Writing Can Be Fun

Not just for schoolwork, writing can be enjoyable and creative, as well! Try these tips for encouraging your child to write creatively:

• Write a story: Children love reading, listening to, and making up stories. Let your child's imagination run wild by creating fun and outrageous stories. Begin by challenging your child to brainstorm a list of interesting characters and a list of exciting settings. Then, talk him through his story ideas by establishing a solid beginning, middle, and end. You may choose to write these ideas down. Once you've brainstormed the story, set him loose with a pencil and paper. You can also mix and match the characters and settings to inspire other intriguing stories. Keep the list of characters and settings in a special folder for future inspiration.
• Play a game: Put a few small objects from around the house in a bag and encourage your child to write a description of the objects without naming them. For example: I am pink. I can be found on my own or on the end of a writing instrument. If you rub me, I will make things disappear. What am I? An eraser! Once your child has written the descriptions, gather other family members around to see if they can guess the object she's described.
• Design a menu: Challenge your child to design menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Pretend that your kitchen is a restaurant one night and choose one of his menus to prepare together.
• Interview a relative: Children are curious and love to ask questions. Ask your child if there's a relative she'd like to know more about. Brainstorm a list of questions to ask before making a call. Not only will your child have a chance to practice her writing, but she'll be able to form a more solid bond with the relative she chooses to interview. Your child may wish to use the information from the interview to write a biography about the relative.
• Keep a diary or journal: Take a special trip to a bookstore with your child to buy him a special diary or journal in which he can record his most private thoughts and experiences.
• Keep an observation log: Children are keen observers and often see things differently than adults do. Encourage your child to walk around in your backyard and sketch pictures of leaves, trees, flowers, or other objects in nature. Next to each sketch, ask your child to write down a few observations. What words best describe the object? What does the object remind her of? Where is it located? This activity can also be done at the local museum or an interesting venue in town. This type of writing encourages the development of observational skills in addition to giving your child a chance to practice writing.