Category: Writing

Gifts That Inspire Writing

By Mariah Bruehl, 5th December 2014

Holidays, birthdays, and other gift-giving occasions are a wonderful time to reflect on the types of investments we want to make as parents. I do see gifts for children as investments. Not only are they investments of money, but investments of our time and in our children. What do we want to encourage? What do we hold valuable? How do we want our children to spend their time? What types of experiences do we want to share with our children?

I have received a lot of requests to recommend some gift ideas that will inspire the young writers in their lives.

Because everyone’s a writer, it’s just a matter of helping them find and bring forth their voice and share it with the world…

Starting a Writer’s Notebook

Keeping a writer’s notebook is where it all begins… Talking to children about their favorite authors and how they capture ideas for writing is a wonderful way to inspire budding young writers. Did you know that almost all authors keep their own writer’s notebooks? Writing does not need to be an overwhelming process, it can be fun, light, and all about capturing the magical moments in our lives.

If you are enrolled in the Family Writer’s Club and would like to put together a fun gift to complement the experience, I recommend starting with the materials below. In this workshop you will begin your writing journey by starting your own writer’s notebooks!

1. Post-it Arrow Flags – Add a fun dimension to capturing memories and writing down thoughts.

2. Japanese Washi Masking Tape – Fun tapes are a wonderful way to add mementos and for the decorating of your cover or pages.

3. Glassine Wax Paper Bags – These are great for taping into your notebook to inspire writing about found treasures.

4. Jumbo Paper Clips – Another great way to capture and save different memories.

5. Sticky Tab Markers – These come in handy if you want to create different sections in your notebook.

6. Blank Recycled Notebooks – We love using these blank notebooks. They offer a clean slate, so that children can make them their own.

7. Photo Corners – Wonderful for adding and writing about family memories and special events.

Create it and they will come… It’s almost like magic! If you would like to see your children writing for pleasure in their free time, then create an inviting space with engaging materials. Here are our tried and true favorites for creating a captivating writing center. What I love about these items is that they become household staples. We purchased many of the items on this list when the girls were young and we are still using and loving them!

8. Wall Organizer – This fabric magazine organizer is perfect for displaying a variety of interesting writing papers. We provide lots of interesting options in the workshop. You can also find a nice selection in the printables section of our book.

9. Acrylic Tote – I am a huge fan of creating caddies stocked with inviting supplies like pens, pencils, stamps, stickers, etc. They are easy to move from room to room and are great for taking your writing adventures outside.

10. Prismacolor Colored Pencils – Our all-time favorite colored pencils!

11. Highlighters – An inviting way to make writing fun.

12. Pencils – We are big fans of these triangular pencils, which help with encouraging proper pencil grip.

13. Alphabet Stickers – Fun no matter what age you are!

14. Sentiment Stamps – We love giving handmade cards for every occasion. Having these stamps handy has been very helpful throughout the years.

15. Paper Tray – Another wonderful way for organizing interesting writing papers.

16. Blank Books – The more of these you leave in your writing center, the more books you will see popping up around your house. Try it!

17. Watercolors – It is wonderful to combine art and writing and we love these watercolor paints. These are also perfect for combing with the post cards below.

18. Watercolor Postcards – Embrace the handwritten tradition of corresponding with loved ones with these lovely blank watercolor postcards.

Now that you have the basics in place, make sure that you keep the inspiration flowing…

19. Books about Writing – We have put together a list of our favorite books for inspiring young authors, here.

20. Writer’s Club Family Workshop – Set some time aside as a family to learn about and develop the craft of writing. Connect and learn together as you explore fun writing prompts and learn about helpful techniques.

21. Play Story Cubes – A fun family game that helps get the story-telling going.

22. Q&A A Day For Kids – This journal offers a great way for children to easily capture their day-to-day thoughts and memories.

23. Letters to My Future Self – Writing letters to your past, future, or present day selves can be a powerful writing experience. This creative book makes the process fun and easy.

24. Play Haikubes – A fun game that teaches the art of Haiku. If you enjoy haiku, you should also checkout or great lesson, here.

25. Magnetic Poetry Kit – Another fun way to explore poetry and work on using interesting language in your writing.

26. Rip the Page! Adventures in Creative Writing – This book is full of inspiring writing prompts for the whole family!

* This post contains affiliate links.

