Fun Summer Writing Activities to Keep Those Skills Sharp

June 28, 2019
Written by:
Jamie Gaddy
Elementary Homeschool, Homeschool High School, Homeschool Language Arts, Summer and Travel, Summer Fun

Writing skills can become weak when not practiced during downtime in the summer months. But, including summer writing activities doesn’t have to be boring and can be a lot of fun! These ideas can be used during the summer, while on vacation, or even during the school year! The sky’s the limit!
Try out a couple of activities that inspire your little Hemingway today!

Vacation and Summer Theme Writing Activities for All Ages

Write while on a real or a pretend vacation

  • Send postcards or letters from your town or state or a vacation spot to a grandparent, another relative, friend or pen pal. This can be about a real vacation or summertime activities or just what your little one would like to do one day.
  • Keep a travel journal, diary or scrapbook of your summertime travels and activities. This can be a combination of trips on the road, fun things done at home or just small excursions out into the backyard to write about any new discoveries.
  • Collecting postcards or pictures and putting them into a book with space underneath for your writer to inscribe their explanations is the easiest way to get started with this kind of project.
  • Your children may even want to pretend to be someone else and write about what they imagine that person would do during their travels. The postcards, travel journal, or scrapbook can be written from the perspective of a fictional character they like or one they have created.
  • Instead of a family Christmas newsletter letting everyone know about the latest with your family, have your children write a Summer Newsletter about your family’s latest news. Instead of pictures and clipart associated with the holidays, decorate your newsletter with a summer theme and describe everyone’s escapades.
  • Have your child interview a parent, a grandparent, or other older relative about what summer months or vacations were like when they were growing up. Your child will have a precious keepsake he can look back on when reading his notes from his time together with a loved one.
  • Instead of writing a travel journal or diary about a vacation or vacation spot, your children might want to make a travel brochure with a trifold piece of paper with drawings, captions, and information. They can present facts about the location and experience along with why others should visit on a vacation (a great practice in informative and persuasive writing).

Vacation and Summer Theme Writing Activities for Older Children

For older children who like computers, have them start a travel blog or summer blog/journal including pictures and information about the places or sights seen, even if they are local historical sites or attractions. Or, they can start a blog about a personal interest or hobby. They can have fun filling pages with information on a topic they know and love, as well as include pictures – maybe even of their own creations. If you have older children and you allow them to use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, or Instagram, your children can practice writing skills with descriptions of pictures taken over the summer with “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “why”, and “how” and fun captions or facts along with hashtags.

All Kinds of Writing Activities for All Ages

Writing lists is an easy way to have your children practice writing without feeling like they are really writing. They can make lists of different kinds –

  • books they want to read
  • topics or subjects they want to learn more about – could be a trip to the library for books and movies and a reason to read
  • television shows or movies they want to watch
  • foods they want to try
  • errands or grocery lists
  • to do lists for the day
  • bucket lists of things they want to do by the end of the summer – even if it’s just making every flavor of Jell-O on the store shelf and picking a favorite

List making is great practice in writing and categorizing, working with goals and brainstorming, all valuable skills.

  • Planning a fieldtrip to a local art museum (great for a hot day to take advantage of air conditioning but still get out of the house) during your free time? Have your child pick a favorite piece of artwork and write about it – what they like, what they think it’s about, why they think the artist created it, how it makes them feel, if it reminds them of anything.
  • Kids love telling and hearing good jokes! Have your children make their own joke books with folded and stapled paper. Make a trip to the library for some joke books or find great jokes on the internet to write into the book and draw pictures to go along with the jokes. (Puns and idioms are always fun to draw!)
  • Some children love drawing and creating their own comic books with characters they love or characters they create.
  • Do you have a budding thespian in your family who loves to act? Maybe they will want to create their own play and write scripts, tickets, signs, and programs. This will require a lot of writing.
  • Have your child start a story with a line or a few lines and then mail that piece of paper to a grandparent and ask them to continue the story with a few lines and return the story to your child. Continue taking turns adding a few lines and mailing it back and forth over the summer months and have fun reading the story in progress and the final story at the end of the summer. Everyone might be surprised by the twists and turns this story takes!

Whatever writing activity you choose this summer, remember to just have fun with it! Your child will get more out of it than you think possible.

Katie GlennonKatie Glennon – Volunteer Contributor

Katie is a homeschool mom who graduated two boys who are now in college. Katie has an English and Secondary Education degree with classroom, online, and coop teaching experience as well as teacher training for grades PK through adult. Katie loves learning history through hands-on activities and science through nature exploration and has a passion for literature and the written word! Katie loves to share her experiences and joy for learning with other homeschoolers to help them make their journey more enjoyable and less stressful! Visit her at Katie’s Homeschool Cottage!


 

#SUMMER ACTIVITIES, #SUMMER LEARNING, #SUMMER READING

Jamie Gaddy

Jamie Gaddy, B.S., M.Ed., Ed.D. has been a college education professor for over 17 years. Education has been a part of her life in both the classroom and as a principal. Six children later found her dissatisfied with traditional school and homeschool became the better fit. She is also a pastor’s wife, editor, and entrepreneur who now homeschools four of her six children in Georgia. Jamie loves to share about her homeschool experience to help other homeschoolers find success. Connect with her at [email protected].