Writing doesn’t have to be “all work and no play.” By adding a dose of fun to your child’s writing time, you can actually turn an assignment into an eagerly anticipated experience!

Create a Costume Closet

Some children are delighted with the idea of theatre and acting. They might enjoy their writing time a bit more if they can dress up as their main character.

If your child likes this idea, assemble a Costume Closet or other place such as a suitcase or laundry basket.

Costume Accessory Ideas

• Shirt and dresses
• Suit jackets, vests, and trench coats
• Funny shoes
• Neckties and bowties
• Shawls, scarves, and feather boas
• Costume jewelry and eyeglass frames
• Hats and wigs
• Animal costumes or headbands
• Bits and pieces from old costumes such as a cowboy hat and holster, nurse’s cap and toy stethoscope, or eye patch

To find items to add to your Costume Closet, you and your child can visit some yard sales together, take a trip to a thrift store, or raid Grandma’s closet.

When your child is ready to work on his story, encourage him to choose several accessories and dress up like his character while he writes. Your costume closet might also help inspire him to create new characters. Then sit back and watch as writing time becomes an adventure!

 .  .  .  .  .

“Costume Closet” is just one of the many fun and creative activities WriteShop Junior will use to add spark to writing at the elementary level. This game appears in WriteShop Junior Book D, which is scheduled for release in Spring 2011.

In generaral, I hope his concrete work is better than his spelling.

And by the way—are you in the market for a new “dryway”?

. . . . .

Stop by every 1st, 3rd, and 5th Wednesday for a peek into the world of spelling, punctuation, or grammar gone wrong!

At homeschool conferences, one of my favorite workshop presentations is Ten Stumbling Blocks to Writing. I love sharing practical ways parents can help their children overcome the obstacles that stand between them and the blank page—including laziness, perfectionism, and lack of motivation.

HomeschoolBlogger.com has been presenting a great lineup of FREE online classes this summer, the last of which is “Ten Stumbling Blocks.” Not only will you hear the audio, but if you’re a visual learner, you’ll also enjoy watching examples and demonstrations on a helpful, colorful PowerPoint.

Class Details

Workshop: Ten Stumbling Blocks to Writing
Presenter: Kim Kautzer, WriteShop
Date: Tuesday, August 31
Time: 2 PM EDT/1 PM CDT/noon MDT/11 AM PDT
Cost: FREE
To Register: HomeschoolBlogger Free Classes
Webinar Description: “I hate writing!” Is this the cheerful response you get when you give your kids an assignment? Then you’ll want to find out ten common stumbling blocks to writing and discover what students need in order to overcome their anxiety, fear, or lack of confidence. Learn how the steps of the writing process can actually motivate your most reluctant children, and gain tips and tools for encouraging their success.

For more information: http://homeschoolblogger.com/webinar/ten-stumbling-blocks-to-writing/

Young students are often bursting with ideas. Most likely they can talk your ear off, but getting them to write those ideas down is another story altogether.

Where Did It Go?

The act of capturing a fleeting thought and pinning it to the paper is a challenge. We think it sounds so easy to “just write what’s in your head,” but the reality is that many children simply aren’t mature enough to put all the pieces together.

First, a thought must formulate in a child’s mind. Then, it has to travel all the way down his arm to the pencil. But by the time he starts wondering how to spell this word or punctuate that sentence, the once-delightful idea has at best been reduced to three dull words, or at worst, vanished completely.

Children 10 and under often need more help with writing than we think they should. We expect them to be able to think of an idea all on their own and then write about it. But in truth, many kids

• Struggle to come up with writing topics.
• Forget what they want to say.
• Get overwhelmed by perfectionism.
• Complain that their hand hurts.
• Fear making mistakes.

Even if they don’t learn with difficulty, writing can throw them into a tailspin.

Start Them Young

Too many students approach junior high strongly biased against writing—either because they were never taught how to write and now fear it, or because of negative experiences with writing as younger children.

But by starting them while they’re young, your children can actually look forward to writing and learn to approach it with joy. This happens when you create a safe, warm, nurturing atmosphere and offer writing activities that teach—yes—but that are also infused with fun.

