What It Is

The most common complaint I hear from parents has to do with their child’s approach to writing. It’s quite normal for children to resist writing assignments. I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way. By providing your child with a clear purpose for their written assignments, you will boost their motivation and encourage them to do their best work. Through the process of writing format through publishing, my kids do better work, and are happier about it, too!

I have three children, and each are published authors despite their tender ages. When he was eight, my son wrote a jungle book to teach younger children their ABCs. He painstakingly researched each plant and animal in the jungle for a full year before he was ready to complete his Jungle ABC book. Using a writing style checklist (part of the Excellence in Writing program) helped him to write an effective paragraph for each plant and animal he chose.

Given his age, it was unrealistic to force him to work on his book every day. It was an ongoing project that he worked on regularly, and completed at the beginning of June. However, he remained motivated through the entire year, an amazing feat for one so young.

He was highly motivated for a couple of reasons. First, he chose the topic of jungles himself so he was quite interested in the topic from the beginning. Secondly, the idea of making money from his writing project and publishing a book was exciting. This project gave him a purpose for writing. Not every writing project will end in a money-making project, but each writing assignment should have a purpose.

Not all writing assignments lead to a money-making opportunity - there are many other ways to introduce purpose into your child’s writing. Experiment, and look for new reasons to write. Perhaps your child can write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper on a preferred topic; enter a poem or story in a writing contest; share news in a letter with family or friends; or write a story about an incident in their life. Be creative, and find new reasons for your children to write - they will approach their writing with a fresh outlook and increased enthusiasm.

After your child has a purpose for writing, they need to get their ideas out of their head and onto paper. Ideas have to be arranged in a logical order, and then the writing process can begin. Teaching Writing: Structure & Style is the best product to teach kids how to write. It teaches your children to write for a variety of purposes like letters, stories, and essays.

Using the process of writing format through publishing automatically gives your child a purpose for writing. As you look for a writing program, look for one that uses writing with whatever subjects you are studying. Writing should not a separate subject in and of itself. That’s the way life is…writing is part of all aspects of your life and your students should be able to write in many areas. Writing in a variety of subject areas will also show your students that writing has a purpose in all of life.