“Kids Illustrated” is a magazine written by kids, for kids.

What began as a mutual interest in reading and writing grew into a regular publication written and produced by Brooke Cramer, Spencer Wind, Ryan Thompson, Nathan Kinney, Brady Byrdwell and Aaron Smith, who are all students in Jane Weed’s fourth-grade class at Kings Mills Elementary.

“We wanted something for kids to read that’s not ‘Sports Illustrated’ – something that’s for kids our age,” Kinney said.

Weed said the students developed the idea for “Kids Illustrated” on their own.

“I love the idea of my students voluntarily joining together and producing a writing piece that they truly are passionate about,” Weed said. “Anytime you have students who decide to create, write, collaborate with peers and have this happen on their own time, it’s a really great thing. They are very proud of their published magazines.”

This group of students creates their magazine during recess where they brainstorm, write, draw and edit.

“During the warmer months when they had outdoor recess, they grabbed clipboards, paper and a pencil and met as a group and wrote. Now that the weather is cold, they meet during recess in the classroom,” Weed said.

Cramer is the primary reporter while Byrdwell covers sports. Each issue features current news stories, fun facts, a word search, trivia and a teaser for the next edition. Smith also has a special section called “Aaron’s Plane Talk.” The students try to keep each edition relevant by having a Valentine’s Day edition or covering the Super Bowl.

Once an edition of “Kids Illustrated” is finished, one of the parents makes copies. The students then sell each copy for 75 cents. The students said they plan to donate most of the profits to a charity still to be determined.

A new magazine is published every two or three weeks. The students hope to continue through the summer.

“It has been such a pleasure to see how my other students have really taken off with their own creative writing projects since they have been introduced to ‘Kids Illustrated,’” Weed explained. “I believe there are four or five other small groups of students writing together and creating. … I hope this little spark of creativity may one day lead to a sincere interest when they reach college age.”