One of the reasons I’m so passionate about WriteShop Primary (and the upcoming WriteShop Junior) is the focus on letting your children ease into writing. As the parent, you gently guide, rather than push or force. Definitely not the sort of program where you give an assignment and leave them to their own devices. Instead, you’re encouraged to share in the entire process—including the actual writing.

How Much Help Should You Give?

If you wonder how much of the writing you should take on, the answer is: As much as it takes for your children to feel successful. And if you ask how much of the writing your children should be doing? Only as much as they are able. It’s very simple, really. If you sense their frustration at ANY point along the way, recognize that this is their cry for help—and your signal to take over a bit more.

Depending on your children, you might:

• Provide them with writing ideas and prompts.
• Encourage them to write about topics they love or that tickle their fancy—horses, sports, chess, Legos, gardening, etc.
• Use a personal experience or familiar story as the basis for a new story. They don’t always have to come up with something unique—it’s totally fine for them to retell a familiar story in their own words.
• Do some or all of the writing while they dictate to you.
• Let them write the words they know while you write the words they can’t spell yet.

Instead of worrying that you’re failing your child, enjoy the realization that you’re modeling and teaching. Meanwhile, your little sponge is absorbing, processing, and sorting everything into his mental filing system.

The good news is this: You won’t handicap your child by supplying him with writing topics; he won’t become a writing failure if he lifts a story idea from a sibling; and prompting him with questions and dialog won’t create overdependence on you. It may take awhile for him to really get it. Just know that your participation with him is an important key.

Shoot the Writing Rapids—Together

As the mom of a once-reluctant, writing-phobic son, I speak from experience. My daughters were more “natural” writers who fairly sailed down the rapids of writing.

My son, on the other hand, couldn’t stay afloat in the raft! Our journey was hard, and we experienced more than our share of frustration, so I can completely relate to your struggles. 

From the time we began homeschooling in kindergarten until Ben was 14 or 15, I stayed very involved with his writing, whether it meant helping him with ideas, prompting his writing with questions and dialog, or letting him dictate to me while I wrote his words down. Sometime around 10th grade, the pieces FINALLY fell into place for him, and by the time he graduated from high school, he had become a strong, independent writer.

So hang in there! Don’t be afraid to hop into the writing boat with your son or daughter. Help now, as much as your child needs you, and believe that independence will come one day.

Copyright 2010 © Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

Photos courtesy of stock.xchng

“As children get older, they only get more intimidated by writing. You need to start at a young age.”

—Betty Rogers
2003 Teacher of the Year

I just finished doing a fun interview with Candace of Sonbeams. She asked me a bunch of questions and I answered away!

Here’s your chance to get to know me (and WriteShop) a little better and to read Candace’s review of WriteShop Primary. Click on over! (And pssst . . . there’s a coupon code too.)

Sonbeams interview with Kim Kautzer

And make sure to visit Candace’s Sonbeams website if you’re homeschooling preschoolers. Her site has tons of ideas and resources!

And it’s bigger and better than ever! With the theme “Celebrate Homeschooling,” this fabulous online homeschool conference is coming October 4-8, and you won’t want to miss it! After all, you can attend from the comfort of home–no childcare, travel expenses, or costly admission fees. Who could ask for more?

I haven’t homeschooled since my youngest graduated in 2003, but that didn’t stop me from having a blast at the live online event in May—and not just because I was one of the speakers! What made it so much fun?

• Inspirational, encouraging, humorous, and practical workshop sessions.
• A chat room that buzzed with excitement and comaraderie.
• Door prizes and giveaways galore.

Bonus Preview Shows

As part of the Fall Expo, there will be two lively preview shows to kick off the October event. I’ll be speaking at the September 21 preshow. My topic is “Teaching Writing: The Big Picture.”

Homeschoolers tend to excel in so many areas, yet writing remains an admitted weakness for many of you. I’ll give you a general overview of writing for K-12, with the particular goal of encouraging and inspiring insecure parents.

In addition, I’ll talk about the steps of the writing process; what to teach and when; the importance of editing; content, style, and mechanics; and more. It’s a look at the “big picture” with helpful tips you can apply right away.

