5 Tips To Get Kids Writing

I have been a writer for as long as I can remember. As a little girl I used to make up stories, I wrote my own books and kept journals filled with thoughts and drawings. Of course most of my writing is done online now, but I have never given up my love for the written word — pencil to paper. So imagine my delight to have a daughter who shares my love of writing. 

Since writing has always served me well, you better believe I am going to encourage the development of this kid’s writing skill. This summer I continued to foster her writing by helping her keep a journal, which has been a wonderful tool for her to practice handwriting writing and explore her creativity. 

5 Tips To Get Kids Writing

Experts recommend at least 15 minutes of handwriting each day. To help your child improve their handwriting try these tips.

Create a Special Place – Give your child a special place to write. Sure I am happy to provide K an endless supply of paper, but she loves having a special book. It also helps keep all of her writing in one place – instead of all over the house. For K illustrating stories is almost as important as the stories themselves, so I bought her a Primary Journal Composition Book with space on top for pictures and space on the bottom for stories. (For older kids you can get a journal with wide rule instead of primary.)

But the cover was boring so we used K’s “fancy tape” to make the cover more fun. Now she has a special book that reflected her personality on the inside ready to fill with her personality on the inside.

Offer Writing Prompts – For kids who stare at a blank page with no idea what to write, offer writing prompts. Getting kids writing is all about appealing to something they like. Ask questions to answer through their writing. “Who is your favorite Disney character and why? If you could be any animal, what would you be and why? If you were mom for the day what would we do?” Or encourage your child to write about something fun they did , somewhere they visited or something they saw. Encourage your kids to answer in full sentences, even if they are short sentences. 

The Right Tools – In school kids are required to use plain old yellow #2 pencils. But at home, I let K pick out colorful pencils. I am a hoarder collector of pens and pencils, so I understand wanting something pretty to write with. She loves Bic mechanical pencils, the whole click to “sharpen” thing is still a novelty to her so it is a treat. At this age I make her write in pencil so she can correct mistakes as she sees fit, it is also good practice for school.

Make It A Safe Place – While you want kids to learn through writing, do not critique their work. This isn’t a spelling test, it is a place to put thoughts on paper. Encourage them to write freely and neatly practicing handwriting as well as their critical thinking skills. Have them read their answers to you and describe their pictures, the review should be a conversation to encourage them to want to continue. Take mental notes about words to practice spelling later, but don’t red line their work. Make writing about expression, save spelling for another lesson.

Part Of The Daily Routine – Make writing part of the daily routine. Whether it is answering writing prompts in their book, journaling about a recent adventure or writing a postcard/thank you note to a friend keep your kids writing daily. The more the write, the more comfortable with it they will become improving their handwriting and ability to write at the same time. 

Bic Fight For Your Write

In a world where everything is turning digital, Bic is encouraging the importance of handwriting. Experts agree that writing helps build reading skills, self confidence and sparks creativity. On Bic’s Fight For Your Write website you can find more tips to encourage kids to write. And when you take Bic’s pledge to save handwriting, do you will be entered to win a $1,200 prize pack that includes $1,000 in cash and $200 in Bic stationary. 

Need another intensive to sign the pledge? For every signature collected Bic will donate one pen or pencil to AdoptAClassroom.org up to 200,000 pens/pencils.

So go ahead sign the pledge to save handwriting, and then start at home by encouraging your own child to write.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bic. The opinions and text are all mine.