I S S U E 0 9 - F a m i l y F e a t u re
5. to encourage your reluctant writer 6. 7 WAYS
Surlender Pendress, co-founder of The Love Writing Company, gives us advice on how to encourage your child to develop a joy in writing.
perfect and that with writing they can – and should – make changes along the way.
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Encourage them to read Reading is perhaps the most important thing a child can do to improve their ability to write. It’s a great way to expose readers to new words that will expand their vocabulary. Reading will also show children how to structure sentences: the more they read, the more they will see and understand how writers link words together.
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eing a parent can often feel like a never-ending cycle of jobs, particularly when it comes to helping your children with school work and learning. Here are some helpful tips to improve your child’s writing skills and inspire in them a love of writing.
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Help them get started Even for adults, a blank page looming in front of you can be an intimidating sight, so it’s understandable that this would also be intimidating for a child. To help them get started, try posing a fun question to your child about something that interests them. Help them to create ideas by building a mind-map, to develop their thoughts around what they want to write about. This exercise is an excellent way to teach children that not everything has to be
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Keep a journal Encourage your child to keep a reflective journal. Children need to express their feelings and having an outlet in which they can write down all their innermost thoughts enables them to do this and contributes to healthy emotional and social development. Younger children could use affirmation activity sheets or cards.
Make writing fun Writing games, such as hangman, are a great way to make writing more fun and interactive. If a child enjoys a task they will not view it as tedious, so what seemed like a chore becomes enjoyable. Keep incorporating games within their writing and, in time, you will see your child’s writing ability blossom. Teaching through example Encourage your child to write a list of their favourite things, whether that’s food, places or people. Then, you write a list of your favourite things, and when your child sees you writing, they may feel encouraged to write as well. While writing your lists you may find that they forget they are writing at all, as the task changes focus to thinking of things that bring them joy, rather than the aspect of writing itself.
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Write stories with your child Explain the benefits of writing well to your child. If you make it clear that there are positives (when before they may have only viewed it as a negative) they may become more involved. For example, they can write their own exciting stories, communicate with loved ones by writing emails and postcards, and gain an important skill that can be used throughout their life. The Love Writing Company (lovewritingco.com) is on a mission to help children love writing from the start. They want to make it fun, engaging and easier for children to learn to write.
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Introducing an incentive A small reward may be enough to encourage your child to write. You could suggest an easy exchange: a whole page of story writing (with their neatest handwriting) for a sweet treat, a visit to the playground or some stickers of their choice. Anything that increases your child’s motivation for writing and puts them in a positive mindset towards writing as a whole is a good idea. www.FamilyFirst.co.uk
