Writing skills are key to communication and to your child’s success in school.
However, today’s tech-savvy kids don’t have many opportunities to develop strong writing skills.
How can parents help?
Developing strong writing skills takes practice and time. It can be challenging. But, there are a few tricks that can help parents to improve their children’s writing skills at home.
Practice makes…stronger skills
Like any skill, the more time and energy put into it, the better the result. So, make writing skill development part of your family’s mission and see writing skills develop in no time!
Improve your child’s communication skills with these simple and fun kids’ writing activities.
At-Home Activities To Help Kids Build Stronger Writing Skills
- Read Up. Regular reading is the most important habit of in helping kids develop a stronger understanding of the written language. It helps them develop a stronger vocabulary and exposes them to different writing styles and formats.
For younger children, when reading together, leave out words and ask them for suggestions of words that might work. The earlier young children develop a familiarity with the written language, the stronger their confidence in their own writing becomes. - Writing Games. Word-based board games and crossword puzzles are fun for everyone and encourage comprehension of the way words work together.
- Tracing Games. For youngsters learning to write, tracing worksheets help develop motor skills and letter-sound comprehension. Pick a letter a day and after tracing and sounding it out, find household items that begin with that letter or sound.
- Write Letters. Penmanship and letter writing is sadly becoming a lost art. Help your child learn about older ways of communication by writing letters to Encourage your child to write letters to friends or family members. Maybe even find a pen pal!
- Use Story Prompts. Getting started is often the toughest part! Cut out pictures from a magazine with different characters or locations, or write down different words. Place these in a container or glue them to cards to use as writing prompts for creating a unique story. This also makes a fun activity for the whole family to join in.
- Be Involved. Show interest in your child’s writing and stories. Ask questions, celebrate when he or she brings home a good piece from school, and encourage his or her writing as much as possible.
- Encourage Journaling. Writing about the day’s activities is a simple way to make writing a daily habit. It doesn’t have to be in-depth: journalling is the act of recording what happened in a day, even if it was mundane.
- Create a Writing Space. Find a favorite spot and designate it the writing corner. Keep pens, pencils, and a variety of papers and notebooks there and make visiting the writing corner a daily event.
- Editing. Editing is an important step to writing: ensure your child knows that proofreading and revising help make writing better. Make yourself available to check for typos.
- Write About Your Interests. Whether it’s dinosaurs or ballet, the first step in writing is being motivated! Connecting interests to writing encourages active thinking and creativity.
Lots of reading, frequent writing time in a special writing area, and incorporating fun writing activities and games will all go a long way to giving writing skills a boost.
If your child needs extra help improving his or her writing skills, GradePower Learning can help.
