As parents, it’s natural we only want what’s best for our children. We want to give them the best possible chances of academic success, great performance and developing the career of their dreams. We also know very well that all of this starts with communication skills and expression.
Verbal intelligence, in particular, has a direct impact over school success, studies have shown. Children who learn how to read and write well at an early age will have a much easier time grasping more difficult concepts in the later stages of their education.
To make sure writing stays a fun activity for your children, you can make use of various tools available online. Here are some recommendations:
1) ReadWriteThink
The name of this tool says it all: before you start, it’s important that you comprehend that your child’s writing skills are closely connected to their reading and thinking skills. These are all activities that are built upon the same basis.
This website, therefore, uses this insight to provide the best, comprehensive guides, courses and materials that can help children master the writing process. It’s a reliable writing service that teaches the basics of writing, but building on a deep understanding of the process.
The website’s materials are split into four sections:
- Organising and summarising – this module helps children learn how to set apart important information from the irrelevant; it also teaches the crucial skill of organising and planning one’s writing process
- Writing and Publishing Prose – the prose is incredibly powerful and can have many beneficial effects on a child’s development
- Writing Poetry – as you’re probably very well-aware of, writing poetry is something entirely different from writing prose. Most children love writing poetry and experimenting with this literary form
- Learning about Language – as little writers, children need to constantly upgrade and improve the knowledge of their language (and possibly foreign languages). The more they progress in vocabulary, the better their writing will get. Of course, better linguistic skills will reflect well on many other areas of life, too.
Choose one or more of these modules depending on the specific interests of your child or their age group.
2) Writing Fix
The Writing Fix is a website tool that’s very professional and resembles something a certified teacher would use. However, you don’t need to be a teacher to use it: take advantage of their free monthly offers for writing workshops and lessons for children.
Their materials are split into different sections, which are suitable for children of different age ranges. Make sure you pick the correct section or module before you start with the courses.
The best thing about this website is that it has daily, awesome writing prompts. You would be amazed at what a child’s imagination can come up with if you give them just one or two sentences as a prompt. Prompts are a great mental exercise because they do not only practice writing skills, but also creativity and imagination.
There is even a section called “Digital Photo Prompts”, where children can take a look at a photo and start building a story from there.
If you notice your child is exceptionally creative in storytelling and story building, you just definitely give Writing Fix a try.
3) StoryJumper
In primary school, all kids start by writing stories. Of course, little kids will have a hard time working on essays or papers, which is why the education system has to find something that’s more appropriate. Well, it’s hard to find anything that’s closer to a child’s heart than a good story!
The secret of great success of stories in children writing is that children generally listen to or read a lot of stories. Naturally, it’s much easier for them to compose a text in a structure they are comfortable with. That’s why stuff like fairy tales and hero journeys from animated movies are the perfect material for children writing!
StoryJumper comes in here to help children develop stories more easily. With the help of online tools, time-savers and the beloved digital environment, children can easily create interactive, multimedia stories on their own. They can also add images, photos, animations and other extensions to the story. Of course, you will be able to save the story when they finish and keep it as a souvenir.
4) Time4Writing
Now, we previously said that children are too young to start writing essays. Well, if you actually want to teach them how to start writing essays, even at an early age, this is the right website to do so! The tool teaches organization and planning and shows children how to connect sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into well-flowing essays. This is also great for developing critical thinking skills and argumentation.
The great thing about the approach in Time4Writing is that it teaches children that writing is a process. It shows that it’s possible to turn a “bad” piece of writing into a great one with proper editing and care. It really is a tool that teaches the underlying principles of writing which the children can take with them and use throughout their lives.
Conclusion
The Internet has tons of interesting and effective tools that can help you engage your kids in writing. With distance learning, this is becoming even more important. If you ever feel like your children are not getting enough out of their remote classroom, feel free to reach for one of these tools to give them some extra food for thought.
Children generally love writing and it’s definitely a valuable skill to have. Don’t get discouraged if your kid doesn’t show a lot of interest in writing at first. It’s probably because they don’t have a good grip over the process and how it works. That’s what these tools are for! Treat writing as a game with the help of these tools, and you will see your children reaching for a pen and paper in no time.
Daniela McVicker is an editor for Essayguard. She has a master’s degree in English Literature, and she is truly passionate about learning foreign languages and teaching. Daniela works with the students helping them to reveal the writing talent and find one true calling.