According to Education.com, motivating students to read over the summer is critical to continued success. But, parents and families should also encourage children to write. Here are a few ideas to inspire your child to write more:
1. Buy Or Make A Journal. A new journal or a cool pen inspires creativity.
2. Share Your Writing. Show your children your childhood writing, or share something you have written recently.
3. Create Authors. Have your children write a story, and include drawings, about something that happened to them. Create a book by stapling or binding with ribbon.
4. Bring Back Letter Writing. Encourage writing an old-fashioned letter, maybe to a relative or someone they met over the summer. Everyone loves getting mail.
5. Read And Ride. When you're in the car, start a story and ask your child to complete it. If you have more than one person in the car, pass the story on to the next person. Create your own characters and plots.
6. Become Investigative Reporters. Ask your child a question and have him or her research the answer. Require an "investigative" report on his or her findings.
7. Practice Good Manners. Have your child write thank-you notes. Just a short note is good practice and good manners.
8. Become A Book Critic. When your child reads a book, have him or her write a review. Kids can even go online and publish their book reviews for others to read on www.spaghettibookclub.org.
9. Get Involved. If your child reads a particular magazine have him or her write a letter to the editor.
10. Win A Prize. There are hundreds of online writing contests for kids. They'll have fun entering, and they just may win a prize.