SaveSave

Writing a Japanese Lantern Poem

By Mariah Bruehl, 18th November 2014

A lantern poem is a type of descriptive poetry that originates from Japan. Another is the Haiku poem. A lantern poem is quite similar in format to a Haiku poem. Both types of poetry are short and rely on a syllable structure where the poet uses a limited number of syllables in each line. The Haiku poem uses a syllable structure of five, seven, five syllables for a total of three lines. The Lantern poem uses five lines with a syllable structure of one, two, three, four and one syllables per line. The lantern poem is also a considered a shape poem where the final shape emerges as a lantern when the words are centered to middle.

Lantern Poem Format:

line one: one syllable

line two: two syllables

line three: three syllables

line four: four syllables

line five: one syllable (synonym of or related to the first line)

Example:

Black Bear

eats

meat, plants

omnivore

grubs and berries

food

One of the beauties of the Lantern poem is the length. The length is short and requires few words to complete. Therefore, children of all ages may have great success in composing a lantern poem. In addition, the lantern poem can be used as a means to briefly explain a topic. So, instead of having students use a traditional narrative format, if using a lantern poem, they will have to be extra thoughtful about word choice. This can end up being a great lesson on how to use impactful words that show depth in meaning instead of writing for length.

I tried out this poem type with my students who range in age from seven through nine years old. We focused on North American forest animals, which has been a research focus for our class. I asked them to focus in on one part of their research such as what their animal eats or the habitat because of the limited words. Many of my students adored the quick, expressive format. After completing their assigned topic, many students went on to write additional lantern poems using their favorite topics to write about such as: family members, friends, and hobbies.

More topic ideas: rocks, fossils, animals, plants, fall leaves, winter snowflakes and since it’s very close to Thanksgiving how about: I’m thankful for …

Want to write a Japanese Lantern Poem yourself? Download and print an easy template here.

Lantern Poem Resources:

Books:

If It Rains Pancakes: Haiku and Lantern Poems By Brian P Cleary

Websites:

Use Your Words!: Exploring Concrete Poetry

By Mariah Bruehl, 6th November 2014

For the past few years, I’ve used word clouds as a get-to-know-you game for a summer camp I teach for seven and eight year olds. The campers answer questions about everything from their favorite colors to what they want to be when they grow up, and we create an image that quickly helps us see some of the things we have in common. The big reveal always elicits oohs and ahs, and sometimes surprises us with what pops up as the most repeated answers.

The way word clouds play with text to create a visual shape reminds me a lot of concrete poetry. Concrete poetry is a literary form in which the text of the poem creates a visual image on the printed page. This isn’t just poetry to hear—you need to see it too!

And because of that text + image combination, word clouds and concrete poetry seem like a natural pairing for a writing exploration with kids. Why not give it a try?

Here are three easy steps for taking the journey from word cloud to concrete poetry.

Step #1: Explore how letters and words can be used like crayons and paint to draw a picture.

Start off by using a word cloud generator to create a simple shape filled with words. The process can take less than five minutes and quickly shows children how words can be shaped on a page (or screen) to create a picture.

I wrote this simple poem inspired by the scissors on my desk:

Snip, snip
Rip, rip
Pieces falling to the floor.
Smaller, smaller
Bit by bit
Until the paper is no more.

And turned it into this image using the free on-line program Tagul*:

Notice that the poem doesn’t retain its structure, rhythm or rhyme in a word cloud, but the words themselves do now create an image of a pair of scissors. You can also see how the program plays around with the font size to create details and depth in the picture.

Creating a word cloud is as simple as typing a list of words! Brainstorm with your child a list of words about a familiar topic and enter them into the generator. With most word cloud generators, the more times a word is repeated, the larger it will appear in the cloud.

Step #2: Read examples of concrete poetry.

Dive into the poetry section at your local library and check out concrete poetry written for young audiences. You’ll find lots of variety in the subjects, tone, and forms. Joan Bransfield Graham’s poem “Wave” uses words to outline the shape of a wave crashing on the beach, while J. Patrick Lewis’ “Giraffe” poem is a spindly giraffe whose body is entirely crafted out of letters. Here are some of my favorite choices:

Splish Splash by Joan Bransfield Graham
Flicker Flash by Joan Bransfield Graham
A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko
Doodle Dandies by J. Patrick Lewis
Anything by Douglas Florian (not all of his poetry is concrete poetry, but you’ll find several examples as you flip through the pages of his marvelous books)

Step #3: Write your own concrete poetry.

