Okay, I have a confession.
Until about three months ago, I (Carrie) had basically zero feelings about hockey. Not negative feelings. Not positive feelings. Just… nothing. It was a sport that existed, and I existed, and we coexisted peacefully without ever paying much attention to each other.
And then the Utah Mammoth happened.
If you’re in Salt Lake, you know what I mean. Suddenly, hockey was EVERYWHERE. My neighbors were talking about it. My friends were texting me game scores. People were wearing jerseys to the grocery store. And somewhere along the way, I started paying attention . . . and then I started caring. And now I‘m someone who gets genuinely excited about a hockey game.
I didn‘t change my personality. Nobody forced me. I just got surrounded by people who were enthusiastic about it. That enthusiasm is contagious.
Here is an exclusive picture from last Monday’s playoff game in Salt Lake City.
Sad to say, Mammouth lost in Sudden Death. (I know what that means now.)
Here’s why we’re telling you this.
Your children might feel exactly the same way about writing that I felt about hockey.
Not that they hate it. Not that they love it. Just… indifferent. Or maybe they have decided they don’t like it (kids can be dramatic like that and, honestly, fair). But here’s what I know after years of teaching writing and watching thousands of kids:
The environment changes everything.
You don’t have to convince a kid to love writing with a lecture or a reward chart. You just have to get them in the right room with the right people.
Here are four ways to do that:
1. TAKE THEM TO AUTHOR VISITS
Anytime an author is speaking at a library or bookstore, put it on your calendar, especially if it’s a children’s book author.
Something “clicks” in kids’ brains when they meet an author. They think: this is a real person, and they did that. Maybe I can do that too?
There is actual research on this one. A recent studyon children’s enjoyment of writing found it has fallen to a “crisis point.” One of the most effective things the study found to shift kids’ attitudes? Meeting a real-life author.
(BTW: kids meet real-life authors every year at our writing camp!)
2. FIND OR BE A TEACHER THAT LOVES WRITING
Whether your child goes to a traditional school or you’re homeschooling, this one is key. Research backs this one up, too, but honestly, you already know it in your gut: how the teacher feels about writing is how the kids feel about writing. If their teacher is anxious, bored, or avoidant around writing, that energy transfers.
So if you’re homeschooling, give yourself permission to get excited about writing. (That’s part of why we do what we do. We want to give you the tools that make it fun for YOU, so it’s fun for them.)
And if your child is in a traditional school, when you have the choice, always request the teacher who is lit up about writing.
3. START A WRITING GROUP
We’re big fans of kid book clubs, but a writing group is next level. Get a few neighborhood kids together, a few kids from your co-op, whoever you can wrangle. Give them prompts (like the ones in our Writer’s Boxes) and let them share what they write.
Kids who write together start to see writing as a social, fun thing instead of a solo chore. You don’t need to be fancy about it. You just need to get kids in a room together with paper and a little structure.
4. SEND THEM TO WRITING CAMP
(You probably guessed we were going here:) If you’re in the Salt Lake City area, our summer writing camp is happening again this year, and it is exactly this principle in action.
Kids come in uncertain, sometimes resistant, and leave energized because they’ve been surrounded by kids and teachers who genuinely love to write.
It’s hard to stay indifferent to something when everyone around you is having a blast doing it. This is our 20th year running camp, and there is nothing we love more than watching that shift happen in children.
The Mammoth didn‘t give me a pamphlet about why hockey is worth caring about. They just created an environment where caring felt natural.
That’s all your children need too!
CHEERING FOR YOU!
