Getting my son to read is no problem but when it’s time to write or draw he’s not as interested. Part of the reason is his expectations are much higher than his actual writing and drawing ability which are right on par with his age. I often feel the same way. One way to combat this but to still get him creating his own stories is to use descriptive photographs. For this book my son and I decided to use his Playmobil figurines and Melissa & Doug Castle and use the camera to shoot pictures of the action. This let my son focus on the story and not the illustrating. Don’t get me wrong drawing is important but choosing a few goals at once when it’s something challenging helps achieve those goals instead of piling on the frustration. This is not part of our learning after school series because this took us a good hour and that series of posts are devoted to short activities to do after school. However it’s a great weekend activity for school age kids. For more tips on writing books with kids check out this guest post from The Reading Mama.
Let them write it but help if they ask. I have a firm belief in invented spelling and encourage my son to sound out the words and write them how they sound. I know it can be hard to see your child write something incorrectly but spelling is developmental and this will help them develop a firmer understanding than simply memorizing. Telling them how to spell a word here or there will not harm them at all but allowing them lots of opportunities to work on it is beneficial.
Writing like reading is a non negotiable. If your child isn’t into soccer or jazz dance it’s not going to hurt them in the long run but not liking reading and writing will. So finding ways to make it fun is worth the effort.This post contains affiliate links.