Many of you send out or post family updates around the holidays. But this year, why not have your children write your family newsletter? In my writer's workshop a few years ago, my students spent time learning the basics of the newspaper, writing using the 5 Ws, and writing a family newsletter. It's something you can do at home with your family, too. 1. Study the Newspaper First, look through … [Read more...]
10 Character Based Journals for Kids
If your child loves these stories -- stories like Frozen, Magic Tree House, or Diary of a Wimpy Kid, let her use the love of the characters as motivation for journal writing. See if one of these 10 character-based journals for kids would interest YOUR child and get him writing during summer vacation. Note: descriptions are from the publishers. 10 Character Based Journals for Kids Disney … [Read more...]
NEW LEGO® Education Kit Get Kids Writing
I'm so excited to tell you about this today - it's StoryStarter, a new LEGO Education kit to get kids imagining, working together, creating stories, and publishing. Like you, I'm always trying to find new ways to entice kids (mine included) to write. Which is why the LEGO® Education StoryStarter kits make me do a happy dance. Of course, I wish I could give you each one to use with your … [Read more...]
Who Can Resist This Board Book Kit? (Not Me!)
Have you seen the new Kid Made Modern line at Target? There's a Board Book Kit you might like. Board Book Kit The Board Book Kit is $14.99 and comes with 3 board books and sticker papers. Since I buy anything to do with writing and reading (justification: kids learning and blogging) I immediately bought the kit. We loved it. TA-Da! Here's a page from JJ's board book of numbers. Here's a … [Read more...]
Secret Message Decoder Makes a Great Gift for Kids
I love how secret messages and codes get my kids writing! Maybe not paragraphs but the important thing is they are having fun and writing. Which is why I fell in love with this wooden secret decoder disk from The Wooden Toy Shop on Etsy. We've been having tons of family fun laughs writing each other weird and silly notes -- as you can see below. This secret decoder disk uses a Caesar … [Read more...]
10 Amazing Writing Activities and Resources for Kids
Don't you love finding new ideas and resources? (I shudder to imagine my life without the Internet!) So, today I'm sharing amazing writing resources and ideas for the young writers in your life. Comment and tell me your favorites, or add links of your own. DIY Postcards - Modern Parents Messy Kids Scribblitt - kids write and publish their own stories Graphic Organizers and Text … [Read more...]
Word Play with Kids . . . O Frabjous Day
Word Play with Kids Word play with kids comes naturally and makes writing and creating more fun. For example, is a cough- sneeze a snoff or a cougeeze? Or is sneeze + cough = a snoff? If there's not a word for something, why not invent one? And, why not entice your reluctant writers with such fun word play? Word play in children starts early - we rhyme, we make up silly languages and we try … [Read more...]