Guest post by Riley Carney, author and literacy advocate. Read more about Riley after the post or on her website. Encouraging Your Child To Write Because I’m a teenager, a published author, and the founder and director of a nonprofit for children’s literacy, adults often ask me what they can do to get their kids to write. My childhood had an... [read more ]
I’m thrilled to welcome guest blogger, P.K. Hallinan, author of over 85 children’s books. Thank you for your contribution to Imagination Soup! I have a few thoughts on how to help kids love to write… 1) Encourage Reading: First, you need to get them to love to read. This is often not easy, especially with someone like me who... [read more ]
Okay, I know I’ve mentioned it before, but if you haven’t set up a writing nook or area, it’s time. Even if you have young kids. Even if you have old kids. If you have kids. Who can resist the lure of fresh notebooks, pencils, new markers, stencils, pom-poms, stickers, colored pencils — and the crowning glory of my own writing... [read more ]
Hands down, Usborne Stencil Cards rule the stencil universe. Oh, yeah. I use them in writing classes and my kids use them weekly for their creative stories. Why? They’re indestructible! And, frankly, if you can write and easily illustrate a story, it makes the writing process much easier. Use the animal stencils to make a sequential... [read more ]
Random.org picked #2, Colleen, to win this great prize. Congratulations! Magic Lantern is giving an Imagination Soup reader a Kidz Publishing kit. The kit allows your child to write a story and publish it! Cool, huh? It includes a story page template and markers. Your child writes a story, illustrates it and sends it to Magic Lantern and... [read more ]
This is ridiculously simple – but once you show your kids, they can do this all on their own over and over again. The beautiful part, they’ll be writing, creating, imagining AND doing so independently. My teacher soap box: Make sure you emphasize that the most important thing is to get their ideas on paper – not to worry about... [read more ]
Bugs are everywhere – give your kids a notebook, pencil and magnifying glass — if you have one. They can make a science notebook on backyard bugs. *Tell them that scientists and writers both must be good observers. They look closely at details and include those details in their notes. To do: Draw the bug. Write the name. Write a short... [read more ]
Writers need to write. Artists need to create. Musicians need to play. Create a wonderful writing “center” or “nook” for your young writer(s) to write. All you need are space and materials. Try to let your child’s inner writer emerge. Don’t comment too much or expect perfection. Let them write. Give them the tools they need for lists,... [read more ]
I want your child to love writing. I want to show how fun words and writing can be. We are born loving play. We delight in the silly, the ordinary, and wonder when we are young. It is this gift of youth, the perspective we so often lose as adults, that makes children amazing writers. The eyes of a child are the eyes of a poet. All children... [read more ]
