Some kids love to write, but many struggle with with it, especially in the early years. There are many factors that may cause a child to dislike writing including developmental readiness, sensory processing issues, learning disabilities, learning style, or maybe they just don't find it interesting yet. Whatever the reason or reasons may be, here are some ideas for making writing more enjoyable for our reluctant writers:
Shopping lists
One of the first writing activities my reluctant writer enjoyed was writing lists. It started with a project she wanted to do- building mini green houses for our garden plants. I told her I would buy her the materials, but gave her a budget and had her write out the list of materials. After that she started volunteering to write my weekly grocery lists and writing all sorts of other lists.
Type it instead
It may not provide any handwriting practice, but typing is a good skill to learn too. It's good for fine motor development and strengthening visual perception which are skills necessary for being able to properly hold a pencil and write letters and words efficiently. Typing also provides the same opportunities for working on grammar, and sentence and paragraph structure as writing by hand does.
Mix it with art
If your reluctant writer likes art here are a few simple writing activities they may enjoy:
-Write a short caption to go along with drawings, paintings, or other art works.
-Look at works of art together and encourage your child to write about what they see and feel.
-Allow your child to make comic strips or graphic stories for writing assignments.
Cooperative writing
Do creative writing activities together. Start a story with a few sentences and then pass the story off to your child to add a few sentences. Continue to pass the story back a forth, adding a few sentences at a time until you have a complete story.
My kids and I do a spooky Halloween themed story this way every October and it's always fun.
Text Messaging
While it doesn't provide any handwriting practice, text messaging can be great for working on spelling and sentence structure. My oldest daughter has learned to spell primarily by messaging with her grandmas and her friends. Just be sure to enforce safe internet usage if your kids are using an online texting app.
Pen-pals
Pen-pals are another fun way to encourage reluctant writers to write. Grandparents, cousins, and friends all make great options. You can also ask around in homeschool groups on Facebook, there are often other families looking for pen-pals.
Dictation
Dictation means letting your child do writing assignments verbally while you write or type for them. Sometimes there are factors that make the physical process of writing difficult or frustrating, but students can still practice creative story telling skills and putting information together in a cohesive form, verbally.
Alternative writing instruments and mediums
Lined paper with pencil isn't very visually stimulating. Changing up writing instruments or writing mediums can make writing more enjoyable. Younger students often prefer writing letters and short words with their fingers in fun mediums like finger paint, dirt, or sand. Using a finger is easier than holding a pencil so these types of activities are perfect for new writers.
Older students may enjoy writing with colorful pens. They may also like writing on fancy stationary or journaling sheets instead of plain lined paper. You could even have your children design their own stationary or journaling sheets on a simple graphic design app like Canva.
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