If you're an elementary teacher or English language arts & literacy teacher of grades 3–5, you'll want to know about this amazing literacy opportunity for your classroom! Do your students know that published authors go through the same writing process as student writers? (brainstorming, researching, planning, drafting and editing . . . ) Celebrate the National Day on Writing With … [Read more...]
Summer Writing Ideas for Kids
If you've downloaded my free Summer Brain Camp printables, you'll see the page of choices for summer writing ideas. Today I want to make sure you have the links for these fun summer writing activities. Hopefully, these ideas will motivate your kids to write this summer --or anytime. For me, writing has been a gift. It's a way to express my feelings, and more importantly, it's a way for me to … [Read more...]
Christmas Story Starters
Today for the 2012 Creative Christmas Countdown, I'll give you printable Christmas story starters and show you how to make your own Christmas storybook, a handmade book covered in wrapping paper, filled with colorful pages ready for you to write imaginative Christmas stories. Use the free printable holiday story starters to inspire ideas. Christmas Story Starters Supplies: paper, … [Read more...]
Bubble Writing (Lettering) Motivates Kids to Write (Mostly)
Are you finding it challenging to get your kids to write? Because me, too! Sigh. Which is why I'm happy about bubble writing to motivate them. Bubble Writing First of all, bubble writing is really lettering, or making letters fancy, silly, scary, poofy, etc. We found tons of lettering ideas in the book, How to Be the Best Bubblewriter in the World Ever - from monster letters (below) to caveman … [Read more...]
Art and Writing Project: When Mom or Dad Has Cancer
Art helps kids express feelings. For many children, it's easier to draw an emotion than label it and talk about it. Certainly this is true for young children who may not know the feelings words yet. In fact, art therapy is used for grief, loss, learning disabilities, emotional issues, mental disorders, abuse, cancer, and divorce, among other ways. I'm not an art therapist but when my … [Read more...]
Sensory Sand Trays Great for Letter Practice
by Tricia of Critters and Crayons My husband and I first saw the Sensory Sand-Writing Tray at a Montessori school. We watched as the school's director filled a wooden tray with sand and then used two fingers to draw a large letter. He explained that young children may have difficulty with fine motor skills (like controlling a pencil,) but from a young age, they can write using their entire … [Read more...]
Teaching Parts of Speech
Kids do need to learn grammar, especially the parts of speech. Here are some fun ideas for teaching and applying parts of speech in a writing workshop. In my summer writing workshop, I had kids ages seven to ten. Find and Sort Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives First we looked for cool words in magazines. I modeled this and enthusiastically helped kids find awesome words and cut them out. Once we … [Read more...]
Children’s Author Says Write Alphabet Photo Books
Guest post by Esther Hershenhorn, author of S is for Story in our summer artist's date series. I had great fun creating my newest book, S is for Story: A Writer’s Alphabet (Sleeping Bear Press, ’09) – especially once I focused on my book’s purpose. The purpose was offering Young Writers an A-to-Z journey through a writer’s process and life. Choosing my book’s twenty-six words took time and … [Read more...]