Common Sense Solutions: Stress Free Writing

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I know what you’re thinking. The title is an oxymoron because writing is a source of great stress among homeschoolers today. Here are some ideas to improve your child’s writing without adding stress.

Begin with thinking. When your child thinks about a topic, he is going through the beginning steps of composition. So help him to read about and listen to the topic. Discuss it with him. Through these activities, he is taking in information, translating it into his own words and putting it in order in his mind. It is easy to tell when a child has skipped this thinking part. The writing is not in the child’s own word’s. And it does not show the natural organization that pre-thinking would produce.

This thinking is an easy step to include in your writing lessons. When you are learning about any topic in history or Bible or whatever, take the time to ask your child what he thinks about it. Listen and paraphrase his words back to him. Say, “What I hear you saying is….Is that right?” This gives him a chance to either agree or disagree. And this helps him organize in his mind.

Move to the writing. You began with some of the thinking steps above. Now help the child use that thinking. Help him see that writing is just telling what he thinks. Start by asking questions on a topic you are sure he knows, and ask him to write his answers down. Don’t worry if the answer begins with “Because” or is a sentence fragment. Remedy that later. For now the important thing is to get his words on paper. This way he gains confidence and sees himself as a writer. Too much fussing over the format and structure at this fragile time can stunt his growth for quite a while.

Make the amount of writing you ask for at this step in the process small enough for the child’s handwriting stamina. If he is a perfectionist and doesn’t want to write anything that may be misspelled, then get out a pack of sticky notes and write any words he needs on a note. Stick it next to the child so he can closely copy the word and doesn’t have to rely on hearing you spell it. This contributes to his visual memory of the words. It is not cheating to tell your child the spelling. This enables him to focus on the task of writing and not be distracted with dictionary skills.

Use these writing steps thoroughly with beginning and reluctant writers. Continue until the child is able to write down his thinking without too much difficulty. Confident writers may need less help turning their original thinking steps into writing.

An audience. When your child first begins to write down his thoughts, his audience is himself and maybe you. Ask him to read his ideas to himself, and then maybe to you. Many children read back what they thought they wrote, rather than what they really wrote. Don’t be upset by this. I often find in my adult writing that I left out a word, or put in a different word. Usually just discovering the difference is instruction enough for the child. He does not have to correct every error in writing at this time. Your child may stay at this stage for quite a while. Don’t rush him to move on. Confidence increases by becoming very fluent at this stage.

Later you can teach that further step of accuracy. When he writes for an out of home audience, the child should aim for accuracy. So if he discovers mistakes and is ready to make a correction, offer him a sticky note. Revising and correcting can be very discouraging, so make it as easy as you can.

Begin with the thinking, then slowly move to the writing, then finally edit and work for accuracy. This does not happen all at once. When a child grows through these steps, then he can communicate with his audiences. Step by stress-free step you have helped your child begin to see himself as a writer.

Check out our article on page 16 of the new flipbook edition of Heart of the Matter Magazine.

Debbie Strayer is a veteran educator, speaker, author and home educator.  She enjoys spending time with her husband of thirty years and her grown children.

Dr. Ruth Beechick, too, has spent many years teaching and writing on education. She specializes in curriculum and in how children learn. She is mother of two and grandmother of four and loves working together with Debbie because they think alike on education matters. For more books and articles, see debbiestrayer.com.