Child Writers: 12 Strategies To Motivate Them
Child writers often tend to read a lot very early on. There they get the ideas to develop their own stories. For this reason, one of the most important tips to motivate writing skills is to encourage a love of literature.
We know that young children have an endless source of ideas and anecdotes that they draw from their imagination. This is precisely the raw material that must be taken advantage of in order to develop an ability to capture ideas on paper. Below are some helpful recommendations to help guide your child writers in their creative processes.
How can you encourage child writers to develop their skills?
1. Give Child Writers Different Materials
For example, choose pencils in different shapes and colours, beautiful paper with different structures, markers and whiteboards. As simple as this strategy sounds, it’s an example of what we can do to motivate young child writers.
2. Create a distraction-free space at home
Setting up a study allows children to focus 100% so they can hear the ideas that come to their mind.
3. Help increase the vocabulary of child writers
Children need simple and direct instructions in their early years. However, as they get older, you can use more advanced terms to communicate with them.
For example, use synonyms and new words when talking to them. This gives them more words to express their ideas.
4. Integrate writing into other subjects
Describe math problems or physics using written words. This will help them see that anything can be written. In addition, child writers can also practice by using a journal in which they describe their daily experiences.
5. Let children write in their daily lives
For example, ask them to send small notes to friends and family. Also, ask them to write the shopping list or send them an email. Thus, the child will understand that writing is an important and necessary skill.
6. Teach Child Writers to Enjoy Different Types of Texts
Show them magazines, comics, storybooks, articles, and hieroglyphs. In particular, non-conventional forms of writing help children learn the value of the intention to communicate and the generality of language.
7. Share their writings with family
Have an open mic session every month. Parents and children can read and share something they have written during this monthly event.
8. Take into account the interests of the child writer
If your child likes sports, let him read and write about his favorite football or tennis player. Conversely, if he likes music, invite him to compose stanzas for songs.
9. Expose child writers to classic works in a fun way.
We have always thought of Don Quixote or the Odyssey as thick books that are difficult to understand. However, there are now versions for children that will help them access these traditional works in a much kinder way.
10. Stimulate creativity more than perfecting a technique.
Especially in the early stages of writing, the idea is more important than the linguistic form of the message.
11. Find a way to get your child’s work printed.
Whether in the school paper or on the fridge door at home, kids are happy to know that others are reading what they write. First you have to give them the confidence to write and later you correct the grammatical mistakes and mistakes in sentence structure.
12. Play Word Games With Child Writers
Make up words that are not real and make up imaginary situations. Then ask the children to try to respond or to sort out and elaborate your examples. Finally, affirm their contributions and ideas and praise their creativity.
Finally, child writers need help and motivation to fully develop their skills. Get involved in this process and help them build the very important habit of writing in daily and academic life.
If you make writing a fun activity for the little ones, it won’t feel like an annoying obligation for them in the future.