Sharing Some Thoughts on Children and Writing

Will my child write? This seems to be a fairly common worry for parents. Some children want to write and some are more reluctant.

 All my children are writers and always have been. Is this because I am a writer and they are following my example which they have grown up with, or do they have writing genes? I often muse this over, trying to work it out.

 I recently wrote this post:

Why Do Some Children Love to Write?

Despite my musings, I haven’t come to any firm conclusions. Maybe a bit of both?

 We aren’t all the same with the same strengths and talents, so I think it is safe to assume that some children won’t have the same interest in writing as others. Their talents will lie in other directions. And this is okay. The ability to write creatively isn’t a superior talent.

 But there is no doubt we can’t get through life without writing, so children need some level of writing skills. Do we need to push them along and insist they write? Or will they eventually learn when they realise they have a need of writing?

 I wonder if we can actively encourage our children to take an interest in writing, creating an atmosphere where they might feel excited by the possibility of writing? Could the following points encourage a child to give writing a go?

• Be a writer ourselves. Model the skill. Share our writings.
  Talk about the process.
• Read a lot to children so they can hear good examples of writing. Read picture books, novels, poetry, non-fiction, magazines, comics… They may be inspired to copy their favourite authors, or want to write stories like those they love. At the moment, Gemma-Rose is writing about princesses and mermaids. At her age, I did the same.
• Have lively discussions, encouraging children to join in and share their ideas and interests. Talking may turn into writing. We all need something to write about. Quite often I come away from the dinner table, where we’ve been chatting together, and head straight to my computer with an idea for a story. The same thing happens with my children.
• Pressuring children to write is probably counter-productive. It leads to frustration on both sides.
• Worrying about spelling, turns writing into a chore. It slows down writing and dampens the creative urge. I have found that spelling improves the more a child writes, without any interference. If it doesn’t, it’s no big deal. Good spelling isn’t an indicator of intelligence. There’s always spell-check!
• Don’t worry about backward letters or poor handwriting. These also improve with time.
• Let children use a computer if they don’t want to write by hand. Duncan used to use an old typewriter when he was about 6.
• Let them dictate if they can’t write well enough. It’s more important to nurture creativity than worry about the mechanics.
• Children’s writings can take many forms: letters, stories, emails, poems, comic strips, magazines, shopping lists, journal entries… All forms of writing are valuable
• Look out for real writing opportunities: letters, blog posts, shopping lists… These are better than set writing exercises.
• Writing is serious business. It should be valued. It’s real work. Children are writers, even if they are still learning. We’re all still learning! So..
• Take the time to read children’s writings if they are offered for sharing, or get them to read them out aloud. (This helps when the spelling is a bit mysterious!) Take the writings seriously. Comment positively and don’t criticise. I’d hate my writings to be pulled apart and criticised. Why should children feel any different?
• Save a child’s writings. Place them in a folder and treat them as special. They are! I have a few folders of Felicity’s and Duncan’s
  earliest stories and poems. They are a real treasure.

I have written this as a list of Dos and Don’ts, but of course, these are only points for consideration, not Sue Elvis’ Writing Rules.

Once children are writing, do we need to worry about the mechanics of writing? Do we need to teach spelling, handwriting, grammar, punctuation and comprehension?

 I have tried spelling programs, both online and workbooks with a few of my children. I didn’t find they were very helpful for my particular children. At first they were a novelty. They later became a chore. I don’t even think they were very effective. A child would learn a list of words but if they weren’t using those words in their writings, they soon forgot how to spell them. My children had more success gradually learning to spell the words they were actually using.

 I wrote this post about Gemma-Rose and spelling:

Wanting to Learn How to Spell

There’s a little more about spelling in this post:

Some Bits and Pieces…

I tried teaching my first two children grammar using workbooks. That wasn’t a success. This story is in my post:

sprinkling Capitals In blog Titles in a Random fashion.

 Some of my children learnt a lot of grammar when they were learning Latin. The parts of speech etc were needed here, so they saw a use for grammar and picked it up easily.

 The other day we were talking and laughing about my attempts to teach some of my children punctuation using workbooks. They only completed a few pages before the books were tossed aside. Now I answer questions about punctuation, as my children write. The other day Sophie wanted to know more about where to insert commas into her sentences, so I showed her. Gemma-Rose noticed a full stop after Mr. while she was reading, and asked me what it was there for. I explained about abbreviations.

 Here’s a post I wrote about how I improved my own punctuation:

Learning to Punctuate the Lewis Carroll Way

My children don’t even realise there are such things as comprehension tests. They read. They write. We talk. It is easy to see whether they comprehend or not. I don’t see a use for such tests.

I have been very relaxed about handwriting too. Perfect handwriting isn’t a sign a child can write. I wrote this post:

Handwriting Matters or Maybe it Doesn’t

I could have a few people arguing with me about the value of excellent handwriting. When I first posted this story on my blog a few did!

Summing up:

• Children will write when they see a need
• We could try and actively encourage our children to write by providing the right environment and atmosphere
• But pressuring a child, by insisting they write, could be counter-productive
• Maybe children need to see others writing
• They need something to write about
• They need to be able to write without worrying about the mechanics
• The mechanics of writing improve the more a child writes.
• Some children’s talents will lie in directions other than writing

I know a lot of people believe we can do nothing better for our children than ensure they have a firm grip of the basics of writing. They feel drilling, and practising the mechanical skills, are worth the effort, even if a child doesn’t want to do them. I respect that view but it isn’t the path I am taking with my own children. Are they suffering because I don’t insist they learn their spelling or practise their handwriting or do their punctuation exercises? I don’t believe so. They are all excellent writers. Actually, I think they are above-average writers. Their skills are certainly far above their school-age peers. I know this because Andy is a school teacher!

My children write all the time. The last couple of nights when I’ve gone to say good night to the younger girls, I have found Gemma-Rose tucked up in bed with her computer, working on her latest novel. (See the above ghostly photos.) Imogen takes her laptop with her on every car trip so she can continue writing her novel. The other girls do similar things. Even Duncan is working on a novel between university assignments.

Of course, I am always writing too! (I‘m writing this on my laptop in the car, while waiting for Imogen to finish her singing lesson.)

Here’s some posts about the girls’ writing:

A Passion for Writing

A Novel Writing Adventure

How the Girls are Going to Write Novels in Only One Month

If you read the posts you will find out that my girls are passionate about novel writing. All four girls have participated in National Novel Writing Month a number of times. That’s a wonderful way of encouraging children to write. It’s a challenge; it’s real but fun work; it’s an opportunity to interact with other writers; it’s satisfying; it’s a great learning experience. How do I know? I have participated too!

These are just some of my random thoughts on writing, based on my experiences with my own children.

I seem to have written a ‘Sharing Some Thoughts…’ series.

Just one more question to go… Unschooling and teaching the Faith… coming soon.