Recreating the Wheel Contest

You have two great ideas here. The picture story is an excellent activity for young writers. I've used picture prompts before, but I like that you have the kids search for the interesting pictures.

The What if... jar is another great way to trigger creative thought as well as creative writing. I'm going to give my kids a "what if..." to start the school year ("What if there was no school..."), then later have them generate their own what-if's for writing prompts throughout the year.