What to write...

Once my daughter learned to read, I guess I thought that writing would come naturally. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. She has a strong imagination and does write well when she is willing to take her time and accept a little guidance. However, that is not very often.

I have struggled with ways to encourage her to write and have really worked to understand the reasons behind her frustrations. Maybe some of my observations will help you if you face similar issues.

First, she doesn't enjoy writing, because she is limited by the amount of words she can spell. I know that in the public school system here, they encourage children to just write the words as they sound if they don't know the proper spelling. However, I can't seem to bring myself to encourage my child to misspell words. I am always available to help and we have about ten dictionaries of varying depth at her disposal. I know it will just take time for her to learn more words. My conclusion is that we need to work on her spelling abilities.

Second, she lacks experience with grammar. We have covered all of the rules, but they are just words right now. I feel like I am in a crazy loop. She needs to know the rules for writing, but until she starts writing more, it is hard to understand their application.

Third, she needs to be able to express herself creatively and enjoy what she writes. Her latest project was creating a comic book with her and her sister as the main characters. We are also encouraging her to use email to communicate to friends, write letters, and make lists for us when we need to remember things. We scrapbook together and I encourage her documenting events as well. Our most success came when she wrote a book about her grandmother and herself (www.bebeandme.org). We are hoping to get to write a sequel soon.

I would like to find other options for her and am looking into enrolling her in an online program like time4writing. It is a significant commitment, but I think she could really benefit from a change of pace and an introduction to a new teacher on this subject. I love the interaction it promises and feel that she may be ready for a challenge like that later this school year.

I wish I had some definite answers, but thought I would simply share my ponderings on the subject. Obviously, I love to write and reading is a mini-obsession. I strongly desire for my children to find a passion for language like their parents have. I will let you know how things progress.