Activities to Improve Kids’ Writing Skills

Reading skills are essential, but they go hand-in-hand with writing skills. Boosting one skill can help improve the other, plus writing can help better your child’s overall communication skills as well. There are several activities you can encourage your children to partake in that can help them improve their writing and reading skills.

Start Simple and Get Reading

Kids who read books and varied materials such as magazines and word games tend to be better at writing as well. Reading can help kids get a feel for how language works, as well as a deeper understanding of the English language by reading a variety of different material. Not only do kids develop writing skills through reading, but also kids can develop skills like empathy and understanding when they read about different characters, which can contribute directly to their ability to communicate well with others.

Encourage Them to Document Their Lives

Journaling is lauded as a highly therapeutic activity for people of all ages, but it also gives kids an easy topic to write about. Getting them into the habit of writing about their day can help them form a habit of keeping a journal, which has also proven to improve memory and can help kids better understand their own feelings and emotions. Plus, having a journal from when they were young can be a really special memento for them to have when they’re older.

Make It Fun!

Word games like riddles, crossword puzzles and word jumbles can be both brain bending as well as fun. These sorts of games can also help to improve problem solving skills, vocabulary, and spelling too.

Write Letters

Writing letters is a bit antiquated, but they are still very much appreciated. Skills that come along with letter writing can be helpful as your kids get older, too. Writing letters to grandparents and friends make for great gifts and sweet surprises when they arrive in the mail. The art of writing a proper letter can still come in handy when it comes time for your kids to learn how to write essays in high school and college as well as resumes and other documents as an adult.

Make Some Space

Like any activity, it helps to make it special by designating a certain spot to write in. Create a fun, customized/customizable writing space that can encourage your kids to get in the zone. Supply it with notebooks, pencils and other gear – and to make it feel less like school work you can splurge on the colored pens, markers, and other supplies that may not be allowed on their back-to-school list but can still have plenty of fun with at home.

Give Them Some Ideas

Even professional writers use writing prompts now and then. You can give your child some ideas for poems, short stories, or even journal entries by giving them words to use, using a picture for inspiration, or asking them specific questions.

What to Do When Your Child Refuses to Go to School

Refusal to go to school

It can be difficult dealing with a child that just does not want to go to school. Change in routine, atmosphere and the people around them can be disconcerting and scary for them to handle all at once. This sort of big change can be scary for them and they can see the act of going to school as a negative thing. They may call school boring, saying that they don’t like their teachers, or that they don’t like the other children in class simply because its all new to them. The problem usually starts at the start of a new year for example making the transition to a new school.  An illness or the loss of a family member may also set off school refusal.  The goal is to find out why the refusal is happening to the child. Just how many children are affected is still unclear with estimates varying from 5% to 28%.  According to the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, this problem usually occurs in children ages 5 to 6, and again between the ages of 10 and 11.

If you are having a hard time convincing your kids to give school a try, there are some ways to do so without driving yourself crazy.

When children refuse to go to school

Presenting your child with a personalized book on the subject can easily help ease them into approaching the subject as well as encouraging them to give school a chance. “School is Fun” is a personalized story from KD Novelties that places your child in school and has them solving a mystery with their new classmates. Showing kids that school does not have to be boring or scary can help them get excited to go to school for real. Personalized books for kids on a subject that they are trying to deal with in real life has shown to help motivate kids and instill them with the confidence they need to overcome their obstacles. For instance, studies have shown that presenting a child with a book on potty training while they are learning to do so can help motivate them to keep trying and inspires them to solve their problems on their own.

 Another option is to set up a goal and reward system. If they do not wish to go to school because it is new and they have not gone yet, it can be difficult to convince them to just give it a try, but by giving them a goal and promising a reward or a treat, they might be more willing to give it a try. With this sort of incentive, kids are more likely to be willing to give school a try and be on their best behavior. During this time period, they may even grow so accustomed to school as a routine, especially after a week or two, that they may not need another incentive.

Lastly if the reward system does not work reach out to professionals for help.  Treatment providers working with kids who have school refusal will often use cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps kids learn to manage their anxious thoughts and face their fears. With therapy kids can get the chance to see that they can attend school without anxiety or fear.

Home School? Personalize Your Child’s Experience.

The choice to homeschool a child opens a wealth of opportunity. Unlike other schooling methods, homeschooling allows children to learn at their own pace. The freedom to give children the attention and help that they need helps them develop individually and dynamically. However, taking on the task of homeschooling your child is a demanding one. Not only are you a parent, but you are also a teacher, and taking on both roles can sometimes be challenging. Finding material that is suitable for your child’s educational needs can also be challenging, but personalized books can help.
Personalize the Homeschool Experience
Homeschooling lends to the notion of personalized education. As a parent and teacher, you are able to give your child the attention they need in order to gauge where their needs are, to properly address what topics or ideas they are struggling with, and to provide them with the guidance that they need. Personalized books are a great tool for parents who choose to homeschool their children. Our personalized books can help do a number of things. For kids who are reluctant to read, they may be more enticed to read a story that they star in, which is a great way to introduce kids to reading. Additionally, if kids are having a hard time with a subject or obstacle, whether educational or otherwise, a personalized book on the subject can help kids self-actualize and overcome the situation.
Personalized books help build kids’ imaginations. These personalized stories encourage kids to imagine themselves in the situations painted by the stories they are reading. This not only helps build creative skills, but also helps them imagine theoretical situations. This skill is vital in all realms of education. The better kids are at imagining things, the better they are at visualizing word problems, processing ideas and stories from non-fiction and fiction books, and helping them plan for their own future.

Personalized books also help boost self-confidence. As kids read stories about themselves, having adventures and learning new things, the more likely they are to believe that they can do those things in real life, too – and they can!