Holiday writing ideas please...

[Loobylou3]

My dd has just finished y1 and part of her targets was to write more. She has fantastic oral vocabulary and understands how to write using punctuation appropriately but I am trying to gather some ideas that will involve her writing 3 or 4+ paragraphs.

I feel that a holiday diary will not really get a positive or enthusiastic response and wondered if there were any websites / ideas we could use to help.

Any ideas appreciated.
Thanks

Letters to her friends or family, shopping lists, what she would like to do on her holidays. Trying to do the same thing with dd2

What's her imagination like? I once got my DSs to start writing a holiday diary with the twist that it didn't have to be true. It would start off with something that really happened (eg visit to a park) and then something would happen like aliens arriving.

Having said that, I wouldn't push it. It's a holiday.

She's on holiday!

If you must do some work with her then keep it everyday sort of tasks that she can help you with.

writing shopping/packing lists
make a café at home and she can write a menu and take orders
make a space ship and she can write instructions for using it/flying into space
invites all her toys to a tea party (write the invites) then write a thank you letter after the event

us a hoop on the ground in the garden and make a little word in it using stones,, sticks, mud, grass etc. Then she could write about the world she has invented - maybe make some stone people with googly eyes to live there.... well you get the idea.

How about the Rory Story Cubes? They are dice with pictures on and you are meant to make up stories that include those things. It might turn it into mor of a game. You can get actual dice or there is an app for phone/tablet.

At that age I wouldn't ask more than a 2 short sentences per day.

Mine make summer scrap books with a sentence or two written per page (more or less if they want) and it really keeps them writing over summer.

Dd had written a letter to her little friend who lives round the corner. Last half term she sent a postcard to her teacher. We are lucky in that dd loves writing. Getting her brother to write was like getting blood out of a stone.

We play a story game. Each person in the family writes one sentence of a story. Does your daughter like drawing? Often writing improves when fine motor skills improve.

Every day she could make a very short hand-written message to an Aunt or GP, then you take a photo and send it by MMS. They answer by text. Quicker and cheaper than a stamp.

Does she like writing? If she doesn't then beware that making her more when she "doesn't have to" will be counter productive.

Remember that the actual art of putting words on paper is not the most significant part of being a good writer - would she be more receptive to writing a story on the computer, or in verbally telling stories where you add a line each?

(but other than that I agree with PPs - let her have fun!)

Postcards to someone. My DD is writing a diary with pictures (drawings or postcards). Not everyday though.

We are possibly in the same situation. DS has made little progress over the year and seems to struggle with 3 aspects afaiks: generating ideas to write about/being motivated to write; the physical act of writing (more gross than fine motor it seems) and using unusual pencil directions when forming letters. I was sent a really useful graphic which helped me break things down. I will try to extract it from the email and attach here later.

The motivation thing seems fairly key so I have given up on the holiday diary and have been encouraging him to draw/scribble/write about his latest obsession (Minecraft) just to build up his stamina and comfort with the pencil. For that he has voluntarily picked up his new Star Wars pad and pencil too so maybe fab stationary could also help?

I need to work out what/when to tackle the other aspects so will be lurking here for ideas on those ;)

Here is the file which splits out handwriting areas of development: motor, perception and cognition. Good luck

Angry letters to MPs, local council, local restaurant, BBC etc. etc. Anything they are mildly cross or disappointed about (repeats on TV, park swings broken, uneven pavement causing scooter trouble, school holidays too short, not enough rolos in a tube). MPs always reply and most others do too, and it's nice to get post.

Write to an author or child-friendly public figure.

Also, Blue Peter Badges. www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/joinin/about-blue-peter-badges You need a paragraph or so of writing per badge and there are plenty to get. They do take several months to turn up though!

Maybe she could come downstairs one morning to find her toys had written her a letter?

Experiment with different writing tools - chalk, paint, brushes and water outside etc.

Agree don't force it though :)

thanks for all the ideas!

What about make a summer holiday scrapbook with pictures from a variety of resouces eg leftlets, magazines or catalogs etc. She cut out things that are relavent to her experiences and write some captions next to each picture.