4 Ways to Inspire Your Writers During the Holidays

December 13, 2018
Written by:
Guest Author
Elementary Homeschool, Holidays, Homeschool High School

Sponsored post by Time4Writing.com

Becoming a strong writer takes great dedication and effort. You can help your young writers keep up that momentum during the busy holidays with simple, creative writing activities sprinkled with holiday cheer.

Even better, families that write together, grow together! Everyone can take part when you use these inspirational writing activities to build character and creativity, explore other cultures, and share your family’s hopes and wishes.

Keep a Thankfulness Journal

After dinner, each evening, gather your children around. Share a few simple things from your day for which you feel thankful, such as spotting a deer or a stranger’s kind gesture. Ask your kids to name one or two things that made them feel happy or thankful, and encourage them to print their responses in a homemade journal.

Write Holiday Haikus

Nature surrounds the holidays with magnificent splendor. Help your children capture that beauty by writing haikus—simple nature-themed, rhythmic poems of three lines, each with a set number of syllables (five-seven-five). Here’s a wintry example:

Cardinals zoom in                          

Red dots on pine tree branches

Chirping in the snow                   

Make this activity even more special by compiling the poems into a book. Encourage children to add a little pizazz with simple illustrations. Tie it up with a holiday bow, and give to a beloved grandparent or special neighbor.

Explore Other Cultures

Spend a little time learning about another country’s holiday traditions. With so many different cultures celebrating holidays this month, it’s a great time to learn more about them. Have your children pick a country with a holiday and traditions different from your own, and write a story about what someone would experience if they visited that country right now.

Dabble in a Little Wishful Writing

Holidays and wishes…they just go together! Wishes put hopes into words. This is the perfect time to talk about the spirit of the season and to encourage compassion and generosity by sharing your own holiday wishes. Have everyone in your family write out their wishes on pieces of festive paper, roll them up, tie them with a bow, and hang them on a homemade “wishing tree.”

Commit to 5 Minutes a Day

While not a single specific activity, committing five minutes each day to a writing exercise can help to prevent writing skill loss during the holiday downtime. For a list of quick ideas you can easily incorporate into your family’s schedule, try reading “5-Minute Daily Writing Exercises for Busy Families.” In just five minutes a day, you can build punctuation, sentence writing, paragraph writing, and more. With so many ideas, you’re sure to find a skill booster that fits your goals.

 

Happy Holidays!

 

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