Mumsnet users share their top tips for encouraging their children to write, with Premier League

[EllieMumsnet]

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Writing, be it in a diary, a poem, a short story or even a letter can be a great way to help children explore their creativity whilst inspiring them to write more. With that being said the Premier League would like to know your top tips for encouraging you DC to write more and explore their creative side.

Here’s what the Premier League have to say: “Our Premier League Primary Stars education programme uses the appeal of football to inspire kids to learn, be active and develop important life skills. More than 15,000 primary schools use the free teaching resources for maths, English, PSHE and PE and take advantage of incentives and competitions available for their school. However, sometimes young writers need a little extra boost and that’s why we are proud to bring back our Writing Stars poetry competition, which last year inspired more than 25,000 children to write a poem. This year’s competition theme is diversity and, with the support of a fantastic judging panel including singer Olly Murs, former footballer Rio Ferdinand, Children’s Laureate Lauren Child and poet Joseph Coelho, we are encouraging children to pick up a pen and explore what it means to be beautifully different and wonderfully the same. To read some of the poems already submitted by celebrities, please click here.”

Do you find that reading to your children frequently helps develop their imagination and also inspires them to write stories too? How about encouraging your children to keep a diary to write their everyday experiences in? Do you make sure that your DC write thank you letters after their birthday and Christmas in order to help them practice writing? Do you go on days out that will help them explore the things around them and develop their imagination?

Whatever your top tips are, share them on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!
MNHQ

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Ive found for myself having a penapl helped enormously so when my daughter started to write properly she got one too its heelped her so much

Limit screen time. As if they have carte Blanche as to when and where they watch tv or play on consoles creativity goes out of the window. My children are of course more enthused when i join in and encourage.

we pick an object a week and they have to think up a story about it and then write it in their book

We have always done it as part of a daily routine. I think encouraging them to do a diary has helped. We started with just daily drawings in a book and then encouraging words.

My daughter looks up a word in a dictionary Evans writes it in a book while she reads. She writes letters to family abroad. She also writes short stories that we read. We also look at the list of words in her book and ask her if she remembers the meaning. We try to make learning fun

Read, read, read.
Books develop imagination, vocabulary, spelling and story structure understanding

Let them see us read and write and let them help with messages in cards and on gift tags.

I used to find that seeing me do things made my daughter want to try them - including modelling, drawing, painting, writing, etc. Getting her started seemed to be the main thing. After that, letting her get on with it, allowing some mess to stay around (longer projects) and being supportive.

Encourage reading

We read our children lots of stories and discuss the story afterwards and think up other scenarios that could have happened in the story, it helps them to think about things and use their imagination.
We also do a lot of craft things that we plan out by writing a list of what we need and what needs to be done.

We already read a lot together so my dc is very interested in stories and is quite creative. I encourage her to tell me about her ideas first and then she writes short stories with confidence

From their earliest days of mark-making we'd explore how the written word could be used to inform, entertain or instruct. Their favourite was making signs for their bedrooms or creating their own comics.
However, now they're much older and despite may positive role models, they rarely write. Text messages is probably what comes closest.

Find something that really sparks and interest, which could be a lego model, a movie, something covered in history or sport and encourage them to draw and write about it. Holiday diaries are also good, using family photos and brochures. The local libraries and museums often have a special exhibition or story time session during the school holidays which can give them something to work with when they go back to school. Our son once did a lovely mini project with some brass rubbings of some roman coins, setting out the drawings, writing very neatly, and explaining how he made the rubbings and some detail about where the coins were used and the metals they were made from. Depending on the child's age, it can help to have a template for them, asking what, where, who, how, why etc.

We read lots of books together and make up stories which encourages her to write her own

My three year old can't properly write yet. But I have been teaching her to write her name by writing out her name and Letting her copy and also explaining animals that start with each letter of her name and drawing them for her

She loves to draw, so I let her squiggle all over the animals

by story telling. as my children get older we take turns tellng each other a made up story of a night before bed

We make sure we fully support any of their ideas and suggestions as we don't want them to feel they can't share anything with us in case we think they're silly ideas!

Read to your child regularly & encourage them to keep a diary or journal

I always make up a story for my DD when it's bedtime, (it's great fun) during this I sometimes ask her to say what happens next, I feel this has encouraged her to think about her creative side and she has an amazing imagination! She writes very imaginative stories, adding pictures too. :)

I write my own children's stories in rhyme for my great niece, god daughter & godson which always includes one of their names in the story which they love & I try to encourage them to think up their own stories so that I can make up a rhyme about it

My daughter loves being creative so all we have to do is say 'Shall we....?'

This is where I give thanks to Harry Potter etc.... I encouraged our son to write but he seemed to find dip and ink pens far more fascinating, so I bought a pheasant feather one (waits for someone to jump on by back about buying feathers - it came from national trust shop) and lots of different inks and fancy thick paper - he was well away and had fingers like a medieval scribe within seconds! I think being given the freedom to purge on the inks (recommend oilcloth tablecloths for this) he let out his creative side and actually started to take in the words and what they meant as he spent a lot more time on making each word than he would have done with a ballpoint! Turned out to be a very well read boy!

Lots of books around the house and regular library visits. Also try to encourage them to keep a diary

My son has Asperger and ADHD so writing is huge struggle for him. But we encourage him to follow his dreams and let his imagination run wild. Late night trips to beach just before bedtime always good for this his mind always seems most alive at a time needs shutting off. But being able to express himself verbally to us and the fresh air helps calm him ready for bed

I have always gave my children colouring books an Note books they had pencil cases from being about 2 yrs old, My daughter always had a pen in her hand right from being very small, As for reading I got her books with lots of pictures in the ones with the buttons you press are fantastic for very small children. Now I have got my first grandchild I will be learning her the skills she needs do develop.