Why you should encourage your grandchildren to write stories
In an article published in Language Arts, educators who were interested in encouraging children to write were asked why it was important for children to be encouraged to write. Their reasons were varied and interesting, and worth considering for anyone who has a young child in their life – let’s take a look at some:
1. To entertain
As humans, we tell stories for many reasons, but perhaps the foremost reason is that we want to entertain one another. By encouraging children to write their own stories, they can discover what entertains them, as well as what entertains others – well-told, engaging stories.
2. To stimulate the imagination
By creating from nothing a story full of characters and original plots, a child’s imagination grows and develops.
3. To search for identity
When children write their own stories, they can use the conflict and characters to take their first steps on their search for identity. The power simple stories can have on a child’s self-development is remarkable.
4. To improve reading and writing skills
Children need to read and write, so we may as well find a way to make it more interesting for them. Not only will writing help kids learn how to read, it can also help them understand literary devices (suspense, twist, dramatic irony, etc.), and grammatical structures.
Now that we’ve explored some of the reasons creativity in writing in our kids, let’s find some ways to help get them started:
5. Inspiration exploration
When you’re spending time with your grandchildren, make a game out of looking for fun story inspirations. Interesting newspaper headlines, a unique-looking house, a colouring-in book. You could even keep a box full of story inspirations to explore together with your grandchildren.
6. Unblank the page
Anyone who has ever sat down to write knows there’s nothing more intimidating than a blank page. To help kids out, try giving them the opening line to a story. You can create these yourself, find a list of opening lines on the internet, or even borrow the opening line of a book on your own shelf.
7. Work all of the mind
If you find that your grandchildren have difficulty focusing on just words, encourage them to explore other aspects of their own creativity by using visuals. Storyboards, illustrations, or even writing the story as a comic book can help stimulate storytelling.
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