Ideas to encourage your child to write
8th March 2017
Learning isn’t just hard work and determination, it’s recreational too. This month’s article from Tiny World Nursery will be sharing ideas on how you can encourage your child to write. Some children feel on the spot when asked to do a writing task, but will feel different when you ask them to write for a game. The idea is to incorporate writing with play. This way, they see it from a different perspective, thus helping them to understand that learning can be fun and that skills can be learnt without even realising!
What you can do
- Read with them
- Write with them
- Play with them
Writer’s paradise
Get creative with them, if they like dinosaurs put stickers and posters up; if they like space get them to make their own papiermache rocket ship and have it hanging from the ceiling just above their desk. Make their workspace an interactive area where they feel inspired to write – if space is limited that’s ok, you can still make a large fold-away cardboard cutout. Get them to draw across the board with bright colours and pictures and add fun textures. This will make them feel relaxed when sitting at their writing station, and hopefully this will inspire them and get them into the zone. This way it’ll feel special and it won’t feel like a chore.
Expression of thoughts
A simple way to make headway with the expression of thoughts is to ask your child about their day. This will encourage them to not only think about what they have done and how they felt, but will also create a strong bond between the two of you. They will naturally learn to trust you with their thoughts and feelings.
Touch on the idea of a “memory book”, let them know this is a fun activity and not to be thought of as ‘work’. It’s a book where they can relive great trips out with the family, a meal they ate or a journey they went on when they took the dog for a walk, for example.
Take your child with you to buy this “memory book”; a book of their choice might help them to engage with this activity and get their creative minds going. Get a special pen too so they will enjoy filling up the book with fun colours and exciting stories.
Writing Games
All the senses – write about an object, get them to close their eyes and present them with an object. Tell them to describe the object out loud, take the object away and ask them to write down how it feels and smells. This could be anything from a piece of fruit to a household item like a wooden spoon. Once they’ve written down their ideas you should ask them to make a guess at what it is!
Empathy and imagination – pretend to be something else, if you have a family pet then this might be a good topic to start on. Ask your child to write about the dog and describe what they do in the day and how they feel about going on walks, swimming in the sea, being groomed etc. This game is also good when your child has misbehaved, asking them to put themselves in someone else’s shoes can help them to understand their actions.
Get creative
Chalk is ideal for free writing as chalk can be rubbed out and your child can easily try again. Crosses and alterations on their work, although effective at school, can be discouraging at home when having ‘fun’. Paints turn their writing into works of art, proudly stick their painted name on their bedroom door for all to see. Computers and typewriters are ideal for older children, they will enjoy expressing themselves using large coloured font. Using colour is a must, it’s a common fact that people retain information better if it’s colourful.
Praise and encouragement
Practise and encouragement will provide them with lifelong skills that may lead them to a career in writing. Don’t forget to tell them well done when they have written a story or added to their memory book, especially when they’ve done this on their own. Give them credit when it is deserved and they will learn to love writing.
Here at Tiny World Nursery we like to share our experience with you, so your children benefit at home as well as nursery. If you’d like to visit us please give us a call today so we can arrange a tour!