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Write Out Loud; Your Child is Listening Growing up, every so often I heard my mom in the next room talking to herself while she was either writing a note or typing a paper. I was a sassy kid, and I would comment, “Mom, you’re doing it again!  You’re talking to yourself!”  And she was… Continue reading THINK OUT LOUD Your Child is Listening

The Writing Process & Why It Matters Above the board in my classroom, I have a writing process wall.  It goes straight across the top and gives the deceiving impression that writing is easy.    All you have to do is follow these steps and you will have a beautiful piece of writing.    But… Continue reading THE WRITING PROCESS & WHY IT MATTERS

Our Best Editing Tip Several years ago, I worked as a feature reporter for a small newspaper in my city. One of the best parts of this job was working with my editor Tom.    I remember him telling me that Pepper, his wife who was also a writer, refused to seriously date him until… Continue reading OUR BEST EDITING TIP

Two Tips To Help Your Child Spelling is often the number one “Go To” place where parents help their children with writing.  Let’s face it, misspelled words are a distraction from what the writer is trying to convey, and it urges us to get out the broom and dustpan and just clean it all up!… Continue reading HOW TO HELP YOUR CHILD SPELL (WITHOUT THE MELTDOWNS!)

Read Like a Writer: Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have A Dream”   Reading like a writer is a powerful exercise that helps writers see new things they might try in their own writing. Here is a guide for reading three sentences from Martin Luther King Jr.’s most famous speech through the lens of a… Continue reading READ LIKE A WRITER: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR’S “I HAVE A DREAM”

Word games keep us connected… Staying connected with my children with all our busy lives is a challenge to say the least! With one grown child in Florida, another a college senior, and one daughter home with me working her way through high school, it’s a challenge just to connect , let alone find time to have fun together!… Continue reading STAYING CONNECTED

This month we invite writers to put their own spin on favorite fairy tales. Fairy tale writing has long been one of our favorite tools for teaching children to write.  Here are a few reasons why this works:   1.  Fairy tale writing gives writers a structure to follow. When your child writes a fairy tale in their… Continue reading 3 REASONS TO WRITE FAIRY TALES

As a parents to young writers, we often hear the question: “Want to hear my story?” What our young writers most need from us at this moment is validation.   Try listening with full attention—body and mind. For those few minutes, take in nothing but their words.   At the end of the story, of… Continue reading HOW TO KEEP YOUR CHILD WRITING: A SECRET FROM TEACHERS

How do you define your family culture? One of my daughters was a volleyball player for a while. This was a new sport (for all of us) and there was a steep learning curve. Once I asked a star player on her team how long she had been playing. She couldn’t remember. “We always had… Continue reading BUILDING WRITERS FROM A YOUNG AGE

From day one, we are encouraged to read with our children. But what about writing with our children? Educator Ralph Fletcher writes, “Childhood is the time to develop a love of writing, to learn the habits of a writer, and to start becoming aware of what makes writing work.” In fact, practice in writing creates… Continue reading TIPS FOR WRITING WITH YOUR CHILD