This is how we encourage writing with our kids:
1. My child has some event that seems worthy enough to tell mom about. It could be a happening with other kids, a sad movie he saw, or a dream, etc. I tell him to write it down, and I will type it out. We do this often. Sometimes, I re-write it as a news report, poem, or article. (Good writing practice for me.)
2. At the end of the school year, I collect these informal pieces, plus the reports and essays they have written for school. We deliver these to Office Max, where they assemble the papers into a spiral bound book. It’s cheap: $3 – $4, depending on the book thickness. The result:
- a record that we have accomplished something for the school year
- a memory book of stories, dreams and events
- a way to show student progress in writing ability, year by year
- something special to set on their graduation open house table.
- a reason for grandparents to smile
- a feel-good addition to our homeschool
My son’s recent tree adventure prompted this writing activity:
Marco’s version:
One day, I climbed a tree. The tree was tall. It had a lot of branches. I was getting a view of the house and the road. When I was getting down and my foot could not reach the branch, then I slipped. And I was hanging upside-down. I yelled for help.
Ava came first. She saw my leg, stuck in the tree. She held onto me, so I would not fall into the stinging nettles. Soon Gino came. He pushed me back up into the tree and I got my foot unstuck. I climbed out of the tree and put my shoes back on because they had fallen off. Then I said “thank you” to Gino and Ava and I walked back to the house. The End.
Mom’s version:
A nine-year old boy narrowly escaped impact yesterday when he hung upside down from a tree branch until rescued by siblings.
Marco regularly climbs the same tall basswood tree on his rural Midwest property.
“I like it because I can see the whole house and the highway when I’m way up there,” he says.
From an upright position, Marco doesn’t fear heights. But yesterday, when he fell head first and dangled by a caught foot, he was afraid no one would hear his cries for help.
“I started to climb down, but I slipped. I yelled for help, but no one came at first.”
Ava, his eleven-year-old sister, was the first to hear him. She ran over and held on to him, so he wouldn’t fall into a patch of stinging nettle plants. Gino, 16, followed, lifting Marco’s foot clear of the branch.
The relieved boy gathered his fallen shoes, thanked his siblings, and ran back to the house.
Shaking, Marco told his story to the rest of the family.
“I’m thankful I didn’t fall into the stinging nettles. God protected me.”
~ Lisa
Survive“>
My Word Soup 