Free Writing Exercises

Doesn't your child like to write? This is a familiar phenomenon. Because of the difficulty involved in writing, many children just don't like to write. Writing involves many different skills such as:

• The grammatical structure of a sentence.
• Correct spelling
• Logical sequencing
• Rewriting
• Editing

etc...

All these things hinder the writing process. (Even proficient writers come across difficulties when writing.) So it's not surprising that kids don't like to write. So what do you do to overcome these difficulties? Give up? Of course you don't!

As you continue, you will find a selection of free writing exercises. These free writing exercises will inspire your child to write even if he dislikes writing.

Writing is extremely important to the development and enrichment of a child's language and vocabulary. By writing your child will:

• Develop and improve his communication skills.
• Enrich his vocabulary

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• Develop his language skills
• Nurture his personal identity
• Become aware of the power and impact of words

etc...

Due to its importance schools devote large amounts of time to teaching writing. However, it is also of utmost importance to improve and develop his writing skills at home as part of the nurturing and development of language as a whole.

In contrast to school, there is no need to conduct a writing lesson at home. It is advisable to use many opportunities for writing, to make it a meaningful experience for your child.

The free writing exercises that I offer here will ensure a meaningful experience, and in order for them to continue to be this way, be sure to use these free writing exercises at suitable opportunities.

General free writing exercises

Story writing and book creation
Kids love craft activities. You can take advantage of this fact to encourage them to write a story. Once your child has completed the story, help him to divide the contents into paragraphs. Each paragraph will become a page in the book. Take a piece of cardboard and some pieces of A4 paper, fold in half and staple along the fold. On the book cover your child should write, the name of the story, the name of the author and the name of the illustrator (his name). On every page he should write one paragraph and draw an appropriate picture. In this way your child will practice writing, and create his own book too.

Story writing inspired by a picture
Have you just bought your child a new book? Before he reads the book, show him the pictures, and ask him to write an appropriate story.Once he has finished writing the story, let him read the book.
When he has finished reading the book you can compare the story that he wrote to the book.

Young reporter
The newspaper is an extraordinary tool to inspire writing. Choose an attractive title with an appropriate picture for your child from the children's newspaper. Design a page similar to that of the newspaper article, including a headline, a sub-headline, the body of the article, a picture and the name of the reporter. First, ask you child to describe an event orally, and next ask him to fill in the missing information on the page that you have designed for him in advance.

Wish writing
Everyone has wishes that they want to come true. Encourage your child to write his down. Next, ask him to write down what he would have to do to make them come true. (That's as long as they are doable.)

Group story writing
Has your child invited friends over? Take this opportunity to write a group story. Take a piece of paper and fold it into an accordion fan. The first child writes the opening of the story, and passes it onto the next child. The next child folds the paper, writes the second sentence, and passes it onto the next child. The third child sees only the last sentence, and according to this writes the next sentence. This continues until the last child writes the end of the story. In the end the kids open the paper and read the whole story. Usually the stories turn out to be really funny.

Free writing exercises inspired by reading books

A story inspired by a story
Has your child just finished reading a book? Great! Use this book as an inspiration to write a different story. How? Your child will use the characters of the book to write another story.

Book Recommendation
I imagine that your child has read some books. Take advantage of this fact for writing an opinion or recommendation of the books he has read. If he has a special favorite, ask him to write:

• The name of the book
• The name of the author
• The name of the illustrator
• A summary of the book
• An opinion of the book and what he liked most about it.

Free writing exercises for special occasions

Writing a birthday invitation
Is your child celebrating a birthday in the near future? Take advantage of this fact to write an interesting invitation. Instead of buying ready made invitations, teach your child to write the invitation by himself. The more creative it is the more it will impress the invited guests.

Writing birthday greetings
Has your child been invited to a birthday party? Is one of your family members celebrating a birthday? Take this opportunity to encourage your child to write an appropriate greeting. A greeting written with love is much more meaningful than a store bought gift. In this way your child will be able to touch the heart of the recipient and develop and practice his writing skills at the same time.

A Thank you letter/note
Has someone done something nice for your child? Encourage him to write a thank you note. Apart from practicing writing, your child will learn a valuable lesson about expressing thanks.

Documentation of family experiences
Have you just returned from a family trip or vacation? Ask your child to write about his experiences from the family outing.

Documentation of joint activities
Did you remember to document the activities that you did with your child with photographs? If you did, collect the photographs and arrange them in a photograph album. Ask your child to add a written description of the activities next to each photograph. In this way, your child will practice his writing in a fun way, and document your family experiences at the same time.

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