As kids we used to spend a lot of time writing letters, diary entries and compositions that were not a part of the school curriculum. In fact most of us enjoyed penning down our thoughts in the notebook that was ever ready to be whisked out whenever something interesting cropped up.
With the advent of technology, we have become attuned to sending emails and texts and writing with the hand has almost phased out. But writing needs to be encouraged and your child needs to be able to put his/her thoughts in words and enjoy the sheer joy of it. Even a toddler loves scribbling and the preschooler is looking forward to writing on paper.
Catch them young and carry on writing whenever possible. With the summer holidays coming up, what better time to instill the love of writing in your child!
Here are a few ways in which this can be done effectively.
1. Give her lots and lots of paper- big-sized ones, crayons and color pencils. Whenever she gets the urge to write, she can scribble away; you might be busy and would not like to be distracted. So at that time, keeping her engaged with paper and pencil will keep her busy too.
2. A special area of the house can be selected as a writing corner. Put up a huge paper here and let your child write or colour on it. Let her be as creative as she wants to be with full independence.
3. Read out to him from a story book and let him write down some of the words that he hears. Read through the words together after you finish.
4. Involve your child in writing grocery lists. Tell the child what all are required and let him write them down. This will instill a feeling of responsibility too.
5. Encourage the slightly older child to write letters to grandparents, cousins, uncles and others. Make the process of writing the letter and posting it a fun time for your kid.
6. Give your child a beautiful notebook to write on. Encourage her to write down poems, thoughts and entries on a regular basis.
7. Teach your child how to make greeting cards for all occasions and send them out to family and friends. This will also encourage her to be creative with designs and colours.
Writing is an art and needs to be inculcated and nurtured at home. As a parent you can play a big role in making your child a good writer.
