CINCINNATI, OHIO—WordPlay is proud to unveil its slate of FREE creative programs for fall 2019 as well as its cozy new space for Northside workshops as the 2019-2020 academic year begins. WordPlay will host its fall 2019 programs in a custom-designed space on the second floor of Annette’s Place at 4234 Hamilton Ave., just next door to nonprofit colleagues at CAIN and a few blocks away from its original home at the corner of Hamilton and Blue Rock. The new space adds to the ca

CINCINNATI - WordPlay Cincy is proud to announce that its longest-term student, Lilly Gieseke, 18, leaves Wednesday, Aug. 7, to attend the second annual International Congress of Youth Voices in Puerto Rico. Lilly, along with two other WordPlay students and two WordPlay chaperones, will join other young writers and activists as well as more established writers, activists and elected officials from around the world to discuss global economic development, human rights and socia

With help from a skilled group of teaching artists, WordPlay’s summer workshops had more than 70 kids dancing, drumming, painting, writing and more, all while building literacy skills through the arts. Highlights included: Liz Wu led a bang-up Drumming & Storytelling workshop. Learning about the unique language of music, young participants created their own percussion instruments, including shakers and rain sticks. They then used these instruments to accompany stories, poems

To the WordPlay community: Thank you for being an important part of the WordPlay family this summer. We have a lot of exciting new opportunities for you to continue learning and growing with us once the school year starts up again in the fall. In July, you might notice some changes in the building on the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Blue Rock Street in Northside. WordPlay is packing up our storefront at 4041 Hamilton and heading a few blocks north to Annette’s Place, an exte

WordPlay has released the fall writing workshop lineup, featuring six creative, skill-building programs that are open to kids and teens across Cincinnati. Since 2012, WordPlay has worked to help young people in Cincinnati fulfill their potential through reading, writing and storytelling, offering programs open to all students regardless of school district, neighborhood or income level. All of WordPlay’s community-based programs are free to families, thanks to support from gen

For many, a new year means a new start. For WordPlay, 2018 means new opportunities to showcase the power of storytelling. This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, WordPlay Cincy will join in our city’s extraordinary day of events that honor King, hosted by the local MLK Coalition. This year marks the MLK Coalition’s 43rd annual celebration of the holiday in Cincinnati and WordPlay’s fourth year participating. KeShawn Townsend, a student from WordPlay’s Scribes program, will perform

We are excited to announce our fresh programming schedule for fall with some exciting updates and new opportunities for Northside youth and families. For the younger set, we will be launching a new after-school program called WordPlay Scholars Learning Academy in conjunction with our partners at Chase Elementary, serving K-2nd graders referred by the school. We are also looking forward to a new slate of creative learning Happy Hours, offered Monday-Thursday from 5-6pm, which

Youth sample ‘wild things,’ take lessons on the road Nature walks just steps from the neighborhood’s best-traveled thoroughfares. Writing sessions in an historic private downtown library. Creating stories to accompany a fall photo exhibition. The sights and sounds of summer at WordPlay Cincy are rich with opportunities for learning. The Northside non-profit that builds diverse communities through innovations in education year-round expanded summer programming to eight weeks t

Children, teens, and grown-ups stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a wide circle. Some looked at their shoes. One little girl giggled to her friend next to her, while others made friendly eye contact across the group. One by one, each shared the high point of their day together. This unlikely troupe of elementary school students, teenagers volunteering precious summer afternoons, and grown-up tutors giving a few hours each week to guide students through a summer learning experience

After a busy and productive end-of-summer break, the WordPlay doors open again on Monday, August 31st for our WordPlay Scholars and Happy Hour programs. WordPlay Saturdays resume on September 12th. Families can drop by anytime Monday – Thursday, August 31st – September 3rd, 3-6 pm to register children for the programs: WordPlay Scholars, 2:30 – 5 pm Monday – Thursday: Students in grades K-8 are paired one-on-one with a trained tutor to work on homework, Drop Everything and Re

Just inside the front door, past shelves full of typewriters, a complete set of Nancy Drew mysteries and curiosities from days gone by, are a pair of old, patterned curtains marking the entrance to the WordPlay writing center. On any given day, children stroll past these vintage relics to a magical space where they are celebrated as Writers, Poets, Scholars and Artists. Not to mention, Philosophers... where else will you find children from vastly different backgrounds, neighb

WordPlay Cincinnati’s summer programs are back for another exciting season of learning and fun. Each of WordPlay's 3 core summer programs, Summer Scholars, WordUP and STEAM Scholars, provide students with an innovative blend of academic and creative problem-solving skills and social-emotional learning to further develop their unique identities. Now in its fourth summer of programming, WordPlay continues to collaborate with a number of community organizations to provide engagi