Creative Writing

[Celia]

We have a good family friend who comes over for dinner weekly. She's a retired 1st grade teacher, and happens to think we're doing our son a great injustice by homeschooling him, but has learned to generally keep her opinion politely to herself about this. When the topic of school comes up, she generally tries to helpfully insert her suggestions (and she's rather opinionated about it, after all, this was her profession and she was a very good teacher!).

 

Lately though, since finding out I don't really do anything related to creative writing, she's been lecturing me about how important it is. That I should be nurturing his imagination and helping him to express himself.

 

Any thoughts on this? Do you do any creative writing with your kids?

[Negin]

We have a good family friend who comes over for dinner weekly. She's a retired 1st grade teacher, and happens to think we're doing our son a great injustice by homeschooling him, but has learned to generally keep her opinion politely to herself about this. When the topic of school comes up, she generally tries to helpfully insert her suggestions (and she's rather opinionated about it, after all, this was her profession and she was a very good teacher!).

Lately though, since finding out I don't really do anything related to creative writing, she's been lecturing me about how important it is. That I should be nurturing his imagination and helping him to express himself.

Any thoughts on this? Do you do any creative writing with your kids?

 

First of all, not to sound rude, but whether your family chooses to homeschool or not, is really none of her business. Okay, now that I got that out of my system ... She means well, but seriously, this is a decision for your family to make. I do have a list of things to say to people like this, but you may not want to hear them. I just know that after a while, I would start losing my mind. I would not like someone planting doubts into my head, or my husband's head, on a weekly basis. :001_huh:

 

Now, on to the main question, if your dc are in fact the age of your signature - to me, they are a bit young to be doing much in creative writing. You could start having them journal. They have lovely journals - with half the page allowing for drawing and the other half for writing. When my dc couldn't write much at all, they would dictate their journal entries to me. I have their old journals and they are simply adorable. Then they would draw a picture.

If they're older than your siggy quote, it all depends on their age and level. Journaling can continue, as can other writing programs - Apologia Jump In, Just Write, etc. There are many.

[missmoe]

Kids have lots of chances to use their imaginations without engaging in creative writing. One reason I began homeschooling was so my kids would have enough time to play and be kids. Homeschooling gives most kids lots of time to use their imaginations. Creative expression doesn't only have to happen in writing.

[Researcher]

Kids have lots of chances to use their imaginations without engaging in creative writing. One reason I began homeschooling was so my kids would have enough time to play and be kids. Homeschooling gives most kids lots of time to use their imaginations. Creative expression doesn't only have to happen in writing.

 

:iagree:

 

And if they really want to do creative writing, they will. Simply encouraging them and giving the kids lots of positive feedback when they pick up a pencil is enough, IMO.

[Kates]

I agree - if they are the ages in your sig, I don't think you're scarring them for life by not having them write about prompts such as "if you were a tree, which one would you be?" or "Describe your life as an M&M." ;)

 

Once they get older - jr high, say - yes, I think creative writing is important. I don't think that it's the be-all and end-all of the writing process, but I feel it's an important part of learning to critically analyze good writing - mimicing it and going through the process themselves. I do know that ds12 didn't start truly thinking through the literature he was reading until he started writing it...and wanting to do his best (being the perfectionist that he is :D) he went to the best in order to learn how. Suddenly, great stories became more than just fun to read...they became full of ideas, and suspense, and had lots to say about who people are.

 

My opinion? Let her know that she's welcome for dinner...her advice on homeschooling? Maybe not so much. ;)

[elegantlion]

:iagree:

 

And if they really want to do creative writing, they will. Simply encouraging them and giving the kids lots of positive feedback when they pick up a pencil is enough, IMO.

 

:iagree: Have you listened to SWB's lectures on writing. I'm not sure which one(elementary or middle) but she addresses the creative writing issue.

 

 

Here's my take. I've been writing creatively since I could form words on a paper. I had notebooks full of stories that were never class assignments. I would finish my class work and write poetry in class. I took the Creative Writing class in high school and loved it.

 

My ds does not like to write stories. He's creative in other ways, but would give me a blank stare if I ever asked him to write creatively. He has a great imagination and I WISH he would develop it, but I will never assign him a creative writing project. After I listened to SWB's lecture I felt at ease with that decision.

 

Did my son think creatively in first grade? Yes! Did I *listen* to his stories? Yes! He was learning proper handwriting in first grade it would have killed the creativity to force him to put it onto paper.

 

I do believe that if a child is creatively inclined they will write on their own.

