This is a sure-fire way to get your child writing. Buy 2 little blank books. One for your child and one for you. Talk about fun subjects, quotations and sayings,  (get ideas from Thought for the Day book or Kid’s Writing Journal.)

Try this writing prompt, “If I share what I have, it will make someone else feel good.” What could you share with someone today? How do you think it would make them feel? Now, each of you write your idea, and illustrate it if you want. The fun part is in the sharing. It’s amazing what each of you learn from the other. Next time  have your child pick the writing prompt.

Quotations are fun too. “I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells. (Dr. Seuss) “Nonsense” means writing about silly things. Today wake up your brain cells and write something silly! Journal writing promotes complete freedom.  If you can draw or doodle along with writing, you can create and be yourself. No rules! Correct spelling, grammar and sentence structure can be taught elsewhere. Journal writing is an outlet for self expression. This is the amazing benefit;  if children develop the habit of writing, their writing improves immensely.

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.

Writing can be daunting.  So much to remember -  spelling, punctuation, paragraphs, opening sentence, closing sentence and all that stuff in between!  Our reluctant writers want no part of it, unless it’s short – very short.  This is why journal writing is so effective.  Kids can get away with a couple of sentences and it doesn’t have to be perfect.  I know what you are thinking; “If it is sloppy writing with misspelled words, why do it?”    The answer is simple – “expression of thoughts.”   By allowing children to express their thoughts gives clarity to their thinking.  I love this quotation from Anne Morrow Lindbergh, “Writing is thinking. It is more than living, for it is being conscious of living.”

Recently I was interviewed for an article on how to help children become journal writers. My main points were:

1. Begin with drawings. After discussing the picture with your child, suggest words they can add that express emotion, like “ouch” or “happy”.  This gives your child the idea that words convey feelings too.

2. Use writing prompts to stimulate ideas.  “Be true to your work, your word, and your friend.” (Abraham Lincoln)  “Being true” means doing what is right. What would you do if you saw a friend cheating? Report it, talk to the friend, or do nothing? By writing about a problem,  your child defines their own reaction.

3. Always ask if your child wants to share their journal writing. Privacy is important.  If you write about the same prompt in your own journal and share, it encourages discussion.

4. This is your time to be completely focused on your child and what they think. Enjoy and have fun!

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.

I love inspiring children to write.  During my years in the classroom, I began every morning with an inspiring “Thought for the Day.”  Students wrote a short paragraph as a journal entry.  The thought for the day was either a quotation or saying that stimulated their thinking skills.  The best part was watching them write intently and share their comments with the class.

Many of the writing prompts started classroom discussions about a controversial subject.  I remember the day students wrote about this saying, “Let your conscience be your guide.” What would you do if only one hot dog was left and neither you nor the person in line behind you had received one?  Some children felt it was fine to take the last hot dog since they were the next in line.  Many suggested sharing the hot dog and a few wanted to give the other child the hot dog and go without.  Interesting!  Conscience is a hard concept to understand, but by talking about how you would feel with your action, seemed to get the point across.

One of my colleagues suggested arranging the quotations and sayings into different character building traits.  For example, February’s theme is Love/Honesty/Valentines Day/Presidents/Integrity. Parents and teachers love being able to build on the themes.  The off-shoot from Thought for the Day, is Kid’s Writing Journal.  Same idea but children have lines to write on, in their own journals.

Memorization of quotations or poetry seems to be a lost art.  But anything you memorize stays with you all your life.  Memorization also helps the brain by making synaptic connections.  Encourage students to memorize two or three quotes or sayings each month.

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.