Writing is a very important part of children’s learning as they progress through elementary school. As your child begins to master the basics of beginning to spell her name correctly, it’s a good idea to hone fine motor skills while practicing both uppercase and lowercase letters, even learning to spell some basic words. And the saying goes… ‘You only learn to write by writing’.
Today, there are many tests that children must pass in school and it seems that it is even more important than ever that parents emphasize the need for children to develop good skills to express themselves clearly and expressively. Here are fun activities you can do to encourage your kids to develop good writing skills and habits that will last a lifetime.
Write a journal
Writing in a journal is not only good for your child, it will also help him understand the importance of writing. Choose a notebook that is special to your child and use it as a journal. Each night before bed, you can make it a routine for your child to write a sentence or two about their day. It can be something general like: ‘Today has been a wonderful day. fun’ or maybe highlight something you really like or a happy or sad thought you’ve had, like ‘I laughed when my brother tickled me.’
As you As your child gets older, he’ll begin to write down more about his feelings and concerns. Journaling can be a great way to work through stress and anxiety. Writing helps you feel better.
Writing cards
Writing cards is always a good idea to encourage writing and creativity. For example, your child can write birthday cards, a party invitation, or a thank you card. Even your kids can write their own thank you cards – it’s a way to keep them busy and make it cheaper for you. Also, having kids write thank you notes is a way to instill good manners and raise kids who are appreciative of others.
Game of words
Pick some colored cardstock paper. res and cut out a stack of small cards. On each card, write simple words -depending on the age of your child-. Once you have all the cards written down, shuffle the cards and put them face down. Each player will have to take 7 cards and try to make two or three sentences with those words to tell a little story. The results are very creative!
Linked story
To play this game you need more than three players and that the children are about 8 years old, although it will depend on the child’s writing ability. It is a fun game with great results. First you must take pencils and papers. The first player will start writing a story with two or three sentences, then the next player will only see what the previous player wrote and continue the story. Each player will have to fold the paper so that only their sentences are visible and that the next player does not read more than necessary. At the end of several rounds, the final story written by everyone must be read aloud… it’s a lot of fun!
Can you think of other fun activities to promote good writing skills in primary school children? Your kids are sure to have a lot of fun writing at home!