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.

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I was reading a blog written by Rhonda Cratty about the importance of writing little notes to our children.  This is what she said about sharing a book together.

Open a book; sharpen a pencil and write your child a love note about a book you are enjoying together. I promise your words will last longer in your child’s mind, than chocolate on their tongue.

I responded to her blog with this experience.

When I was teaching third grade, my students had a “Take-Home-Journal”.  Every Friday they would write a short paragraph to their parents about the week.  But the most important part of this project was the Parent Response Page. Parents would write words of encouragement back to their child.  I will never forget the look of pride in the eyes of one little boy when he showed me his journal and said it was the first time his mother had ever written a note to him.  Loving words on a page last forever.

Grab a pen and begin a wonderful shared experience.  Keep all those beautiful notes in a safe place and when your little ones become teenagers, pull them out to remind yourself who they really are.

Check out Rhonda’s  interesting article about starting a Family Reading Journal.

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I’ve put together some book recommendations for children and teaching books for parents and teachers, at Memory Joggers  Amazon Store.  I have 5 different categories;
Writing Books for Kids
Math Books for Primary Grades
Creativity Books for Kids
Reluctant Readers
Learning Challenges

These are all books I’ve used in my teaching or recommended to me by educators.  I’ve written a review on several of them in my section called Book Reviews. I hope you’ll check out the Creativity Books for Kids. I recently read an interesting article in Parenting Magazine called, “Why Art Makes Kids Smarter.”

I’ve been concerned for a long time about the cut back of art programs in the public schools. Art, music, drama all provide access to right brain creating and learning and we need this balance of logic (left brain) and creativity (right brain).  They go hand in hand.  How can students learn about Navajo Indians without working with clay to create a pot?  Drawing a mural of the covered wagon migration of settlers across the U.S. gives us a mental picture for remembering what occurred.  Seeing how watercolor can blend and create beauty opens parts of the brain that promotes appreciation.

A friend of mine was helping me pack some boxes. He looked at the material and the box and measured carefully, using all of his left-brain capabilities.  He said only 4 items could possibly fit.  I looked at it using a right brain perspective, and realized if the material was placed in the box sideways (not the normal direction), we could get in 6 items.

My point is, that the creativity and looking at things from a different perspective is a learned skill. It is right brain thinking. This skill is nurtured when we open students’ minds to creative thinking and exploration.

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