Activities to encourage a child to write

Your child needs to do real writing. It's more important for the child to write a letter to a relative than it is to write a one-line note on a greeting card. Encourage the child to write e-mails to relatives and friends. Perhaps your child would enjoy corresponding with friends at school through the e-mail.

Encourage your child to take notes on trips or outings and to describe what (s)he saw. This could include a description of nature walks, a boat ride, a car trip, or other events that lend themselves to note-taking.

Talk with your child as much as possible about his/her impressions and encourage the child to describe people and events to you. If the child's description is especially accurate and colorful, say so.

Keeping a journal is an excellent writing practice as well as a good outlet for venting feelings. Encourage your child to write about things that happen at home and school, about people (s)he likes or dislikes and why, things to remember or things the child wants to do. Especially encourage your child to write about personal feelings--pleasures as well as disappointments. If the child wants to share the journal with you, read the entries and discuss them--especially the child's ideas and perceptions.

My son has a blog on his favourite cartoon character Ben 10. He requested me to create an account for him. What he has been writing about different aliens and their supernatural powers. Apart from enjoying this activity, he is also becoming more competent in putting his thoughts and feelings into words.

There are also numerous games and puzzles that help a child to increase vocabulary and make the child more fluent in speaking and writing. Remember, building a vocabulary builds confidence. Try crossword puzzles, word games, anagrams and cryptograms de- signed especially for children. Flash cards are good, too, and they're easy to make at home. My son loves Boggle because it is simpler and easier to play as compared to other word games like Scrabble.

There was a game that I learned from my son. He picked it up from his school. It is called the "Hangman". Played with 2 players and a white board, one would write a word with missing letters on the baord and the other must attempt to guess what these missing letters were. Each mistake will result in one part of a human body being drawn starting from the head. Once the entire outline of a human is completed, it is considered hanged and the one guessing the missing letters lose the game.

Most children like to make lists just as they like to count. Encourage this. Making lists is good practice and helps a child to become more organized. Boys and girls might make lists of their records, tapes, baseball cards, dolls, furniture in a room, etc. They could include items they want. It's also good practice to make lists of things to do, schoolwork, dates for tests, social events, and other reminders.