My Kindergarten Teacher sent this home to help us encourage our children to write at home. Learning to write goes lockstep with learning to read she says. I’ve added a few more ideas.
Here are some great ideas from her:
Phone Messages
- Keep pen and paper by the phone.
- Ask your younger child to write down the name and phone number of the person who called.
- Ask an older child to take a message
Lists
- Have your child create lists or help you create lists for things like groceries, things to pack for a trip or sleepover, guests for your birthday party, what you need to do each day before going to bed.
- When your child gets home from school, create a To-Do list and cross it off as each task is completed. Maybe there is a reward system for completed lists even!
Lunch Box Notes
- Include a note in your child’s lunch box. Kids love getting notes from their parents!
- Your lunch box note can include what will happen after school as a reminder.
Postcards and Letters
- Buy postcards either from your town or city or when you travel. Have your child send postcards to his or her friends while on a trip as well as to relatives.
- You can send postcards from home as well!
- Each week, choose someone to write to. This gets more exciting as your child receives letters and postcards back.
- Pen pals are always fun, especially from other countries where you can exchange little gifts.
Messages
- Leave messages in a conspicuous place for older kids to read.
- Leave reminders for appointments or for activities.
- Messages can also be routine: Hi from Mom and Dad or Did you remember to practice piano today?
- You can write up the playdate schedule. Wednesday, Suzy is coming over for a play date.
Assistance on the Computer
- Ask your child to write down his question to you. i.e. “How do you spell Bakugan/Webkinz/Pokemon/Nick Jr./PBS Kids?”
- Write down the answer and let him or her type it into the computer browser.
Diaries
- Give your child blank notebooks or journals to fill up with words and pictures.
- Encourage your child to write a story. Then decorate with drawings or stickers. Keep these books with your real books and make a big deal about them when you read them.
White Boards/Windows and other fun surfaces
- Let your child use whiteboards (portable or otherwise) to write notes and/or draw.
- The windows in your housework as whiteboards if you use erasable markers. Let them write their schedule, lists, or even spelling words for a fun surface.
- If there is an old surface for a kid’s art table, turn it into a whiteboard with special whiteboard paint. Click on the image of the whiteboard paint to check it out at Amazon.
Most Important: BE A ROLE MODEL!
p.s. Related posts:
How To: Raise a Reader and a Writer
Connecting Reading with Writing in Kindergarten
Get Kids Writing with a Progressive Story
Reading and Imagining Writing Exercise For Kids
Things You Can Do to Improve Your Child’s Writing Skills
Writing Tips for Children from NS Blackman
Writing for Reluctant Readers by Ty Drago
Writing Charming Thank You Notes (FREE Printable): Day 12 of 12 Days of Shopping
Writing Revision Tips for Kids: Why Writing is All About Revising
Getting Kids Involved with Creative Writing & GIVEAWAY
Write Now Read Later: Summer Writing Prompts for Kids
Write First Read Later: Alien Writing Prompts for Kids
My 5 Mentor Children’s Books for Writing an Alphabet Picture Book
Reading and Imagining Writing Exercise For Kids
Middle School Writing: How to Use the COMMA
Writing Tips for Kids Who Write for School Newspapers
How To Write a Great College Application Essay
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These are all excellent ways to getting your child motivate to write. My daughters were a natural early on for these sorts of activities and were all too eager to participate. However, my son….well, lets just say, he has never had the drive and still doesn’t to this day. The point being keep your kids involved with list making, letter writing, journalling, or simply doodling. Any and all of these will stimulate their brain whenever they engage in motor skill activities.
I am always amazed how a blank book (even a stapled “book” of white copy paper) will inspire my kids to write and draw a book of their own.
Great ideas, thanks! I like the postcard idea very much.
I remember how excited my kids were and are to get postcards and it really wasn’t that hard to get them to write postcards while on vacation as long as mom remembered to bring the addresses and the stamps! (ie me! thank god for cell phones that store addresses!)
great suggests. I have been trying the blank book and it has been working. Will have to do the others as well 🙂 Thanks
Thanks for coming by!
There is something about the magic of the blank book that seems to inspire any kid I know to do something creative to it. It just beckons … and then add in some cool pens and you have lift off!
Starting to teach kids how to write smaller things is really a great step towards their improvement. Thank you for the list.
Hi Mark,
The new writing curriculum at school, Lucy Calkins, stresses writing about small moments. It’s a great way to teach kids to write. I’ve seen huge improvement in my kids’ writing since they started this new teaching method.