Writing Boxes
Have you
heard this comment before? "I can't think of anything to write!" I
can empathize with our students because sometimes I have the same thing happen
to me. Soooo, how do you help your child to come up with
ideas?
I saw the
phrase writing box that was advertising stationary and
pens inside a decorative box, but those words gave me an idea of what could be
done for story writing. My thought was to find two or three items to put into a
small box that your son or daughter would open. Who doesn't like the idea
of lifting the lid on a box and discovering the contents that are held inside?
These items provide the prompts to create a story without you having to rack your brain to come up
with an interesting sentence writing prompt. Let me give you some ideas of what
these boxes could have in them.
Writing Box
1 The items
inside the writing box are: a storybook, a toy, and a small unlit candle.
A story that is just waiting to be told could be about a child (let's say
Tillie) who is reading a book. While she is doing so, the toy that is sitting
on the Tillie's lap comes alive and jumps into the book! Later it is discovered
that the toy has taken the candle along with them to light the way on their
journey...
Writing Box 2 The items
inside the writing box are: a favorite
pair of socks (clean of course!), a watch, and an advertisement for a
restaurant. We get those monthly magazines that have goods and services
advertised in them; why not put them to good use? A
possible story could be that your son is all ready for the day with his
favorite pair of socks and comfy sneakers. He has some allowance money and goes
to the restaurant (the one found in the writing box) with some friends. While
he is eating, he glances at his watch only to discover that he has been there
for eight hours! How is that possible? Could that watch be a special time
vortex watch...?
Of course,
those are only my ideas and examples of what kind of stories can be created.
Discuss story ideas with the items before beginning writing if your son or
daughter has a difficult time. You could start out with a comment such as, “What
do these items have in common?” Can you think of a way that these items can be
used together? Jump in on the
conversation to help create story ideas, be the scribe by writing down the
ideas, and review all the possibilities so that your budding writer has
success.
If you would
like to have some more fun on a different day, you can have your daughter help
with creating a writing box. Have her pick three items and she can tell her
story with the ones she has selected.
I hope this
helps to get the creative juices flowing. Why not choose three items for
yourself and model the writing activity by creating your own story? Be sure to
have everyone share when you finish.
Happy
writing!
~Lisa
Lisa McAfee bio:
I am
an alumni home educator of two sons and Ohio licensed teacher with over 30
years of teaching experience in a variety of settings. I have been assessing
homeschool students’ work for the past 17 years and enjoy helping empower and
encourage homeschool moms with their homeschooling. www.schoolmarmohio.com
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