When my daughter was in first grade, I was very excited for her to begin writing with more depth. Okay. I’ll admit it. I was SUPER excited. I love writing and one of the joys of parenting is getting to experience wonderful things, through your children, all over again, but with the excitement of youth.

One more confession; I overwhelmed my child that wasn’t quite ready for what I had in mind.

And this is where one of the sorrows of parenting enters; I made a mistake. My now-third-grader is sometimes timid when trying new things and became frustrated. I was frustrated, too. Not with her, but with my plan not panning out. And as parents, our plans always pan out, don’t they? Ha. Ha.

Ultimately, we used one of the many benefits of homeschooling to cool it, take time to re-think my ways and try something different when she and I were ready. I learned a lot from that experience–knowing when to push and when to let a child grow was one of them.

On the logistical side, however, I learned that what I was asking her to write about wasn’t motivating to her. I also didn’t do a good job of showing her that writing can be a wonderful thing. And in particular, I didn’t give her the right tools to find joy in writing. Also, at some point in the last two years, I began sharing with her my writing experiences, which also made a huge difference.

Now I’ve got a first grader again. And this time, I’m getting it right. I’m sorry, my poor first child!

Here is a bit of what I’ve discovered:

1. Topic really, really, really matters. What is your child interested in? Is your child silly? Is your child serious? What gets him/her going? My daughter wrote a story about a tooting dog the other day. Her brother (and I) thought it was hilarious! It was inventive, she followed the plot exactly as I’d asked, and it kept her listeners captivated. My point? If you have a child that’s silly, suggest something like that. Your kiddo will think you’re nuts, but will probably have an awesome time getting on board.

2. Writing WITH them really helps. It gives them an example and they get ideas from what you do. So now when my children get an assignment, I get one, too. I even have my own composition book 🙂

3. Atmosphere is very important to creative writing. Creative solutions can come to us as adults when we’re listening to music, having a quiet moment, when we’re alone, etc.. However, it’s not likely that we’ll come up with a perfect solution to a familial problem when our kids are asking us what’s for dinner, scrambling with 3 pans and having a conversation with our spouse about their day. Simultaneously! Children are the same way. Give them a positive, focused place to write, flip on some great background music, and see them flourish more than they would otherwise.

4. Encouragement is key. Writing is creating; it is art. Our medium: words. Once a child has finished writing something, appreciate, appreciate, appreciate! Once you do that, then you can make suggestions for corrections. And then repeat the encouragement and appreciation once those edits are completed.

Whether your children go to public school or are taught at home, this is a busy time of year and I’m sure there are many pencils that are (or are trying to) fly across those composition books. Today, I have FIVE writing prompts to aid with tool #1–Topic! It can be hard to get started, so I hope these help.

–Five Writing Prompts for Kids–

1. What is the funniest/most embarrassing thing that has happened to you or your friends this year. Write a story about it in third person. Example, pretending that your name is Sarah: “Once upon a time, there was a girl named Sarah. She loved to go on walks. One day, Sarah was walking and…”

2. Write down three things that you loved doing this summer. This is a great opportunity to practice writing in first person. Try to help your child find better synonyms and be really descriptive. Example: Your child writes, “I swam in the lake.” Help them to elaborate and remember all of the things that excited them about swimming at the lake–the people they went with, what they liked about swimming (was there a water toy? splashing?), nature observations.

3. Write this as the top of a sheet of paper and let your child finish this story: “In a land long ago, there were three friends; a duck, a frog and a dragon-fly. They enjoyed playing every day, but duck and dragon-fly had a problem. Every time frog jumped, he…”

4. Take a quick walk around the block with your child. Let him/her find an object that is interesting; clouds, flowers, trees, a car, a person, to name a few. Take a good, long, look and talk about it. Unless it’s a person–that could be quite awkward! How does this object function? Where is it? How did it get there? How does it grow? What color is it? What would like to eat it or live in it? What shape is it? Take your child home and each of you can write a very detailed description about the happenings/life of this object. This is a wonderful practice for learning to build dimension and description into stories.

5. Have your child think about a topic he/she is interested in; basketball, reading, music, dance, soccer, swimming, hiking, cars, art, cooking are a few. Help your child find information on a specific person that is an expert in their field, see if you can find a video clip online, or help them to learn more about the topic. Once your child has the research done, have him/her write about that person, their field, and how/if it inspires them.

Happy writing! I would love to know how these work out for you!