Thank you to Farmers Insurance for offering PlayWriters as a service opportunity this year!

Experts predict that because of the educational devastation from the pandemic, children will lose at least a full-year of educational gains—especially those from low-income backgrounds. That's why we, at Words Alive, pride ourselves on bringing books and literature alive! We help young people connect books to the world around them through engaging activities and play.

By helping us test our project and activities with young people in your lives, you can help us create the best, most exciting projects that are accessible, engaging, and joyful for families!

You can connect with children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and neighbors virtually (or safely in person) to do these activities together!

The best part? Farmers Insurance will make a donation for every project review submitted during this campaign!

1. First things first, watch these two videos! (10 min)

Learn more about who we are and what we do!

Now watch this orientation video to learn about how our PlayWriters program works and how you can get started!

2. Now you’re ready to sign up to be a PlayWriter! (~1 min)

Use this form to sign up for Words Alive PlayWriters:

3. Next, browse our Project selection. (~5 min)

You can check out all the projects that we need reviews for (and filter them for intended age) here:

You can also shop for the books linked to the projects at Bookshop.org, for every purchase you make through this page, Bookshop donates 10% back to Words Alive!

4. Sign up to test out a project/activity. (<1 min)

Once you’ve found a project (or projects) that you’re excited to complete, sign up to read it here. Don’t forget to keep track of approximately how many hours it takes you to complete, because we’ll ask for that info in your review.

5. Tell us what you thought! (~10-15 min)

After you complete the project, gather your thoughts, then fill out the review form:

If you have any questions, email [email protected]!

Data is already pointing to a massive learning loss due to the ongoing challenges related to Covid-19. Make an investment today so that we can continue providing essential literacy programs, connecting students and families to a love of reading that lasts a lifetime.

If you'd like give the gift of reading to a student of a family without access to books, click below!