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Poet-Tree Workshop
Each year, YWI participates in the Town of Cary Giving Tree project. We decorate one of the trees that line Academy Street with original poems by students, and we call it our "Poet-Tree"! This year, we'd like to invite students 8-13 years old to join us for our free workshop to help make ornaments for the tree. We will learn some fun short poetry forms, then we will write and revise poems. Finally, we'll make ornaments out of our poems to decorate the Poet-Tree.
Cary citizens vote to determine the best trees, and the winners will have a donation made in their honor to a nonprofit of their choice. If we win, we will donate to 826 National, a nationwide project dedicated to lifting young voices.
FREE
Ages 8-13
Saturday, November 22, 2025
6:00-7:00 pm
Wild Writers
LET NATURE BE YOUR INSPIRATION!
Writing is a practice that can connect us to ourselves, to one another, and to the Earth itself. Let's take our writing outside to capture the wonder of nature with our words! Wild Writers is a workshop that meets at local parks where we will venture into natural spaces to watch, listen, discuss, read, learn, play, share, and - most importantly - WRITE!
- Wild Writers will meet on sunny, cloudy, misty or foggy days. We will not meet on rainy, stormy, severely cold, or severely hot days. Canceled programs will be fully refunded.
- Make sure you dress appropriately for the weather!
- We will walk/wander up to one mile during our program.
- Students need only bring water. We will provide everything else.
$25
Ages 8-12
Bond Park
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
10:00am-12:00pm
North Cary Park
Friday, May 1, 2026
10:00am-12:00pm
School's Out Workshops
Join us on your day off school for a fun writing adventure! Our one-day workshops focus on specific skills for any writer's toolbox. Deepen your knowledge of writing and have fun working, planning, drawing, playing, and sharing with other young authors.
These workshops are scheduled on teacher workdays listed on the calendar for Wake County schools. If you are not in Wake County schools, please check your school system's calendar!
Sibling and multi-class discounts: $10 off each additional camp.
Monsterology
From science fiction to fantasy to folklore, many genres feature creatures and monsters that spring from pure imagination. In this workshop, we will study monsters from the literature of many cultures and times, noting the features that make them unique and the characteristics that make them work well in stories. Then we will work to create a cast of monsters to use in stories now and in the future. What brutes, demons, ogres, imps, and scallywags can you dream up during this spooky season?
Ages 8-12
October 20, 2025
9:00am-4:00pm
Tuition is $85 for this one-day workshop. Sibling and multi-class discounts apply.
gamebooks
Gamebooks belong to a super fun genre in which readers choose their own paths through the stories. Parents probably remember popular gamebook series from the 80's and 90's, but did you know that they are making a comeback? Structure is the focus of this camp, as gamebooks require a ton of planning and organization. Students will carefully map their multi-path stories and learn how to entice their readers with interesting premises, compelling characters, and high-stakes, choice-based plot twists. They then draft their stories and play test their classmates' stories!
Ages 8-12
January 19 and 26 (two Mondays)
9:00am-3:00pm
Tuition is $175 for this two-day workshop. Sibling and multi-class discounts apply.
Map-Making for Story Worlds
Have you ever opened a book and felt delighted to find a map of the story's world on the first few pages? It's so fun to use these maps to follow characters on their journeys! Learn to enhance your stories by creating maps using techniques in both digital and paper media, then plan characters and plots that unfold in the world you envisioned.
Ages 8-12
February 16, 2026
9:00am-4:00pm
Tuition is $85 for this one-day workshop. Sibling and multi-class discounts apply.
Winter Break Camp
Story journeys as board games
Tell a story in a new, artistic form by turning it into a board game! We'll choose genres and themes and create characters. Then we will envision character journeys as playable adventures with triumphs, setbacks, battles, and lucky strikes determined by spinners, cards, or dice. This is a great workshop for artsy kids, as we will be drawing game boards and sculpting game pieces. When we are finished, we'll spend some time playing each other's games!
Ages 8-12
December 29-30, 2025
9:00am-3:00pm
Tuition is $175 for this two-day workshop. Sibling and multi-class discounts apply.
