Welcome to our 3-6 week seasonal, year-round Studio Arts program, free and open to elementary students, focusing on art and games, reading and writing, creating and sharing! In this workshop series, we will produce published postcards of poems and illustrations created by our participants, designed by our contributing artists, writers, and interns, and printed professionally by our publisher.

Roots and Wings

Elementary Arts and Culture Program with Literary Publishing

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2025 / 2026 Youth Programming Schedule

Fall 2025 
Sundays 1pm–2pm
Oct 19–Nov 16

Winter 2026
Sundays 1pm–2pm
Jan 11–Feb 8

Spring 2026
Sundays 1pm–2pm
Apr 12–May 3 

Work from Young Writers Workshops in 2024-2025

Child's drawing of an osprey on torn paper with handwritten poem about ospreys. Background is blue with text saying 'I'd give anything I want to rescue animals' by Mingyu, age 8.
Collage with a dancer on a cosmic background and the text 'The future is Dance' by Emory, age 8.
Child's handwritten note with rainbow drawing, expressing love for winter and summer; muses on being weather with cold, warm, and rainbows. Text by "Abigail, age 8."
Child's drawing of a cloud labeled 'opening rainwall' with rain depicted falling, and the name Joseph, age 9.
Poem about a dark and stormy night with a silhouette of a soldier, credited to Neil, age 9.
Child's drawing with colorful letters spelling a name, featuring a curved orange line and text saying 'I like the sound of pages... flipping.' Signed by Andrea, age 8.
Child's drawing of a colorful flower in red, blue, and yellow crayon with text saying "The seagull follows the sun. And the eagle follows the sun... and the eagle was going across the lake." Author: Mingyu, age 8.
Collage featuring the word 'WAR', an image of Afghanistan, soldiers, and helicopters, with abstract textures.
Poem by Joseph, age 9, on yellow background; includes phrases like "Gives rizz," "catch one gallon," "cold but hot," "feels cozy," and "for the month of march."
Illustration of an Oatly oat milk carton surrounded by star doodles.
Child's drawing of three abstract birds with text "I like milk... and chocolate milk and food fights... Byron, age 7" on a light blue background.
Child's drawing of a large blue shark with an open mouth, showing sharp teeth.
Children's drawing of a fish with a mechanical part attached, text says "Yum when cooked."
View all Postcards

Spread the Word

Do you know a child who might be interested in reading, writing poetry, prose, and short fiction, as well as drawing and collage? Share this opportunity with them by downloading the brochure and/or flyer below!

Download Brochure
2025-2026 Flyer
Printable Flyer

Our Supporters

Logo for "initiative for young writers" with a magnifying glass icon enclosing "FO."
Logo of Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation with a colorful tree and the tagline 'For good. For ever. For all.'
Three books with titles "The Middle Daughter" by Chika Unigwe, "Only and Ever This" by J.A. Tyler, and "Dioramas" by Blair Austin, leaning against stylized black letters "bb." It is the logo for Dzanc Books.
Learn more

Both our Roots & Wings Elementary Workshops and EmpowerED High School Workshops have been brought to you with the generous support of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Dzanc Books, and curriculum curation by FO’s Initiative for Young Writers.