A teacher friend of mine asked me the other day if I had a current list of ideas for aiding children in writing more at home. I thought I would share this post with some bullet-point ideas.
* Buy cool writing tools! - Don't you love a new pen? Children do, too. Whether it is short or chunk, colorful or glittery, having many different types of markers, pens, pencils and crayons on hand is sure to encourage more writing. I recently pulled out a retractable lead pencil for a friend's child when they needed to do their homework. They loved AND even wrote neater. Don't forget that great paper is fun, too.
* Use tech tools. Let your child write on the computer (where they can change-up the font or the size or the color! Using dictation software such as Dragon Speaks allows them to get their ideas down and they can return later to edit. There are new fonts available for dyslexics, too.
* The Family Journal - Grab a binder and some paper. Leave the journal in a place you frequent. Then, have each family member write or draw messages. This is especially great for the parent who works later to do with younger children. The child can leave their thoughts and the parent can respond and leave theirs. This gives you 4 outcomes: more writing, more reading, interaction and a journal to review when they are grown.
* Pass a Story - Write a sentence at the top of a piece of paper. Then, pass it to the person on your right. They read the first sentence and write the next. They pass again. Keep passing for a minimum of two rounds. What story did you create? Can't think of a story starter?
*Rainbow writing - Similar to Pass a story, but this time each new writer changes the color in which they are writing. My uncle once did an entire term paper this way. His teacher, yeah, not so pleased!
*Writing on the Walls - Use those bath crayons to write a story on the bath tub wall. Leave a question at the top of the tub. Then, watch as family members will enter the tub fully dressed to answer!
Sensational Sentences - Kids tend to write very simplistic sentences without detail. Here's one to play aloud to encourage better writing. In the car or at the table, start off a sentence. For example. The cat sat. Now, the next player must add 1or 2 words to make the sentence more interesting. The brown cat sat uneasily. This continues to the next player. The spotted brown wild cat sat uneasily. Play continues until no one can think of anything else to add to the sentence. The spotted brown wild cat sat uneasliy as is watched its prey advance towards it.
Write a list - Have your children help keep lists which also teaches them a form of organization. Whether they add to the family shopping list weekly or create a list of things that they would like to do this weekend.
Alphabet Writing - I'm Bored!? Not anymore. Write the alphabet down the side of a piece or paper and then choose a topic. Candy or veggies or boys names. Then, have them list one item on the topic for each letter. A= apples B= bananas and so forth. You can play this aloud, too, as a memory game.
There are some great board games that encourage writing development, too. Check out:
Scattergories Junior
Story Cubes
You've Been Sentenced (for grade 4 - 12)
Keep your eye on the blog as I will be adding some writing apps and online games in the coming weeks! Hope this helps your writer's block!
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