Don’t Miss It! Register Now!

Tickets for the May event sold out really quickly, so TOS is encouraging you to grab your ticket early! Plus, tickets are $5 off this week, making the live event a bargain at $19.99 and the Expo to Go MP3 package an even sweeter deal at $14.95. The live event has more perks, but either one will give you access to all the workshops for a full year.

• Preshow #1: August 24
• Preshow #2: September 21
• Schoolhouse Expo: October 4-8

• Register for the LIVE Expo here: http://bit.ly/fall_expo_2010
• Register for Expo to Go here: http://bit.ly/fall_expo2go
• Get more details here: http://bit.ly/9Nkc5h

Hope to see you there!
~Kim Kautzer

I am hoping “Everything Go” is a title or business, but I think the more likely explanation is yet another misused apostrophe by these great masters.

And is that supposed to be a “dot” com? Or maybe the “com” is in the middle of a giant “dot”? Punctuation isn’t supposed to be this complicated!

. . . . .

Stop by every 1st, 3rd, and 5th Wednesday for a peek into the world of spelling, punctuation, or grammar gone wrong!

IT’S THAT time of year again–that wonderful back-to-school season when every imaginable school supply is on sale. We can talk all day long about brainstorming techniques and editing methods, but honestly–is there anything more inspiring to a young writer than brand-new writing supplies?

Old-Fashioned Joy

As a child, I loved visiting my grandma and grandpa at their brick apartment building in Chicago. My brother and I were allowed to walk the short block to Simon’s Drugstore at the corner of Roscoe and Broadway, where we’d head straightaway for the school-supplies aisle.

I loved them all: yellow #2 pencils sharpened to a fine point; clean, fat, pink erasers; and pads of crisp white paper that whispered, “Write. Here. Now.” And I grew positively heady over an unspoiled box of Crayola crayons.

Cool School Tools

No one is motivated by a handful of chewed pencil nubs and that pile of last year’s paper remnants. Thriftiness has its place, but a few inexpensive new items can make all the difference for a reluctant writer of any age.

Create a little writing buzz simply by investing in a some brand-new school supplies! Hop on over to Target, Office Max, Office Depot, or the dollar store this week—the sales are crazy right now.

• For mere pennies, you can find colorful pocket folders, assorted mechanical pencils, highlighters, and pretty gel pens.
• Decorate some juice cans with self-stick paper and fill them with a fresh supply of fine-tip markers or luscious colored pencils.
• In addition to white notebook paper, brighten up your writing corner with ruled paper in fun pastels.
• And pick up a handful of spiral notebooks in different sizes for journaling and other writing. You can find them for a quarter at some stores!

Don’t Forget Mom

My love of office supplies hasn’t diminished over the years. I’m a sucker for those miniature Sharpies in rainbow colors, and I still stroll up and down the aisles, drooling over coordinated filing systems and desktop organizers. 

Back-to-school isn’t just for students! So tickle your own inner child by indulging in a few goodies for yourself, too.

• Toss a pack of colored sticky notes, a box of funky paperclips, and some new correction tape into your shopping basket.
• Grab a package of bright but “not-red” pens for editing your kids’ papers.
• Round out your writing supplies with an assortment of cheerful stickers or rubber stamps that proclaim a job well done.

The best news is this: You don’t have to spend much at all. For less than $10, you can load up on simple supplies and cool school tools that will put a sparkle in your children’s eyes and make everyone much more eager for writing time.

What are you waiting for?

Copyright 2010 © Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

Photos courtesy of stock.xchng

If you follow this blog at all, you know how much I love to find a good typo: a misplaced apostrophe, crazy spelling error, or grammar faux pas. Just take a little stroll down Bad Signage Lane for some great examples of English language abuse.

So imagine my delight at discovering this little gem of an article: A Man, a Plan, and a Sharpie. I’ll admit that Jeff Deck actually did what I would LOVE to be able to do—correct mispunctuated or illogical signs. I’m just not as bold.

I applaud his gumption!

Thanks to my friend and fellow communications buff JoJo for the link.