Give it a go! Start with everyday shapes and ideas—for example, write a poem about your breakfast using the shapes of the food you ate. Or write a poem about your favorite animal. To amp up your vocabulary, make a list of sensory words to capture the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touch of your subject. And don’t be afraid to be silly! Play around with your words and enjoy how the sounds roll around in your ear.

Once you know what words you want to use and the idea you want to convey, think about whether the words will outline your image (like the word circle forming a circle) or fill it up (like the word love filling up the inside of a heart shape).

Make a stencil out of cardboard or cardstock to help you arrange words in a simple shape, such as a circle, square, triangle, heart or diamond. For more complicated images, try drawing your picture first or printing an on-line image. Then use a piece of tracing paper placed on top of the picture to guide you as you craft your text. The tracing paper allows you to see the image underneath, but when you are finished writing, only your poem will appear on the tracing paper, which can then be scanned or copied onto a piece of heavier paper.

Enjoy using your words!

*For a list of word cloud generators, check out this article from E-Learning Industry.

SaveSave

Summer Acrostic Poetry

By Mariah Bruehl, 8th July 2014

This is a seasonal activity that I started when my kids were very young. The beauty of this particular style of poetry is that even young children can successfully compose a poem as they don’t need to know about proper grammar and sentence structure.

What is an acrostic poem?

An acrostic poem is a poem that uses the letters in the word to begin each line of the poem. The letters are written in capital letters down, rather than across, like this:

S –

U –

M –

E –

R –

Each line of the poem must start with the capitalized letter, for instance:

S – sunny days

U – under the trees

M – making music,

M – milkshakes and memories

E – everyone together

R – refreshed and relaxed

Here are some easy tips for creating acrostic poems:

Have your child brainstorm some ideas (one or two words is fine) about what summer means to them or objects that remind them of summer.

Encourage your child to use their own handwriting and try not to jump in and correct their spelling as it adds to the charm of the finished poem!

Sign and date the poem on the back so that you can remember which child wrote it and when.

Have the entire family participate and read aloud each others poems.

We like to do this activity at the beginning of every season but it could be done any time of year with any word that has meaning to your child. (Star Wars, Cupcakes, Grandma, Seashore, etc…)

It has been fun to look back on my children’s poems and remember what was most important to them at the time and how their thoughts, interpretations and spelling have matured over the years.

You are welcome to use my printable template here to get your child started or allow them to decide how they want to publish their poem – hand written, computer typed, with or without drawings, etc.

Some links to websites that talk about acrostic poetry:

Some books about writing poems with children:

Writing Poetry with children
Writing poetry (includes other poetry styles)

Storybooks about poets:

My favorite books of poetry when I was a little girl!

When we were very young / Now we are Six – A.A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard

A Playful Pen Pal Project

By Mariah Bruehl, 17th June 2014

Monique of Green Acorns is with us today with to share some great tips on getting our young writers started with Pen Pals.

Would you like a fun writing activity for your child to engage in during the summer (or anytime)? Whether you are trying to encourage a reluctant writer, nurture communication skills, or strengthen a sense of connection with a special person, having a pen pal is a great activity for kids of all ages.

If your child is comfortable writing about themselves and asking others questions about themselves in a letter form, that’s great! For some children, however, that can seem a bit overwhelming or perhaps they’re just not ready for it. If that’s the case then this playful pen pal project may be the perfect thing to get them started.

Here’s the idea… Begin by helping your child choose a pen pal. Starting with someone familiar may help reduce any anxiety and help build confidence. Print the provided template for your child to use to communicate back and forth with his or her pen pal. Finding out about a person’s likes is a good way to initially get better acquainted. An example has been provided for you to help get things underway. Your child should fill out the copy with the introductory letter to mail to the pen pal and enclose the blank version for the pen pal to fill out and mail back.
Pen Pal Project Template
Pen Pal Project Template – blank; editable version

The blank template is editable so that you and your child can create your own topics. Here are some ideas that you and your child can brainstorm five simple questions for:

A Day in the Life of My Pen Pal
My Pen Pal’s Family
My Pen Pal’s Home State/Town
My Pen Pal’s Fondest Memories

Creating “top 5” lists is another simple idea. Keep it fun and engaging to maintain your child’s motivation. If your child is only writing one or two word answers when responding, that’s okay. To nurture developing writing skills, work up to having him or her write out a complete sentence. And do encourage using the letter writing space as well. It’s perfect for additional ideas, comments, or questions and is a wonderful preface for longer letter writing when your child is ready.

