Entries Tagged 'Holiday & Seasonal Ideas' ↓

When all else fails, you can usually extract some decent writing from your children when it centers on a holiday theme of some sort. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, here are some creative (and painless) ways to encourage your kids to write.

Vocabulary and Spelling

Hidden in Your Heart

Encourage vocabulary and spelling development.

Supplies: Purchase a package of pre-cut paper hearts, or cut your own from scrapbooking or construction paper.

Directions: On individual hearts, spell out one of the following words or phrases. Let your child find other words hidden within the longer word or phrase and write them down on a list. Older children can have a contest to see who can come up with the longest list of words.

• VALENTINE’S DAY: say, lend, vial . . .
• HEARTS: star, ear, rat . . .
• I LOVE MY FAMILY: mail, yam, live . . .

Short and Sweet

Messages from the Heart

Spread Valentine love throughout your home by hiding heart messages for your family.

Supplies: Hearts cut from red, white, pink, purple, and light-blue paper.

Directions: A day or two before Valentine’s Day, have the kids prepare and sign little love messages on their stack of hearts. You can make some too! Then, on Valentine’s Day, encourage everyone to play Cupid by hiding the message hearts around the house for others to find. Messages can be tucked into shoes, pockets, bedroom or kitchen drawers, in a Bible, under pillows, in the toy box, or into PJs. Be creative! Everyone will have fun giving and receiving these little love notes!

Heartfelt Sentences

Give your younger children some sentence-writing practice.

Supplies: Colorful hearts cut from construction or scrapbooking paper (or a purchased package of paper hearts), glue stick, large sheet of construction paper or sentence strips.

Directions: Write words your children can read without help, including family members’ names, color words, common sight words, number words, and other words they know how to read. Encourage your kids to form sentences from the words on their hearts, gluing the words to the construction paper or sentence strip.

I Am Loved

Help your child think of pets and people who love him. Ask him to complete this sentence, filling in the blank with a different name each time. He can write one or more sentences, depending on his age and ability.

I know ________ loves me because ….

Valentine Writing Prompts

Stimulate writing ideas by providing your children and young teens with some Valentine story starters.

• Write an acrostic poem using the word FRIEND, HEART, or VALENTINE.
• Make a list of ways that you can show your love for your family members.
• Write a letter to a parent, grandparent, or sibling telling them why you love them.
• Tell about a time when you felt especially loved.
• Draw a picture of yourself and a friend or family member enjoying a special moment where you felt or expressed love. Write one or two sentences telling about it.
• Write a poem entitled “Love Is”
• Write a paragraph or essay telling what makes someone a good friend.
• Write a paragraph or essay defining and describing love.
• Imagine a world where everyone loved their neighbor as much as they loved themselves. What would it be like to live in such a world? How would families and communities be changed?

One year for Mother’s Day, my son Ben wrote me a long, sappy letter dripping with affection and appreciation. I’m sure he figured that if he was sentimental enough, I wouldn’t notice that he didn’t get me a gift.

Know what? He was right!

Sometimes, the best present isn’t wrapped up in a box. It’s the genuine expression of love and appreciation that you tuck into an envelope in the form of a special note or letter.

Not sure who or how? My friend Susan sent me a great link with some ideas. This week, sit down as a family with a box of special stationery, stickers, colored pens, and rubber stamps and write some notes to a few extra-special people in your lives.

Here’s a chance to make writing truly practical. Get started here!

What’s this?

A ragged fir tree helps a stranger on a cold night? A weary homeless man discovers a wallet full of money outside a bakery? A bad-tempered candy maker finds a magic candy cane and disappears into a snow globe? What kid wouldn’t love to write a holiday story filled with such hope, whimsy, or intrigue?

If you’re looking for a few fresh ideas to spark some creative storytelling in your kiddos, take a peek at our newest set in the growing line of StoryBuilders! And through December 12, our blog readers can get a discount coupon (see below) good for 30% off!

StoryBuilders are printable card decks that arm your kids with the basic elements of a story—character, character trait, setting, and plot. For children of all ages, these fun writing prompts provide students with all the elements they need to create realistic stories or funny, far-fetched tales.

Because we don’t want to encourage children to take liberty with the true Christmas Story, the Christmas Mini-Builder is not spiritual in nature. Instead, kids will enjoy creating other holiday-themed stories featuring 24 characters such as an old woman, snowman, and nutcracker.

One happy mom writes:

These StoryBuilders have proven to be too fun and my kids don’t want to do anything else! Looks like math and science will be flying out the window today as we have already spent the morning writing from the cards. The boys are still at it! We are having a really fun day of creative writing. Thanks for giving us a boost! —Wendy, NC

The Christmas Mini-Builder is an E-book. It contains two complete sets of printable cards—nearly 200 cards in all—so you can print them out on white cardstock or paper with colored words OR on colored cardstock with black words.

On Sale Now!

Jingle! Jingle! It’s an Introductory Special! Through December 12, you can get our newest Christmas Mini-Builder for 30% off! Normally $3.95, the set is yours for only $2.75.

To take advantage of this special offer, order here and use Coupon Code CHRISTMAS30 at checkout.

And there’s no tax or shipping—you can download your Mini-Builder E-book immediately . . . and then let the fun begin!

 Looking for a few last-minute writing activities to occupy your antsy children? Try some of these!

