Right now, it feels like the whole world is busy setting up all kinds of summer reading plans (which of course we love too). But as much as kids need their summer reading, they also need summer writing! It’s time to make a summer writing plan right alongside those reading plans.
We have an idea . . .
START A SUMMER WRITING STREAK
The supplies for this come down to a notebook and a pen. You can have one notebook for the whole family to share OR give each child their own notebook.
On the first page write: DAY ONE.
Then, let your kids fill up the page with whatever story they want to tell and let them work on it for however long they want.
They might write, “Today is the first day of summer” and be done.
They might also write about playing in the backyard and what they had for lunch.
They might start a story. There might even be a picture that goes with it.
There is not wrong way to do this!
Then, the next day write: DAY TWO.
And repeat. Anything goes!
On DAY THREE your kids might have thought about it a bit more. You see, your consistency is creating an expectation to write.They might write a little quicker because a writing idea has been brewing in their heads. They had a feeling there would a day three!
Continue this all summer without a break–rain or shine–home or away. DAY FOUR . . . DAY TWELVE . . . DAY TWENTY-THREE . . . short or long writes. Some pictures. Maybe a poem. Maybe a funny joke Dad told in them in the car. Your kids will start watching for stories and say, “Ah ha. I know what I’m going to write about today!”
If you keep this going long enough, your kids will like the STREAK and won’t want to break it. How long can you keep the SUMMER WRITING STREAK GOING?
It’s not work, it’s a game you can start tomorrow or even right now. Any day can be a DAY ONE.