[Mallory]

Kids have lots of chances to use their imaginations without engaging in creative writing. One reason I began homeschooling was so my kids would have enough time to play and be kids. Homeschooling gives most kids lots of time to use their imaginations. Creative expression doesn't only have to happen in writing.

 

:iagree:

I bet she can't imagine the numbers of hours even my 11 yo spends in imaginative play, because if he were on the bus or at school 10 hrs a day, then we had homework, dinner, and maybe a sport, there really isn't any time each day for that. But even on a busy day here they are outside playing or inside creating grand plans for 2 or 3 hours a day, and many days can be twice that.

 

I can also see that if he was at school then recesses wouldn't be spent like that, they would be spent playing sports; and down time on the bus would probably be spent half asleep or talking about video games or t.v. shows. (We don't even get any broadcast channels, even on our digital recorder box, so how does he get in conversations with other kids about t.v. shows :confused:)

 

I also have always hated writing. I've always been very stubborn and most of my school career I've gotten pretty much only A's and F's, either I did it and it was good, or I didn't do anything. AND I've always hated creative writing. Hated it. The thought of daily journals still make me want to scream. So agreeing with SWB that it wasn't needed was such a relief ;)

[siloam]

We have a good family friend who comes over for dinner weekly. She's a retired 1st grade teacher, and happens to think we're doing our son a great injustice by homeschooling him, but has learned to generally keep her opinion politely to herself about this. When the topic of school comes up, she generally tries to helpfully insert her suggestions (and she's rather opinionated about it, after all, this was her profession and she was a very good teacher!).

 

Lately though, since finding out I don't really do anything related to creative writing, she's been lecturing me about how important it is. That I should be nurturing his imagination and helping him to express himself.

 

Any thoughts on this? Do you do any creative writing with your kids?

 

:smilielol5: Ok reading between the lines, teaching creative writing is the only way to nurture imagination? One can't express oneself orally? She has a very limited view, very boxed in.

 

BTW sorry about the ROTFL, but I am sick, on cold medicine and little loopy (and I can still out think her). Sigh...

 

My advice? Listen to him when he rambles on about some game/toy/TV show (tells him what he says is important), ask him questions that get him to give you more descriptive detail about what he is talking about. If he writes anything on his own, praise it and refrain from correcting grammar & spelling.

 

WWE wasn't around when I started with my oldest, so after one assignment in trying to describe dirt that was quite painful I dropped anything that smacked of creative writing. She did Lapbooking for quite a few years, and that was all the writing she did. She started Classical Writing and did like to change the setting, characters (which they are allowed to do as long as they keep the moral). Now as a 7th grader she still isn't doing creative writing, and with Classical Writing she is still re-writing other peoples writing. She has learned how to use a variety of tools in writing during this process, which she does apply to the writing she does in her free time. In her free time she has written several books, mostly fantasy based, one of which she is planning to try to publish (but we have work to do on that one first).

 

No lack of imagination here, and no need to try to teach it either.

 

BTW my 2nd dd is very concrete and also does not lack imagination, but her gifts are not in words. Whe is the type who couldn't express herself in words to save her life but could design a building.

 

IMO reading a wide variety of good books has done more to foster imagination than forcing creative writing.

 

Heather

 

p.s. If you really feel the need to do something read The Jungle Writer. It was paradigm shift in how I view writing. While the program doesn't work practically here, the shift in how I think about writing was worth every penny spent.

Edited September 26, 2010 by siloam

[Farrar]

I agree with the sentiments above. My kids have so many more opportunities for free play both with each other and with close friends than kids in school who have their whole day scheduled and their recess cut. I don't worry about their imaginations or their future creative writing prospects. They're in first grade also so honestly we're much more focused on reading and writing mechanics during our formal school time than I am on any kind of expression through writing. They're just not there yet for the most part. Some of the things school teachers seem to expect from young children strike me as thoroughly bizarre sometimes.

 

However, I did want to work with them on storytelling, so sometimes we play with storytelling cards I made from old magazine pictures. You draw three cards and have to make up a story with the elements from each card all together. We also do things with our co-op like show and tell sometimes to work on oral expression and constructing a cohesive set of thoughts. If you're doing narrations, I think that serves that purpose too and helps hone eventual creative writing skills.

 

Also, we do a game from Peggy Kaye's Games for Writing where the kids have a single die and we write a pass back and forth story. I write a little and then they write a little - they roll the die and have to write however many words the die says - no less and no more either (when it started, they wanted to do less - now they often want to write more than they roll - especially if they roll a 1). They often misspell the words, but I don't worry about it. We do so many more things like practicing writing and working on phonics and so forth. I see the purpose of this for them to connect the idea that writing is also a means of fun expression. The stories we write together are usually pretty silly. There are a couple more from that book that also seem appropriate for 1st grade creative writing that we've tried - that's just our favorite.

