Archive for the ‘Young Writers’ Category

What If My Child Hates Freewriting?

Freewriting Help

Not all kids love the timer or freewriting. If your child hates it then I suggest you freewrite yourself (with which ever kids in the family will participate) and pair it with brownies. You can also try freewriting:

  • at a local Starbucks,
  • the library,
  • outside on a picnic table,
  • or inside UNDER a table.

You might try “midnight” freewrites where everyone gets up at midnight and writes by candle light.

Noah, my oldest, was this way. He even today says that the timer is too much pressure for him. We got to a place where we didn’t set a timer for him. I also taught him how to keep a “special events” journal where he only wrote when there was a special event to remember. He has one journal from an entire childhood and it has probably 15-20 entries. It was enough. It helped. Stay open to who your child is.

Kids need to be shown that you really are okay with what they write (telling doesn’t always convince them). You might:

  • scrunch up the page first,
  • ask your kids to assign you a topic,
  • freewrite first and ask your children to read yours to you and give you feedback,
  • or offer gel pens and black paper.

And of course, you can catch them in the act of thinking and jot down THEIR words as they say them to you spontaneously in an unplanned moment. That counts too!

Let children create their own list the day before you freewrite. Set the timer for a minute and ask them to write in a list down the page ALL the things they love and know a lot about. Any topic. Then when you go to freewrite, they can choose from the list or just write what comes to mind. Their choice.

Mix it up! Get rid of the schoolish element. See what happens.

Freewriting Prompts

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Partnership Writing Primer

Partnership Writing

What is Partnership Writing?

Partnership Writing is the most overlooked stage of writing development. It is a writing-revising-editing partnership between a young writer and a writing coach (YOU!). It’s the stage where parent and child write together, with the parent providing the much-needed support to get those precious, quirky insights to the page.

Is my child in the Partnership Writing stage?

Your child:

  • can write a sentence or a few words at a time but tires easily.
  • needs help with spelling, punctuation, and getting rich vocabulary to the page.
  • shows interest in using a pencil or keyboard but is not ready to “go it alone.”
  • needs modeling for how to take thoughts and put them in writing.

In other words, your child wants to share thoughts and ideas through writing but original writing does not reflect the mind-life or verbal fluency. This is often seen in nine and ten year olds but don’t be governed by age range. Focus instead on the description and match it to your child.

My child is in the Partnership Writing stage. Now what?

1) Read the blog post, “The misunderstood ‘child-led learning’ model”

2) Listen to the Partnership Writing Podcast

3) See Partnership Writing in action

4) Check out Brave Writer products and online classes for additional help such as our Partnership Writing Home Study Course:

A Year-Long Language Arts Plan!
9-10 year olds (age range is approximate)

  • Developmentally appropriate projects.
  • Step-by-step instructions.
  • A weekly and monthly plan.

Partnership Writing is the product that gives you a practical routine (think, schedule ala Brave Writer).

If your child isn’t in the Partnership Writing stage,
here’s a helpful guide for all the stages.

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Learning Through Play

Play is their work.

A Brave Writer parent asked:

I get that “play is their work” but how and when do we
start to transition to at least some “schooling?”

Ask yourself what it is you hope “schooling” accomplishes that is not currently being accomplished by play? Is it possible to teach reading through play? Writing through play? Math through play?

And when I say “play,” I mean the spirit of curiosity, engagement, and excitement that play gives children. Everything they are doing touches on the very subject areas you care about. You can get there through what they are already doing, and you can entice participation in the areas you think require more structure through a spirit of play with those materials!

Entice participation in the areas you think require
more structure through a spirit of play.

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What if you played with the handwriting book under the table, using a flashlight? What if you doodled pictures for her to find as she completed math problems? I know you don’t want to do these all the time—but if you come from a spirit of discovery rather than requirement, you may find yourself seeing learning opportunities right now that you are missing.

Don’t look for openness. Focus instead on parallel play. In other words:

  • make observations in his presence,
  • talk about what is fascinating about language,
  • try out the pencils and pages in the book,
  • or leave some math manipulatives out to be discovered.

It’s tempting to “play school” because that’s what we remember.

Foster a spirit of discovery rather than requirement

For example, in her presence in the morning, simply get up from the floor where the two of you were playing, and silently begin writing at the table with a big variety of utensils. You might even start by writing her name on the windows with window markers, or making cookies that look like the alphabet and then playing with the letters and putting them into arrangements that are words.

Perhaps while she is playing, you sit nearby and simply begin reading aloud in her presence and see if she is enchanted or interested or simply absorbing what you read.

You don’t need to “teach.” You want to simply include in your day conversation and activity that points to the tools he will need for his life, a little at a time.

Party School!

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