When your child shows an interest in reading, writing, or painting, it’s a great opportunity to teach them creative skills that will help them express their thoughts and feelings. One way to accomplish this is by helping them write their own stories or poems. This blog post will outline several creative writing steps that can be followed to help your child become better writer.
Step 1: Set Up A Home Laboratory
With the explosion of technology, many children have access to a variety of creative equipment that can be used to write and paint. One way to encourage creative writing is by setting up a home laboratory for the child. This can be as simple as an area where the child can draw, paint, or write. There should be no wrong answers when it comes to creative experimentation; this is how the young ones learn.
Step 2: Give Them Plenty Of Materials
Creative writing is all about inspiration. To that end, give your children a variety of materials they can use to paint, write, or draw on. Scissors, paints, markers, notebooks, and pencils are just some of the materials you might want to get. Encourage your kids to explore each station of the laboratory and see what materials are available there. This will help build their confidence as writers and artists as they experiment with different options.
Step 3: Create A Comfortable Writing Environment
Another important aspect of creative writing is the setting. Kids can be very sensitive when it comes to writing and may have trouble coming up with ideas if the writing environment isn’t comfortable for them. To create a more comfortable environment, consider getting a small notebook computer especially designed for young children. This will allow them to stay interested in the writing process as they explore the many features and functions. If your child is between the ages of four and seven, the ThinkWrite programmable notebook computer might be a good option as it offers several different colorful display options and a variety of input methods. While older children can benefit from an iPad or other tablet device, these are usually a bit more expensive and might not be as responsive to their needs as a notebook computer.
Step 4: Help Them Find Their Narrative Voice
A good story or poem needs a good beginning, middle, and end. This is also true when writing creatively. To write a good story, you must have a character. This character should have a problem that the reader can relate to. They must want something that the character can achieve through the course of the story. A problem is often the catalyst for a good story, and it makes the character’s desire or motivation clear. Having a narrative voice is very different from a rambling stream-of-consciousness that many writers and speakers struggle with. Finding your narrative voice is an extremely important step in developing your creative writing skills. It will help you find the right rhythm and tone for your writing. Once you find it, you’ll be able to craft stories that will intrigue your readers.
Step 5: Practice, Practice, Practice
Writing is a skill that must be practiced. Children can be very motivated when it comes to practicing skills they’ve been taught. If you’ve followed the steps laid out in this blog post, your child will have already begun to establish a solid foundation for creative writing. Now is the time to practice and continue to build on their initial interest. You can ask the kids to write for you or to respond to prompts in a creative writing notebook. These are just some of the steps that can be taken to help introduce creative writing to your third grader.