Write for fun!
Write for fun!
… this is something that I say to children a lot, and I really do think it is important! It’s something that I say to my own little boys too.
A lot of children I have chatted with have said things like, “I’m rubbish at writing!” or, “I can’t do big sentences.” I think this partly comes from fearing that they have to produce a big ‘finished’ piece of work as an end product, and partly because children just actually do struggle with big, extended “writing jobs” at times. I do too… and I’m a grown-up!
Another thing that I think can sometimes hold children’s written creativity back, is the fear that their work is going to be marked, graded, or judged in some way. I think this can sometimes make children feel shy and unsure about writing things down. Moreover… if a child is worried about their work fitting in with a fixed criterion, then how can they approach writing with an open mindset? How can their creativity ‘flow freely’?
I remember home-schooling one of my little boys during lockdown (the horror!), and he got himself SO upset about a piece of work that had been set, that it became clear he wasn’t going to get much work done that day. Once he calmed down, I gave him something to do, just for fun, that I promised him would not be seen by his teachers (if that’s the way he wanted it). I told him to invent his own sweetie!
He got busy jotting his ideas down; he wrote a great description, and even made a labelled drawing to go with it. By the end, he had written an absolute blinder of a ‘pitch’ for a new product (I could have taken it onto Dragon’s Den!). The point is, he did this for no other reason than to let his own imagination run wild, for fun, with something that I knew he already knew a lot about – sweets! He also had no added pressure of wondering whether or not he'd followed any rules. When I read it, he’d used a bucket load of amazing adjectives that might not have come into his head if he’d felt stifled by a task that created too much pressure.
Both of my boys have always had amazing teachers at school, who really take time to know the children they are working with, and take the time to get the best out of them individually. Enthusiasm and encouragement have gone a long way, and my boys always get so excited to show the teachers anything they have done at home.
I think it’s a good idea for any child who is struggling in a big way with written work, to focus on telling them how amazingly creative they can still be! It’s not all about big fancy sentences, and grammatical rules!
Some of the things I’ve tried in the past have worked wonders:
· Invent your own sweetie! What are the ingredients? What does it taste like?
· Go on an online ‘archaeological dig’ to see if you can discover 3 objects that were precious to… Ancient Egyptian people, The Vikings etc. Think about your own 3 most precious objects? Why are they important to you?
· You are off on an adventure to any place you can think of. Where would you go? What would you pack in your suitcase (and why)?
· Get out and about in nature, and talk about what you see, hear and smell! This to me is a whole exciting area in itself, and one that I feel strongly about… so I’ll be mentioning this a lot.
I always like sharing and hearing ideas about things that can encourage children to think and write creatively, so I will be sharing more ideas in the future too.
Do get in touch if you would like to chat or share!
Jodie xx
