Writing is beautiful; writing is the art of self expression. It’s giving life to your thoughts, stories and emotions. However, many children (and, heaven help us, some adults) find writing has become a chore which creates stress and resistance and sometimes even tears. No matter if you’re a parent, teacher or homeschooler, this introduction to writing can be done in such a way that it is joyful instead of stressful and empowering rather than something to fear.
- Begin by telling stories orally
Who doesn’t remember among their earliest memories: when you were a kid and curious about the wonderful world around you? By the time they even pick up a pencil, they’ve already scripted hundreds of stories in their minds, stories they tell during play, at the dinner table or as they imagine.
Prompt storytelling sessions wherein kids tell their story, about their day, a superhero adventure, a made up world etc.
- “What’s a time when you felt really happy?”
- Could your pet talk? What if your pet could talk?” ‘What would it say?’ – I caught myself thinking.
This is building narrative thinking and vocabulary in the most stress free way. Storytelling is one way your child can practice reading. Most of the best international schools in Kerala integrate storytelling as a prewriting activity to help build the needed foundation for further writing skills.
- Establish an Environment Rich in Print
Books, labels, posters and written language that you can see are naturally curious things. If children have words around them, they’re more likely to play with words.
Carefully curated libraries, creative writing walls and student led publications at the Top international schools in Trivandrum creates this environment. You can also do something similar at home.
- Common objects (table, door, window) label.
- But if you have the occasional need to scribble down a list of stuff on your way out of the bedroom, use chalkboards or whiteboards.
- Hang their writing on walls or on the fridge.
- Give Your Writing a Purpose
Sometimes we get stuck on the children and why they are writing. When the subject is far removed from their passions or appears abstract, resistance forms.
Teach them to write for real life reasons too
- A birthday after a thank you card
- A guide to playing a favourite game
Such purposeful writing becomes part of school curriculum, like at International school in Trivandrum.
- Give them the freedom to decide what to write about
Giving children choice is one of the simplest ways to reduce writing pressure. Allow them to pick the hot topics they are passionate about. In thematic units students are oftentimes given autonomy to select their own writing projects at the Best International School in Trivandrum. Using this approach brings creativity, critical thinking and intrinsic motivation.
- Accept Your Imperfections
Learning includes spelling mistakes, backwards letters, grammar slip ups. Don’t try to fix every mistake in your error, be patient (at least when you write an early draft).
Think about the idea of the message, not the idea of the mechanics itself.
Instead celebrate the effort not the outcome. When a child is thinking he’ll be analyzed over every sentence, it turns writing into an anxious task. International schools in Kerala tend to use process writing methods.
- Have Fun
You don’t always need to write a serious face at a desk. But it needs to be fun and playful.
- Instead, use silly prompts such as: Write a story about a cat who becomes president.
- Comic strips may do the trick; you ask kids to draw and write their dialogues.
- Apps and websites that gamify writing are the ones you should use.
In fact, some of the very best international schools in Kerala have integrated digital storytelling, blogging and multimedia projects so that they’re more engaging to children when it comes to writing.
- Include Writing in the Game
Young children learn best how to play. This will also work for you
- Have them set up a pretend restaurant where they should make menus.
- Do some ‘post offices’ where they write and deliver posts.
- Have them write mystery clues that you start a detective game with.
This method really works in the early year programs held to many international schools in Kerala who trust in learning via play.
- Continue reading
Reading and writing connect very well with each other. The more you read the children, the better they write. Reading gives you the models of different writing style, vocabulary and sentence structure.
In schools such as the top schools in trivandrum, balanced literacy programmes include teaching for reading as well as writing which promote language development in an integrated way.
- Establish a Secure and Motivating Environment
For children to take risks they need to feel safe to do so. After all, writing is exposing your thoughts and emotions for you; for others to absorb.
Be their cheerleader on everything that is good about them. All you do is say things like this.
- ‘How creative your story is!’ I fell in love with their work.
- “The emotion I felt in this poem, well you really made me feel that you know.”
- “That idea was so different.”
Feedback in the form of encouragement, uplifting and inspiration is the name of the game and teachers at a nurturing environment like the International School in Trivandrum are trained to give feedback like that.
Conclusion
You don’t have to produce something polished every time either. The goal sometimes is to only explore an idea or write a single sentence. Writing is a matter of time.
If writing is something that a child dreads, to get them to start enjoying it may require weeks or even months of light encouragement. It’s patience that’s the key here.When we reframe writing as a process of discovery, creativity and communication, we can introduce it in an entirely pressure and tear free way.
An understanding, not an expectation, is always where the journey begins – whether at home or in a classroom like any other of the best international schools in Kerala.