• List. Make a list of things you’re thankful for.
• Thank-you note. Think of a special person in your life. Write a thank-you letter and tell him or her why you value your relationship.
• Silly story. Pretend you are a turkey who does not want to end up on someone’s Thanksgiving table. Write a plan for how to escape.
• Sensory description. At first glance, a leaf is just a leaf. But when you study it closely, you can discover many small details that make it one-of-a-kind. Choose a colorful autumn leaf and brainstorm a list of phrases or sentences describing its unique features—including colors, shape, size, texture, veins, blemishes, or spots. Older students can then write a paragraph describing their leaf.
• Instruction manual. Write a paragraph explaining a simple process, such as how to make mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie. If possible, have someone take pictures of you during each step of preparing the food so you can decorate the pages with photos.

Looking for a holiday activity? Divert your kids with a Thanksgiving acrostic poem!

1. Write the word THANKSGIVING vertically on a sheet of lined paper. Using each of the letters, make a fun acrostic.
2. Each line can be one word, a phrase, or a sentence. See how creative you can be!
3. Poems can be left-aligned or centered.
4. Afterwards, illustrate your acrostics or decorate the page with photos cut from a magazine.

I’ll start you off with a couple of examples.

First Thanksgiving

Thanking the Lord
Honoring Him
Abundant blessings
Needs met
Kneeling Pilgrims
Squanto’s help
Gifts of food
Indian corn
Venison
Indeed we are blessed
Neighbors have shared 
God has provided

Thanksgiving at Home

T urkey time (I love the dark meat best!)
H oping the weather will turn cold
A untie’s apple pie—the best!
N ine plates around the table
K eeping family traditions
S tuffing my tummy with—what else?—stuffing!
G iving thanks for my family
I nviting our neighbor so he won’t be lonely
V egetables that I love (corn and green beans—yum!)
I think I am about to burst!
N aps for babies (and tired grandparents!)
G ames and laughter after dinner

Figurative language contains images. To add interest, make things clearer, or create a word picture, a poet often describes something through the use of unusual comparisons. Similes, metaphors, and personification are examples of figurative language.

Continue reading →

In Spring into writing, part 1, we dipped our toes into some fresh descriptive writing and journaling ideas. Today, in honor of the season, let’s play around with a bit of whimsical poetry.

An Acrostic Poem

Who says poems have to rhyme? Using the letters in the word SPRING, create an acrostic poem about the season. A line can be a single word, a phrase or partial thought, or a complete sentence.

The first poem makes use of simple descriptive phrases. Notice the repeated letters and sounds? Continue reading →

It’s spring fever…. You don’t quite know what it is you DO want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!  –Mark Twain

Spring has sprung…along with a serious bout of spring fever! Warmer weather, refreshing spring showers, tender shoots of grass, and unfurling buds issue a siren’s call to your children, who want to ditch school in the worst way and just plain frolic.

How can you help them stay on task while allowing them to revel in the joy of an April morning? For a welcome break, why not take writing outdoors now and then as the weather beckons? Tote notebook and pencil to park, field, or yard and try some of these refreshing ideas. You’ll find that none require your student to write a full-fledged composition—but they do make great writing warm-ups or entertaining exercises for the more reluctant writers in your family.

Spring Journaling Prompts

Sometimes, all a child needs is an idea. A writing prompt is designed to be a springboard. Have her pick a topic and begin to write. Whether she ends up with three sentences or three pages, let her just write. Don’t red-pencil her journaling efforts—save your comments for actual writing instruction. Here are some friendly questions to prompt the writer in your child:

• What three things are you the most thankful for during spring? What makes them so special?
• Write about three things that you most enjoy about springtime.
• How do the pleasant days and freshness of spring affect your mood and attitude? How does spring make you feel positive and hopeful?
• What do you feel or think about when you take a walk on a spring day?
• Write about your favorite spring memory.

Descriptive Writing

Vivid description makes writing come to life. Encourage your kids to practice using strong nouns and verbs, colorful adjectives, and precise adverbs. Instead of writing a composition, they should aim for a list of descriptive phrases or sentences.

• Sit on a bench or take a walk in your neighborhood or park. Describe some of the sights you see. Which paints a more vivid mental picture: Flowers blow gently in the breeze, or Golden poppies nod sleepily? Pink clouds drift in the sky, or Rosy wisps of cotton candy drift in the sky? Specific words do make a difference, so pick them wisely!
• Close your eyes and listen attentively. Do you hear the chipper chirp of a bluebird? The lazy drone of a honeybee? The rustle of leaves in the elm tree? Write descriptively about what you hear.

Next week, join me for Spring into writing, part 2. I’ll share some simple yet creative spring poetry ideas!

Copyright © 2008 Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

Cinquain: an unrhymed poem consisting of five lines arranged in a special way.

Planet
Graceful, ringed
Spinning, whirling, twirling
Dances with neighbor Jupiter
Saturn

A cinquain is an example of shape poetry. Because of the exact number of words required for each line of this poem, a unique, symmetrical shape is created from interesting, descriptive words.

The word cinquain comes from the Latin root for “five.” Notice that the cinquain has five lines that follow this sequence:

Line A: One vague or general one-word subject or topic.
Line B: Two vivid adjectives that describe the topic.
Line C: Three interesting “-ing” action verbs that fit the topic.
Line D: Four-word phrase that captures feeling about the topic.
Line E: A very specific term that explains Line A.

Here’s another example: Continue reading →