Youth Programs

FREE literary and cultural arts programming for youth in Washtenaw County.

Along with our partners and supporters, FO's Initiative for Young Writers, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, and Dzanc Books, our national and regional Youth Programs are dedicated to inspiring and educating our youth, and serving to build a community through language arts and creative thinking.

Our interdisciplinary programming aims to provide a forum and a space for young people to engage and immerse themselves in the power of the imagination, the wonder of the word, the art of the book, and the process of creative exploration. 

Child in a library working on a notebook with various papers and a magazine on the table.
Three students sitting at a table working on papers and books in a classroom or study space.
Child reading handwritten notebook at a table with other children in a classroom setting.
A woman in a sweatshirt holding a book leads a craft activity with children sitting around a table covered with paper and supplies inside a room with large windows overlooking a wooded area.
Four young people sitting at a table, writing. They have snacks including Cheez-It crackers and Capri Sun drinks. The setting appears to be a classroom or study area with art on the walls.
Two children sitting at a table in a room with a window, working on arts and crafts with magazines, scissors, glue, and markers scattered on the table.
Two people drawing at a library table with colored pencils, surrounded by magazines and newspapers on shelves.
Open notebook with handwritten text and a rainbow drawing, a pencil on a wooden table with Crayola marker box and closed notebooks in the background.
Children writing in notebooks with magazines and school supplies on a table.
Three people sitting at a table in a room, engaged in discussion with papers and a laptop.

Programs Offered:

Through our free studio workshops, kids—both big and small—can be inspired to enjoy and produce both collaborative and independent work, discovering new ways of bringing pen to paper, thought to passage, and innovative ideas into the world. We currently offer the following creative writing programs:

Roots & Wings: The Elementary Arts and Culture Program

EmpowerED: The Middle and High School Literary Arts and Critical Culture Program

Click on the buttons below to learn more about each program and to access their registration forms.

2024 / 2025 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 

And, yes… stay tuned, as we'll be returning with more programming!

2026 / 2027 Youth Programming Schedule:

Summer, Fall and Winter dates and registration for future dates will be released in late 2026.

By providing free and accessible programming to our young people, and by focusing our curriculum on diverse perspectives and experiences, we aim to promote creativity, self-expression, and community connection, while addressing systemic inequities in access to the arts. Through our collaborative and inclusive programming model, we strive to inspire lifelong learning, cultivate empathy, and nurture a more inclusive and vibrant cultural landscape for all children in our community.

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.

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.