I love writing. I want my children to love writing as well. We have tried out many writing activities for kids. My daughter loves to write and has already offered to write her first book so I can sell it on my website. My sons also enjoy writing, but they don’t actually know it. As a writing teacher, I see a big mistake made so often when teaching writing. So often, the emphasis is on the technical elements of writing. Of course, these are important; however, they are not paramount.
Let me tell you a secret. Being a writer has very little to do with actually being able to write and everything to do with being able to articulate and tell a story. My sons are good at that! They hate the mechanics of writing though and the actual act of writing is quite difficult for them. The way I help them focus on their content, instead of the mechanics is to allow them to dictate their stories. It is easy to get hung up on the aspects of writing, which can be discouraging for those struggling with it.
This is why it’s so important to make writing fun! How often have you, as a family, taken on a writing challenge? I’m a writer and my answer is only one! We do complete writing activities for kids as part of school, but my husband and I have only participated in a writing activity with our children once. This is my family-fun challenge for you. Choose a writing activity as your fun activity of the day and see where it leads! It will almost certainly be a “mix-it-up” moment for you, right?
These writing activities are tried and true and enjoyable for kids of all ages (though you may have to be a little more creative in order to include young children).
Five Writing Activities for Kids (and for Family Fun night!)
- Progressive story game—
Maybe you played this in school. My friends and I used to play it, but never as part of a class. My kids love this game! Here’s how it works:
- Everyone has a piece of paper. When the timer starts, each person begins to write a story. We usually set the timer for only a couple of minutes. When the timer goes off, you pass the paper to the person next to you.
- That person reads ONLY what the previous person has written and then folds it at the end of the first section.
- He continues the story until the timer goes off, then passes it to the person next to him.
- The next person is not allowed to read what the first person wrote—that should be folded over. He or she can only read what the person who passed the paper has written. Once read, it should be folded over, and the story should be continued.
- Continue this until each person has the paper he or she started with. That person then gets to end the story for the last timed session.
- At the end, everyone shares their stories and hopefully, the whole family will erupt with giggles!
If you’re trying to incorporate a younger child, she may partner with a parent and dictate her part of the story, while Mom or Dad writes it down for them. You can also ask the young child to draw a picture that tells a story while everyone else is writing. Then, give him a chance to share his story at the end with everyone else.
- Fun Writing Prompts—
Give everyone the same writing prompt and see how different the stories end up! You can find a great list of writing prompts here (link) or you can brainstorm your own writing prompts, allowing each family member to come up with one part of the prompt. For example, each child gets to choose one part of the prompt—the characters, action, and setting. (I.e. “The Koala and Pig who went to Outer Space” is one that my kids came up with once)
- Write a Dr. Seuss-inspired book as a family—
Dr. Seuss challenged himself to use only 50 different words when he wrote Green Eggs and Ham. Brainstorm a list of 50 words and work together to write a rhyming book with a creative story. Remember that no brainstorm ideas are wrong! If you want an even bigger challenge, set the rule that you must use the FIRST 50 words of the brainstorm that are said! It’s a challenge, but you would be surprised at how limiting yourself will make you (and your children) more creative!
The Brainstorm session is a really easy way to include your young children, though you can include them along the way by reading the story you have so far to your young child and ask, “What do you think? What should we add?”
- Revised Song Lyrics—
We do this a lot in our family, simply because singing is my alternative to yelling. Usually, I take a melody that is well-known to my children and change the lyrics to portray my frustration. My oldest son has become really good at coming up with revised lyrics on the fly and cracks me up sometimes!
As a game though, you don’t want to make the topic of your song frustration. Instead, you can choose a classic ballad, like “The Battle of New Orleans” by Johnny Horton, or if you need something more modern, you could choose one of Taylor Swift’s songs from when she was still young and sweet. Choose a topic and work together as a family to write lyrics that reflect your family. Wouldn’t it be great to have a family song? So any time you hear it on the radio, you can sing your own family lyrics and get a good smile every time!
- Mad Libs—
Who doesn’t love Mad Libs? This is one of the best writing activities ever invented for kids! It also helps with learning and reviewing parts of speech. We often do Mad Libs in the car and our kids laugh and laugh until they’re forcing themselves to laugh because they don’t want to be done! Mad Libs come in small booklets, big books, or printables. If you don’t have the funds to buy Mad Libs, with a little creativity, you can come up with your own! Actually, one of my children’s writing activities recently was to write a Mad Lib story for his/her sibling to complete. It was a good challenge for them, so don’t be afraid to give that a try too!
I hope you are finding ways to think outside the box. Chances are, you’ve already had a lot of extra time with your children since March and maybe you’re tired of the same old movie or game nights. Mix it up to keep them interested! With these fun writing activities, your kids won’t even know they’re learning…and you’ll make great family memories along the way!
RElated: Family Fun Activities at Home
