The Write Start (20 page)

Variations

For Scribblers:
Introduce pre-writers to the journaling habit with a “What Color Was Your Day?” journal. Ask children that important question each evening, have them pick one color from an assortment of small-sized colored pencils, and show them how to scribble all over the page with their chosen hue.

For Spellers:
Emerging writers respond well to a “Word of the Day” journal. Ask them, “If you could pick any one word, silly or serious, that matches what you were feeling today, what would it be?” The chosen words usually range from peculiar to poignant, and they are always intriguing.

For Storytellers:
Help young Storytellers focus with a “High/Low” journal. Prompt them to write something about the high point of their day and something about the low point of their day.

For Scholars:
Scholars might find that the words flow more easily when entries are written like a letter to a trusted friend, beginning with “Dear Diary” or “Dear Journal.” To emphasize the private nature of their writing, children at this stage often like to embellish their journal with a lock and key. Don’t fret. This doesn’t mean they’re keeping secrets; it just means their thoughts deserve their own personal space. Respect their privacy and resist the urge to peek!

24

Field Guide

A
LSO KNOWN AS
a nature journal, a field guide documents all the discoveries and adventures children encounter in the great outdoors. Field guide fodder includes thoughts about trees, plants, or flowers; animal observations; weather reports; notes on seasonal changes; and reflections about what’s visible in the night sky. Nature-related notations can be brief or may be embellished with details about colors, smells, sounds, and feelings. Journal entries can include simple sketches, and photos or a found object (like a bird feather, fallen leaf, or pressed flower) may be adhered to the page.

A field guide is a place where the wonder of nature and the wonder of writing meet. It’s an exercise in seeing the world with eyes wide open, a quality that should certainly be nurtured in young writers.

 

M
ATERIALS

 

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blank notebook or journal

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pencil

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colored pencils, crayons, or markers

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tape

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camera (optional)

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box or basket (optional)

 

H
OW-TO

 

1.  Encourage children to observe nature when they are out and about.

2.  When they get home, they can record the details about what they noticed. Or bring their field guides along if your family is headed on a trek or an adventure so they can jot down observations on the go.

 

Variations

For Scribblers:
Pre-writers may start with a nature collection, stored in a box or basket perhaps, with a label attached to each item.

For Spellers:
Spellers are ready to start drawing what they see in a notebook when they go for an outing, take a walk, or play in the backyard. They can label their pictures by writing a couple of words, like “baby bird.”

For Storytellers:
Storytellers are ready to enhance their field guides with more specific observations of the flora, fauna, and fun they observe in nature.

For Scholars:
Scholars can include more data such as the location of their observations, time of day, conditions, and any interesting patterns they notice.

25

Travelogue

B
EFORE YOU HIT THE ROAD,
add one more item to your packing list: a travelogue. You won’t regret it. New adventures always spark new insights. And you will definitely be glad you have a place to preserve them all.

When children record their travel reflections they are in good company. Many writers throughout the years have written about their experiences in far-off places. When you read about their trips, their writing transports you. Kids will be able to revisit their own journeys as well when they reread their travelogues. It’s like taking a vacation all over again (only without the jet lag).

 

M
ATERIALS

 

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blank notebook, journal, or handmade book

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pencils

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markers

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tape

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glue stick

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shoebox or small suitcase (optional)

 

H
OW-TO

 

1.  As you travel, encourage your children to (briefly) write the names of places they’re going, as well as ideas about what they saw and how they felt about it.

2.  Kids can also collect bits and pieces along their travels, such as maps, ticket stubs, backstage passes, luggage tags, transportation schedules, receipts, currency, stamps, postcards, and photos.

3.  During downtime, kids can embellish their travelogues by cutting and then pasting or taping their found ephemera onto the pages.

 

Variations

For Scribblers:
Pre-writers can store their souvenirs in a shoebox or a small suitcase, and then browse through them when they want to reminisce about their trip.

For Spellers:
Snap a picture of Spellers at various locations along your way. They can put these photos in their book and label them “Me at the Grand Canyon” or “Me riding a mule.”

For Storytellers:
Storytellers can narrate their adventures and add illustrations too.

For Scholars:
Scholars can include some scholarly details, such as the history of the places they’re visiting, the route you’re taking, the daily itinerary, restaurant reviews, and so on.

26

Inventor’s Logbook

C
HILDREN ARE BORN INVENTORS.
Sometimes they even seem to be bubbling over with innovative ideas. Some are hits, some are near misses, and some are even big messes. But no matter what, kids’ inventions all share one thing in common: an inspired ability to create something out of nothing.

This irrepressible urge to create is the trademark of an inventor (and the hallmark of a writer). The inventor’s logbook is a perfect example of how inventing and writing go hand in hand. Real inventors are required to keep a log of all the ideas and activities leading up to any of their inventions in order to prove that they “own” their creation. Kids can do the same, and, in the process, can claim ownership of all their little ingenious ideas that are just demanding to be documented.

 

M
ATERIALS

 

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graph-paper notebook

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pencil

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colored pencils

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date stamp (available at office supply stores)

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stamp pad

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camera (optional)

 

H
OW-TO

 

1.  Encourage your kids to document their bright ideas in their inventors’ logbooks. They can use words, drawings, diagrams, lists, or charts to record their various brainstorms.

2.  Show them how to write or stamp the date onto each entry (just for fun, or in case the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office wants to verify their invention’s timeline down the road).