Ways to Add Writing as an Activity With Your Kids

One of our challenges is having one boy who loves to read so much we have to take books away to get

Beetles and the Zoo, ripe candidates for stories and poems.

him to do things (so he can continue reading). Our other boy more physical and loves to help or do chores (when phrased the correct way).

Now, neither of or boys want to really write. Ask them to do homework involving writing and it can be hell to get that work done.

Some things they both love are games, modeling what Mom and Dad do, and joining in to do things as a team. So, how do I harness that to get more writing happening at home?

I am not so much concerned with them doing the homework as much as I want to get them so into writing as just something they do that the homework is an afterthought for them and they just do it. Remember, practice makes perfect and stretching that writing muscle helps improve it.

The ideas for this post started flowing when I wrote a post on my Svbtle blog, called 10 Ideas: Party Themes. The 10 Ideas series is something I started recently where I try to take a couple minutes each day to quickly come up with a topic and then 10 ideas for that topic. I am doing it as a writing exercise myself to flex my writing muscle and get my brain running in the morning.

So, what have I come up with for the boys?

1. Start a Poetry Writing Circle with the boys.
1. We pick a topic.
2. Discuss it a bit.
3. Then decide to write 2 lines each for the poem we build as a team.
4. Once we get the hang of it we can start to work in poem styles and aim for funny/sad poems.
5. Key here being each of us writes down our lines of the poem.
2. Start a mini-version of my 10 Ideas.
1. Pick a topic.
2. Discuss some ideas around that topic (Forms of transport to get from home to Grandpa's house or Ways you could catch a fish.)
3. Have each person write down 3 ideas for the topic.
3. Journaling
1. I did a couple as a kid for school.
2. Set aside a time for us all to write in our journal about our day or yesterday.
4. Have them write down the best thing that happened today.
5. Have them write down something they did today that they want to do again.
6. Have them write down something nice they did for someone else today.

Those are a couple ideas I am going to start trying with the boys. Hopefully by the new school year we will make this such a habit they will find written homework a breeze.