Writing+in+the+Summer

Writing in the summer for kids can be even more "ignored" than reading. Children can read by "accident". They may read road signs, words at Walmart, KMart or Giant Eagle while shopping with parents. But writing...kids need to make a deliberate attempt of picking up a pen and paper and writing. Here are some ideas:

1. Write postcards from vacation spots. Write to a classmate they haven't seen all summer long. I'm not talking text or email...make a "deeper" effort to reach out and make it a meaningful writing experience by snail mail.

2. Journalize your summer. Your child may look back on his/her journal the following summer and reflect upon what was good and perhaps not so good. Provide a "word bank" for the struggling writer, so he or she can have a "starting point" from which to write.

3. Write to a favorite author.

4. Create and then write. Make "Sand Dessert" (found on another topic on my wikispace) and then send the recipe to a friend. Make something with clay and then write about it.

5. Write math facts on the driveway with chalk.

Writing is a great way to see your child's knowledge of what they learned in past school years. Every parent should be writing, as well as reading, with their child during the summer.