Once your child has received the first response, it’s time to incorporate the playful twist. Cut out the circles with the pen pal’s responses and get crafty. Turn them into a garland that, when strung together, form a representation or story of who your child’s pen pal is. Every time your child looks at the display he or she will think of that person and feel a special connection. Don’t forget to encourage the pen pal to do the same!

Some benefits of having a pen pal:

Practice reading skills
Develop communication skills
Improve writing skills
Build sense connection and friendship
Incorporate geography
Encourage thoughtfulness
Practice patience
Make time to slow down

I hope your child will love having and being a special pen pal and that this project helps set the course for a life-time love of writing and connecting!

Meaningful Literacy: Vegetable Stones for the Kitchen Garden

By Mariah Bruehl, 25th March 2014

I think the dream to carve out a little spot in our yards to grow our own produce is a common one. Growing and nurturing something with our own hands has given our little family such a deep sense of joy and connectedness; to each other, to our food and to this space in our yard.

We started creating our first kitchen garden about three months ago. We still have a lot to learn about soil preparation, crop rotation and natural pest control but this space has provided such wonderful opportunities for learning for our children; we planted the seeds together, watched as they grew from seedlings into plants and eventually produced delicious vegetables…which almost always get picked by tiny helping hands and straight into little bellies. However my children are learning more than how to raise and nurture seeds, this kitchen garden is also providing opportunities for meaningful literacy.

These little vegetable stones were an opportunity for my son Jack (5yrs) to write in a purposeful and meaningful way. These vegetable stones were for our garden; their garden.

I collected small clippings from different plants for my son to identify and match to the word card which I had written in both lower-case and capital letters. He then used these word cards to create his vegetable markers using some beautifully smooth beach stones and a permanent marker.

My children really enjoyed creating these stones for their vegetable garden. Over the next few days they added more stones under more plants.

I think it is so important for children to have opportunities to read and write in meaningful ways; writing for a reason, reading to discover something, in this way we can help to nurture and preserve that innate drive to learn and help to keep learning connected to real life. Whether it’s by helping to write shopping lists, reading steps in a recipe, or creating vegetable markers from stones, we can gently encourage literacy by engaging our children in meaningful tasks which are relevant to our children’s lives.

More about our kitchen garden here, and our homeschool routine as well.

Growing Your Child’s Vocabulary

By Mariah Bruehl, 18th February 2014

Children’s imagination is powerful and surprising. It is able to create fantastic worlds and develop their abstract minds for hours. However, Charles Chaplin was right when he said “imagination means nothing without doing”. Imagination, per se, produces only dreams. If we want our dreams to turn into reality the first thing we need to do is to express them in an idea. And for that, we need words.

We often hear kids complaining that they are not able to express something they’re thinking, some dream they had or something they’ve learned. It is most frustrating for them (think about how hopeless you feel when you can’t make yourself understood in a foreign country), so increasing their vocabulary is important to improve their communication capacities and boost their self-esteem.

Also, a kid that can properly express himself will find it easier to understand his feelings and emotions. Those “something’s going on but I don’t know how to explain it” moments that all parents hear at least once start to decrease when their little brains are able to find the right words.

To help you with this, here you have three useful ideas:

1. Try to not scale down your language too much when you are talking to your kids: we don’t go by “vroom vroom”, we go by car. We don’t have a “woof woof”, we have a Bulldog. That is not “boo boo”, it “hurts”. Even if they sound adorable when they make mistakes or when they misplace words try to always correct them nicely.

2. When playing with them, try to broaden the stimuli you use instead of using “children only” material all the time. A good example is this website, for instance.

3. If your child can read don’t rush to explain to him the meaning of new words. Buy him a good dictionary and make him search for the definition. Forget the Internet. The slower process that comes with the physical search is more effective for remembering new word meanings.

And finally, a tool for you to try, the word jar.

Find a jar; (you can also use a box) and label it “words”. Every time your child comes in contact with a new word, make him write it on a piece of paper and put it inside the jar. You could also do this with the second language they are learning at school. Carry the jar with you on those occasions where you have to sit for long hours (at the doctors, when traveling…), or save it for a rainy day.

