5 Reasons to Write Stories with Your Kids!
Basic Writing Skills - Grammar - Sentence Structure - Essay Structure: in the world of texting and twitter, the art of writing is losing some ground. Lets put a stop to that. Words get lost on a screen, but when you physically write them out, it's easy to see structure, grammar, and meaning. When in doubt, write it out!
Freedom: Much of children's lives these days is very structured. Between school, sports, and extracurriculars, there's not a lot of time for free time, or freedom in which to decide what you want to do. But what if that free time moonlighted as an extracurricular? Writing stories, aka creative writing, tackles both. And it's loads of fun to boot! Create a jar of words at home, pull a few out and see where they take you and your kids. From poems to short stories, to narratives that go on for years, there's no telling where the freedom of writing will take your kiddos.
Emotional Development: This crazy, beautiful world we live in can feel a bit overwhelming sometimes. So think of creative writing as a safe place to sort through all the trials and tribulations, the joys and the accomplishments. Writing has a pretty magical way of taking whats going on in our head and in our heart and giving it a place to be, outside of us. Once it's out, it's a lot easier to deal with. Writing stories with your kids also can also help develop empathy, by placing them in the shoes of someone they might not have understood.
Cognitive Development - Dance of Movement: If you think about it, writing is like dancing on on paper. Each letter has a movement, a step. Put them all together and you have a waltz, a tango, or even a cha cha. It takes coordination, not just physically, but mentally, opening up pathways in the brain that typing on a screen rarely touches. Not only that, but if you physically write something down, you are far more likely to remember it!
Imaginary Forces: Creative writing is a highly productive creative outlet. Stories have a way of developing far beyond their original boundaries, and it's so fun! A story can start with one word and before you know it, your kid is on to the sequel. Growing up, my best friend's dad had this story about two mice that lived in the compost pile. It started as a simple made up bed time story, but after 4 kids and many years of telling, it had completely taken on a life of it's own. Where will your child's story take them?
Free DIY Crafting Activity!:
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A few of our Favorite Supplies:
Rip the Page: Adventures in Creative Writing
19th Century French Student Writing Kit
xox
~i.c.