Writing isn't just about telling stories or reporting on books.
There are many ways your child can use words, including trying to convince others to agree with him or her.
You can help your child practice this type of writing by letting them argue with you—in writing!
If your child struggles with writing, it’s important to find new and exciting ways to encourage them to write.
These three activities are a great way to help your child make writing an enjoyable activity.
FORTUNATELY or UNFORTUNATELY
This turn-taking writing game is based on a classic kids’ book by Remy Charlip called Fortunately. In it, something lucky happens and then something unlucky happens. Each event is introduced by either the word “fortunately” or the word “unfortunately.”
To play, take a piece of paper and write a sentence beginning with “Fortunately,” such as “Fortunately it was a sunny day. I wanted to play outside.” Pass the paper to the next player, who will add an “unfortunately” sentence, such as “Unfortunately, I had to clean my room.” Keep going until the story is just too silly to continue.
MAKE A JOURNAL JAR
A journal doesn’t have to be a diary. It can also be a book where your child writes about ideas or answers questions, like “If you could do anything next year, what would you choose?” A journal jar is a place to keep all those ideas and questions.
Clean and decorate a wide-mouthed jar, like one that used to contain peanuts. Then, write or print out journal prompts on slips of paper. Ask your child to pull out one prompt each day and write about it in her journal.
You can find a fantastic selection of journal writing prompts over here at The Diary of a Journal Planner
PICTOGRAPH
Photos and images are great story sparkers. Do a web search and find a few interesting images. Or cut out pictures from magazines. The pictures can be realistic, such as a photo of students on a playground. Or they can be fantastical images, such as a superhero flying in space.
Glue a couple images into a notebook. Then ask your child to write about one of them. You can prompt him/her, asking them to include what they see, what the people are thinking, what will happen next—or, just let their imagination run free.
See below for these creative writing prompts and activities to get you started.
Happy Journaling.
L.S.