How to INSPIRE a LOVE of WRITING for KIDS of ALL AGES?
Writing is a significant part of every individual’s life, and we cannot forgo it in the current world. It is an essential type of communication, and it plays a significant role in education. Writing is, nevertheless is a layered skill for kids to master and learn. Today’s students, primarily because of technology, now have fewer opportunities to learn and improve their writing skills. Although technology has bought a new set of improved academic opportunities, there’s nothing like good old fashion pen to paper skills and the use of fine motor skills. Writing remains vital with all these changes since it determines a student’s performance and facilitates better expression methods. As a parent, you should know that it takes time to develop excellent writing skills. You can build your child’s passion for writing from an early age by beginning with simple instructions. In this article, we highlight various ways you can improve your kid’s passion for writing.
Create a Story-Telling Environment
To become a good writer, one must be a good reader. Children are natural storytellers and are extremely expressive verbally, but the transfer to writing takes time and steps. Creating a reading schedule with your kid exposes them daily to more information and topics to steer their love for writing. You can also share stories that interest your child to spark the desire to read topics of interest. This ensures a chosen book is within the scope of your child’s interest. With time, encourage your child to write about some of the stories that you shared or read. Add Sunday Night Storytelling hour to bond as a family and make self-expression fun and exciting don’t forget to coupled with jot down vivid thoughts, details. Ideas and imagination. Key Thought: Writing is a gradual process and should not be forced but rather developed organically.
For example “Teachers College Reading and Writing Project”
Celebrate Every Milestone of Writing
Motivation is a key aspect in developing a passion for writing among kids. Self-expression through writing brings out many different emotions in any writer of any age, including us adults. A young writer will be encouraged to jot down or scribble more when celebrated, even for the simple writing expression. Writing confidence starts at an early age, and when you recognized everything your child writes from an early age, even scribbles are an expression of thought and ideas a writer is born. As they become more mature, writers celebrated details that bought the story to life, like how their writing impaired you as you read their story. Celebrated writing milestones develop the desire for a more passionate writer now and in later life.
Create a Culture of Writing in your Home
To motivate your child to write more and love it, create a writing culture in your home. For instance, you can jot down a grocery list, encourage older kids to express their feelings through writing, provide your kids with diaries to express their thoughts daily, among other writing activities. You can invite your child to watch you write, whether it is a ‘thank-you’ note, official email, or grocery list you are creating. You can further grow your child’s passion for writing by constantly leaving a note when going out and encourage them to do the same. Encouraging your child to express their feelings through writing can greatly boost interest in writing.
Provide a Conducive Space and Tools for Writing.
While you may not have a space to create a reading and writing room, you can create a quiet corner within your home for your child. Creating a learning space is an essential part of displaying the importance of reading and writing its space in your child’s life. You can also have a portable container containing all the writing tools for your child, which they can use in any space. You should also ensure that you have writing materials such as markers, writing notebooks, chalk, and pens at an accessible place so that your child can scribble or jot down thoughts and feelings whenever they come across them.
Introduce Writing Games
Kids naturally love games, and therefore they will enjoy any activity that involves games or having fun. Make writing fun, and your child will be unstoppable! You can introduce word games to your child to improve their knowledge of words. Games such as “write the word” is an enjoyable game for kids where one is supposed to search for items, and with each item found, a word is written. Not only is it a fan, but it also introduces kids to new vocabulary. Playing writing games will give your child the opportunity to learn more about writing but in an informal manner.
Always Show Support
The best way to show support to your kid is by providing them with all the necessary writing tools and offering help when stuck. You can also show support by helping your child to brainstorm ideas and map out stories. You can also show support to kids by encouraging them to use the grammar and punctuation they already know how to apply.
Food for Thought:
There is a great difference between supportive and being a critic. Criticism causes discouragement, which can significantly reduce a child’s love for writing.
Writing is a crucial life skill. However, developing excellent writing skills and a passion for writing requires a lot of patience and time. Inspire your child’s love for writing by using these simple steps:
- Create a Story-Telling Environment
- Celebrate Every Milestone
- Create a Culture of Writing in your Home
- Provide a conducive Space and Tools for Writing
- Introduce writing Games
- Show Support
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