process is spotlit at Lemon House, with students suggesting improvements to one another’s stories, explained Kondrotas.
After formatting, printing, and shipping, Lemon House’s profits go to a Boston-based literacy charity.
Spring classes are currently open for enrollment.
Leave a Reply