Three simple ways to get your child writing these holidays

Whilst having a break from school is important, six weeks is a long time for your child not to engage with writing. We know that the more we do something, the better we are at it and the easier it becomes. Here are three fun ways that you can get your child writing again (that aren’t a recap of your holidays) and will prepare your child for the new school year.

1.       Get your child to write a letter to their friend or relative

When I was a classroom teacher, I was involved in an intergenerational writing program where students wrote letters to elderly citizens. This became a weekly occurrence, and the students LOVED receiving their letters and writing back. Letter writing isn’t something that is common for children anymore (hello emails) and it is a great way to teach your child how people used to communicate before computers and the internet. Some ways to make this experience more special for your child would be to:

-          Buy some fancy writing paper together to make it an exciting experience!

-          Go for an excursion to the post office and get the staff to explain how the post works

-          Choose someone to write to that your child really connects with (and get their permission of course)

-          Decorate the letter using stickers and drawings

2.       Get your child to write about an experience they had in any way they want

One of my most successful lessons as a classroom teacher was to take my class out on a windy day and talk about what we noticed and how the wind affected our senses. We then returned to the classroom and I gave the students 40 minutes to write about the wind in any way they wanted. A simple activity that elicited such a great response from the children and to this day, I don’t think I have ever seen students so engaged!!! The children wrote poems, stories, information reports, articles and explanations. They were nearly climbing over me to show me their work because they were so proud of what they had come up with.

I believe this activity was so successful because the children could easily connect to the experience and they had choice in what they could write about. As a parent, you could do something similar by enjoying an experience you have in the holidays. An experience could be a thunderstorm, walk to the local park, a visit to the arboretum etc. It is important to do the writing straight after the experience to keep your child’s thoughts fresh in their mind to begin writing. Remember to get your child to share or present their work once they have finished.

3.       Regularly answer a ‘Would you rather’ question as a family

This one is a little different but is just as effective. This is a quick, fun and enjoyable experience where your child can connect with other members of the family. Choose a Would you rather question and get everyone in the family to write their answer on a piece of paper (enforce that an explanation of their answer must also be included). Then, one family member reads out the answers and guesses who it belongs to and why. This is a great activity to build oral language, connect with family members, and for your child to practise explaining and justifying their answers. Some examples you could use are:

-          Would you rather holiday at the snow or beach?

-          Would you rather have telekinesis (the ability to move things with your mind) or telepathy (the ability to read minds)?

-          Would you rather be the smartest person alive or the funniest person alive?

-          Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?