Everybody focuses on keeping the kids reading over the long summer months, but here’s ideas for keeping them writing, and enjoying it. Think about it- we use reading to learn (and for enjoyment), but we use writing to communicate our own ideas (and for some, for enjoyment as well). It’s just as valuable and just as important a skill.

These ideas from local writers in the coloradoan.com focus on the story and communication aspect of the writing. It’s important not to make it a chore.

It can be as simple as encouraging your kindergartner to tell the story inherent in his or her art or picture. Creating the idea, the story, is the first step in the writing process. For older children, a nature journal is a good way to encourage close inspection, the use of all the senses, and the writing. Another great suggestion is to have the kids write different endings to their favorite stories or to write stories including their favorite fictional characters. One of my favorite writing prompts came from grade school- give the child a cartoon and let them write the story behind it.

Perhaps the suggestion I like the best, for older kids, is to write to shred. It’s no doubt cathartic to get emotions and strong feelings down on paper and out of your system. Getting it down on paper and then destroying it before anyone can read it takes all the pressure off- and lets the mind go wherever it will.

There are also numerous apps for writing for kids for any of the electronic devices you might have- just google ‘writing apps for kids’.

I know it’s hard to get kids to do what even remotely looks like school work during the summer, but it’s so incredibly important to keep them on track that’s it’s totally worth the effort. So remember today’s kid tip and don’t forget about the writing part of the equation, and make it more fun with some of these great suggestions.

See our other parenting tips on our website: http://www.birthdaypartygameslady.com/blog/category/kids-tips