Creating a Notebook Nook

Visiting the WNY Young Writers’ Studio

What’s a Notebook Nook?Our notebook nook is tucked into a tiny corner of the WNY Young Writers’ Studio. Behind the door and next to my desk, it houses all kinds of materials intended to help writers create and tend to their notebooks throughout they year.

Take a peek, and think about how you might replicate our space.

A word to the wise: Fill it full of things that you already own and allow it to evolve in response to what writers reveal an interest in (and a willingness to donate, too)!

The Basics● Our space is hacked together from upcycled

furniture, including an old computer desk and pegboard that I salvaged from a store that went out of business in my neighborhood. I also spray painted a piece of an old wrought iron gate and hung it on the wall.

● The basket is full of stickers, stamps, ink, and baby wipes for easy clean up. You will also see washi tape, paper punches, extra packing tape, rulers, a stapler, and glue dots on the table surface.

● Writers in need of ideas find several catalysts here, including a journal prompt jar and copies of Art Journaling magazine.

A variety of mini-charts hang on the wall above the desktop. Writers are invited to pull them down and take them back to their seats, where they can work with them. These emerge from our most popular mini-lessons and the questions I hear writers asking me often. What would you add to a similar space?

Design Your Own Notebook NookWhat do you already own?

How could it enrich writers’ notebooks?

Where can you make space for a notebook nook inside your classroom?

How and when will you invite writers to use it?

How can the writers in your room improve the notebook nook?