Ask your child to take out one word and to try to form a sentence with it. With practice words become familiar, and we can throw the learned slips of papers away and substitute them with new ones. Easy, fun and really effective.

SaveSave

Capture the Year with a Time Capsule + Printables

By Mariah Bruehl, 31st December 2013

Moving into the new year is always a little bitter sweet. While we are excited about what the future holds, as parents, we are aware of how fast time flies and how quickly our children are growing.

A wonderful way to capture the year is to create time capsules. They are a fun way to celebrate the past and make plans for the future as a family.

We have made time capsules a family tradition each year. It is also fun to supply the materials for all of the children if you are bringing in the new year with friends. They are super simple and can often be put together with items you already have around the house.

Materials:

Time Capsule Canister – You can use any container or jar you have around the house. We use these canisters.
Labels
My Self-Portrait Printable
All About Me Printable
Goals for 2015 Printable
Pens and Colored Pencils

After tucking away the capsule everyone will enjoy looking back at their thoughts, interests, and goals as they move into each new year!

Wishing all of you a wonderful 2015…

For the Kids: Crafting Thank You Notes

By Mariah Bruehl, 26th December 2013

As a child, I can remember my Nana telling my sister and I that thank-you notes were an obligation and practically hovering over us as we begrudgingly completed this undesirable chore. I’m sure we robotically scribbled out something along the lines of “Thank you for the (description of gift here). We really appreciate it.”. It can be hard for children to understand the importance of a thank-you note and how to make it meaningful and sincere. It wasn’t until I received a heart-felt thank you note myself that I realized what an impact they can have and the true purpose for giving them.

As parents it is important to not only teach and model a sense of gratitude for our children but to make it a regular practice. Identifying that which we are thankful for and knowing what it is to feel thankful provides the basis for expressing thanks to others for their gifts or kind gestures. So what does a meaningful thank-you note include and how do we help our children find the words to express the specialness of the gift?

Let’s start with the basics. All thank-you notes should include:

a greeting
an expression of thanks
mention of the specific gift
a closing with your signature

Meaningful and memorable thank-you notes include:

mention of feelings that the gift elicited
an explanation of why it was special
a statement of how the gift will be used or is being enjoyed
a compliment or acknowledgement of the giver’s thoughtfulness

Of course, the depth of what the note includes will depend on your child’s age. A drawing depicting the gift by a young child would certainly be appropriate. Pre-writers and beginning writers can dictate what they would like written.

Here are some tips for guiding children in writing thank you notes:

Make it fun! Set up an invitation with papers, note cards, markers, pens, paints, stamps, envelopes, postage, and an address book. Add interesting embellishments like photos, decorative tapes and stickers. Here are some creative ideas.
For ages 10 and up, try including this book with the supplies: The Thank You Book for Kids, by Ali Spizman. It was written by a 14 year-old and provides inspiration for creative ways to say thank you.
Sit down with them to write some of your own. Make it a family time. You’ll be modeling the behavior and will be available for guidance and encouragement.
Ask questions about why they like the gift and what they like to do with it, what is unique about it and what are some of the special qualities. This will help them identify thoughtful sentiments to include in the note.
Let children express themselves in their own voice.

I hope this helps set your young ones on a lifetime appreciation for the art of crafting meaningful thank-you notes. Have a wonderful holiday season and a very joyous New Year. Remember, a thankful heart is a happy heart!

Invitation to Be Thankful: Mini Thank You Notes (+printables)

By Mariah Bruehl, 14th November 2013

I love this time of year, because we are all looking for ways to express our gratitude. I can turn a challenging day around by spending a few minutes thinking of all that I have to be grateful for. Did you know that research supports the fact that gratitude makes us healthier and happier? With this is mind I set out to find a new way for us to share what we are thankful for together.

I thought it would be nice to leave little invitations around the house reminding us as a family to stop and express our thanks for the little and big things we do for each other on a daily basis.

It has turned out to be a wonderful experience as we continue to find little notes for each other when we least expect them.

You can spread the gratitude in your family too! Simply print out the cards below and leave them out to be discovered. You will have heartfelt thank yous popping up around your house in no time…

* A special thank you goes out to Randi Edwards for her lovely graphic design.