All the Write Colors

I want to clarify that I’m definitely not anti-AI. I actually think it’s really important that we teach kids how to use it responsibly.

We use AI in my writing classes (responsibly)! A student might create an entire character personality first, then use AI to brainstorm names. The original thinking still belongs to the kid.

We’ve also experimented with AI for book covers, and those experiences are part of why I feel so strongly about this.

Recently I saw a young author with incredible original illustrations, but they had been run through AI before publishing. I just kept thinking, I wish I could see HER drawings. They were already good enough. 💗

That’s what I worry about. Kids’ books don’t need to look perfect. Their “weird” ideas, imperfect drawings and unique voices are what make them special and refreshing to read.

Teach kids how to use AI. Just don’t let it replace the parts that make their books theirs. ❤️

If you’ve used AI to help a child publish, I’m curious. What did you use it for, and would you publish with AI again?

Want to help a kid publish their own book? 📚 Here’s how to create the book cover for Amazon KDP!

Once you know exactly how many pages their book will be, go to the Amazon KDP Cover Calculator and enter the page count. KDP will give you the exact book cover dimensions and spine width you need.

Use those dimensions to create the book cover in Canva, and you’re ready for the next step! 🌈

Want the entire step-by-step process for publishing a kids’ book? My Self-Publishing Toolkit at allthewritecolors.com walks you through the process of helping kids become published authors on Amazon KDP.

This guide was created specifically for teachers, parents, PTAs, homeschool families, and programs working with young authors so it may not apply to adults publishing their own books.

✨ Comment PUBLISH and I’ll send you the link to purchase your step by step self-publishing toolkit.

What other questions do you have about publishing books for kids or student authors? Drop them below!

💗 Like + save this video so you can find it when you’re ready to publish.

I’m thrilled to hear so many people interested in helping kids become published authors! Here are a few tips to get you started. I hope this helps you feel a bit more confident to try book publishing as a writing unit or project for students. It really gives authentic purpose and motivation for creative kids.

If you’re interested in more book publishing resources, I do offer private writing classes, writing feedback sessions, and book publishing resources for kids. You can find courses, waitlist, and tutorials on my website or my YouTube Channel. Allthewritecolors.com

I am very thankful for the flexibility of Canva app and for Heather Cash who has taught me so much about self-publishing! If you’d like student book examples for your kids, please consider buying my students’ books as they earn all the book profits and it further boosts their confidence.

*Note: I am not sponsored by Canva and I don’t keep any earnings from my students’ book sales.

🌈💗✏️ - Warmly, Katharine

Sometimes “I don’t know what to write” doesn’t actually mean they don’t have ideas. Sometimes it means they don’t think their ideas are ALLOWED.

Kids spend so much time seeing polished stories in books or writing for school assignments that they can start to believe their writing has to be serious, realistic, or follow certain “rules.”

But their actual brains might be thinking about a stick man doing silly things. 💥 Or ducks pooping in pools and making the humans mad. 💩 Or a cool pizza detective that goes to Mars. (These all real stories btw 😂)

So sometimes, when a student tells me they don’t know what to write, I’ll say:

“You can write as funny or as crazy of a story as you want.”

And if they still look unsure, I’ll start pitching the most ridiculous ideas I can think of. That little moment of, “WAIT… I can write THAT?!” is sometimes all they need.

Because once kids realize their weird, funny, dramatic, completely-out-there ideas are welcome here, writing can suddenly feel a whole lot less like an assignment and a whole lot more like creating.

And I’ve had kids go from “I don’t know what to write” to wanting to write for HOURS.

Sometimes they don’t need another writing prompt.

They just need permission. 💗

Try it the next time your kid says, “I don’t know what to write,” and see what happens!

Here’s another vowel team teaching idea for you! 🚢 This one is for OA: boat, soap, float, coat, foam.

Why the silly story? I’ve noticed that many of my students with dyslexia and/or ADHD have incredible imaginations but can struggle with memory retrieval. Pairing phonics and spelling patterns with pictures and stories can give their brains a stronger pathway to remember the sound.

But here’s the important part: my story doesn’t have to be their story.

If my silly story doesn’t stick, I ask the student to create their own. Kids can come up with connections I never would have thought of and sometimes their own ridiculous little story is exactly what makes that vowel team finally stick in their memories.

Autonomy is such a powerful learning tool!! 🎉💗

👍🏽 Save this vowel team idea for later, or show it to a student and ask: “What story would you make for OA?”

I share new reading, spelling, writing, dyslexia, ADHD, dysgraphia, and homeschool teaching ideas on YouTube every two weeks, so subscribe if you’d like more!

The posters and worksheets in this video are from my All the Write Sounds program, available for download at allthewritecolors.com.

What if letters didn’t have to stay letters?

When I teach vowel teams, I often turn them into pictures, characters, and stories. For EA, my e becomes a little monster with teeth chasing the a because he wants to eat him. 😆

But here’s the important part: kids don’t have to use my story.

My story is just an invitation: How would YOU remember it? What do YOU see?

I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that in Mandarin, written characters carry visual meaning. It makes me wonder how much more accessible English spelling could feel for some kids with dyslexia if we sometimes let letters become pictures, too.

Not every child learns the same way. But when phonics is hard to retrieve, adding a visual, a story, humor, or something the child created themselves can give their brain another pathway back to it.

Sometimes the best memory strategy is the weird little story a kid invents all on their own. ❤️

Save this one for your next vowel team lesson!

For teaching sources, check out my nontraditional phonics program, All the Write Sounds, available on my website on allthewritecolors.com

SAVE this for your next vowel team lesson! ✏️

For many kids with dyslexia and/or ADHD, remembering and retrieving phonics and spelling rules can be one of the hardest parts.

That’s why I love turning phonics instruction into silly stories, characters, visuals, and hands-on activities. Reading and spelling intervention can be both strategic AND fun! In fact, I have found kids to shut down sometimes when phonics lessons gets too serious.

If you’re a teacher, reading interventionist, or homeschool parent looking for more ways to teach vowel teams, my Level 6 Vowel Teams Unit includes 165 pages of practice activities, flashcards, games, and hands-on learning, organized by individual vowel team.

Find my All the Write Sounds program on my website at allthewritecolors.com 💛