[FO4UR]

Just my personal experience...(following SWB's advice on writing)...children will do creative writing in their own free time as an enjoyable outlet. If you try to force it as "school" you WILL demolish their desire to write for fun (creative writing).

 

Our writing instruction consists of spelling, copywork, narration, and a bit of dictation. It's all teacher-led, skill-building, short lessons.

 

My 7yo has about 5 composition books in which he writes whatever he pleases. We actually had to stop him from taking ALL of our composition books:tongue_smilie:... Every now and then I sneak a peak and find some of the cutest writings EVER..."fun-et-ic" spellings and drawings...all describing stories he loves or things that have happened in his life. We read Treasure Island this summer, and he has probably 20 pages dedicated to mapping the adventure, drawings of the characters, and labels and such. If I would have assigned this "journaling" it would have KILLED his desire to even listen to Treasure Island.

 

If you look at his "journalling" from a year ago and compare it to today's, you will see his skills improving in every area ("i luv mi mom" grew up into "I love my Mom!":001_smile:)...b/c our writing *instruction* is limited to the skills and intensive. I guess I use his journaling sort of as an assessment of sorts, but I still never require it -at all!

Edited September 27, 2010 by 3blessingmom

[Ellie]

"creative writing"? Really? Most 6yo dc are not up to writing complete, well-constructed punctuated sentences. How is it they're supposed to do "creative writing"??....as if "creative writing" is the only kind of writing there is, anyway.

 

This woman is way off, in more ways than one. I'm thinking that at some point you're going to need to look her in the eyeball and tell her to drop it. You're the mom, she isn't.

[8filltheheart]

LOL.......really, a 6 yo is being done an injustice by not being taught creative writing? A lot of 6 yo kids can't even read yet!! Your friend is over-stepping her bounds.

 

FWIW, I have **NEVER** in 17 yrs of homeschooling taught creative writing. I find that my kids that like to write do so on their own. My 14 yos is writing a novel and it is actually pretty good. (that is high praise from me b/c I am extremely critical of my kids' writing. ;) ) My 8 yod writes newspaper articles and stories constantly.

 

My oldest ds wouldn't have written something fictional if I paid him! He HATED writing when he was little. He learned to write essays and research papers and spent 1000s of hours building/exploding/experimenting with his imagination. It has never hampered his education that he didn't write fiction.

 

The last person I would let undermine my philosophy of education is a ps teacher. Honestly. ;) Relax. Your children are fine!

[Celia]

Thanks for all the replies! It helped me solidify my feelings about the subject! I was beginning to second guess my instinct here. For the record, as I wasn't clear, she was suggesting that until he's able to write more fluently, I could write them down for him and he could illustrate. He does tell me very creative stories, but the only time I write them down is for keepsakes. And colouring and drawing aren't things he enjoys at all, so illustrating would be a chore rather than a pleasure.

 

I'm very glad to hear of others who have brought up kids who enjoy creative writing without actually making it an assigned part of their schooling! Thank you!

[NanceXToo]

Yes, I do creative writing with my daughter. But my daughter isn't four or six years old. Many six year olds are just learning how to read, let alone write, and let alone write CREATIVELY. Ignore her!

[Guest WDKretzing]

We have a good family friend who comes over for dinner weekly. She's a retired 1st grade teacher, and happens to think we're doing our son a great injustice by homeschooling him, but has learned to generally keep her opinion politely to herself about this. When the topic of school comes up, she generally tries to helpfully insert her suggestions (and she's rather opinionated about it, after all, this was her profession and she was a very good teacher!).

 

Lately though, since finding out I don't really do anything related to creative writing, she's been lecturing me about how important it is. That I should be nurturing his imagination and helping him to express himself.

 

Any thoughts on this? Do you do any creative writing with your kids?

I agree that it really is your own business whether or not you choose to do Creative Writing with your children. However, that said, I did join a Homeschooling Co-op primarily for their class in Creative Writing. They are using the reading books and Focus Guides for The Phantom Tollbooth and Ben and Me from Total Language Plus (you can check out the website for more information). They have combined 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades all together in one class and my 2nd grade dd is enjoying it immensely! Hope that helps a little.

Blessings,

Denise

[Mom-ninja.]

Nope. Not at all. I do not think creative writing is important to teach. Unless your child signs up for a creative writing class in college, he will never be asked for a creative writing assignment.