7 Tips to Encourage Creative Writing in your Homeschool

Creative writing in your homeschool is not the easiest of things to teach.

Encouraging creative writing is especially difficult for those parents or teachers that are not themselves naturally inclined to write.

This could also be challenging for children who like clear details and instructions – and creative writing is everything but.

 

7 Tips to Encourage Creative Writing in your Homeschool

 

It does not have rules; all that is required is imagination and time.

This is why it is hard to teach.

Some children thrive in this kind of situation but even then, you cannot be quite sure how to approach this subject.

If you lack some inspiration on how to implement creative writing in your homeschool schedule, here is a list of tips you might find useful.

Read to your students

Read anything age-appropriate to them to provoke creative thinking and inspire them for writing that they will do later.

Take them to libraries and bookstores; teach them to enjoy reading first, before teaching them to write.

Not only will reading inspire them but it will also expand their vocabulary and make it easier for them to express their thoughts and feelings.

Subconsciously, they are learning how to write.

They might take on the style from their favorite books at first, but later they will develop their own style and amaze you with what they can do.

Give them the necessary materials

Make papers, pencils, pens, notebooks, computers or anything else that is required for writing, available to them.

A good idea might be to take them stationery shopping too.

They will be much happier if they pick out their own notebooks, pencils and such.

This could inspire them as well.

“By making the tools available to them, you are inviting them to write. And once the creative writing becomes something that they have to learn, it will not be strange to them, but something normal and fun that they would love to do”, – says Carl Beeler.

 

7 Tips to Encourage Creative Writing in your Homeschool

 

Teach your Kids to keep a journal

Everyone loves journaling or has at least once thought about it – it is the human nature.

Telling stories about your everyday life is what humans do best. Invite your students into this beautiful habit.

Let them write from their hearts about whatever they want and need to.

Encourage them to write about their friends, family, let them rant or doodle.

All of these things will spark their creativity.

What matters most is that they use their words to describe their life and feelings.

This way the creative writing in your homeschool will come much easier to them and to you.

Come up with interesting prompts

Be creative about the topics you give your students.

Make them fun and interesting to write about – especially when they are writing about a story or a book that they just read.

There are many new and creative takes on the age old ‘write about what you just read’ or ‘what did the writer really mean when he wrote this’.

For example, let them write a journal entry as their favorite character or a letter to a friend about a book you just read.

This will make your assignments much more appealing to your children.

You could also implement some other fun forms of writing like poems, haiku, mad libs etc.

Your children will love it while learning at the same time.

 

7 Tips to Encourage Creative Writing in your Homeschool

Use online writing tools to engage creative writing in your homeschool

There is a wide array of fun and brilliant online tools that you could present to your children.

Most of them will make your children love writing even more.

Don’t judge or criticize

This is the worst thing you could do after your student shows you their work.

Your criticism can make them dislike writing and even worse, fear to open up to you or learn more.

Instead, try to be gentle even if there are some things that they could have done better.

Implement reading aloud to other students or just to you so that they can hear what they did wrong without you telling them.

Make it a daily thing

You could for example, fill a jar with interesting prompts and ideas and draw from it every day.

The prompts do not have to require lengthy writing, but a simple paragraph or something similar, just so that they can keep practicing.

You could also make fun games out of this daily writing – just use your imagination.

 

7 Tips to Encourage Creative Writing in your Homeschool

Final Thoughts

When trying to implement creative writing in your homeschool schedule, try to make it as fun as possible.

Otherwise you will just end up with reluctant students that do not really enjoy what they do.

Encourage them at first by being positive towards their work or rewarding them with something they like until it becomes a habit that they cherish.

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