Creative writing activities are both fun and educational. They allow children to explore their active imaginations, while expanding their vocabulary and improving their spelling and grammar. As a result, they may even become better communicators. A prep school in Surrey have prepared the following list of advice to help parents who want to try some creative writing projects with their child at home.
If your child is going to try and write their very own short story, planning is essential. Help them set up a little writing station with lots of pens and paper so that they can scribble any notes down and perhaps even prepare a mind-map. Encourage them to start by planning an overview of the plot, namely the beginning, middle and end. They should also consider their main characters. Encourage them to create character profiles, in which they detail things like the characters name, what they look like, where do they live and whether or not they have any hobbies. There’s nothing wrong with your child using their favourite books for inspiration. You could even provide them with some visual cues, like photos, to help them imagine the setting.
If writing a fully-fledged narrative of their own seems like too much of a challenge, perhaps they could start with a simpler project. For instance, they could re-write the ending of their favourite novel, which will be easier than starting from scratch as the characters and plot have already been developed. Talk to them about how changing simple things within a story can have a huge effect on the outcome. For instance, what would have happened if two of the characters had never met? Another option is for them to write a book review, including plenty of adjectives to describe how they felt about the story.
When exploring creative writing activities at home, make sure your child has chosen a topic that genuinely interests them, otherwise they won’t persevere with their project. Unless they actually enjoy the task, it won’t be worth their while.
Disclosure: This is a collaborative post
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