Ideas for Writing at Home (from Ministry of Education)
Make writing fun
- encourage your child to write – on paper or on the computer. It is OK for you to help and share the writing. Give lots of praise
- enjoy the message and don’t make your child anxious about spelling or neatness
- make a photo book and get your child to write captions
- scrapbooks are fun, too. Old magazine or newspaper pictures about a favourite subject, dogs, your family, motorbikes or the latest toy craze, pasted on to blank pages – with room for captions or stories, too
- play with words. Finding and discussing interesting new words can help increase the words your child uses when they write. Look up words in the dictionary or on the Internet or talk to family and whänau to find out more about the meaning and the whakapapa (origins) of the words.
Here's a tip - talk a lot to your child while you are doing things together. Use the language that works best for you and your child.
Give them reasons to write
Help your child to:
- write lists – ‘Things I need from the shop’, ‘Games to play when I am bored’, ‘Things I want to do in the holidays’. The last one can be cut up and go into a box or bag for a lucky dip when the holidays finally arrive
- write out recipes or instructions for other people to follow (especially fun if the instructions are for an adult)
- keep a diary, especially if you are doing something different and exciting. Your child can draw the pictures or stick in photos. Their diary could be a webpage on the computer
- write letters, cards, notes and emails to friends and family and the Tooth Fairy – you might write replies sometimes, too
- cut out letters from old magazines and newspapers to make messages write secret messages for others to find in their lunch box or under their pillow.
Here's a tip - display their work. Put it on the fridge. Be proud of it. Share it with others.
Talk about their writing
- Make up a different ending for a favourite story together and get them to write it down
- Ask them to write about pictures they draw. Get them to tell you the story
- Keep writing fun and use any excuse you can think of to encourage your child to write about anything, any time.
Here's a tip - don’t worry if your child’s letters are sometimes backwards or words are misspelt at this age. The important thing is that they have fun writing at home and are making an effort.