Every Day Writing Made Easy!

“I don’t know what to write!” This is an often occurring lament in our homeschooling household. Although my son is now a teen, he still struggles to come up with topics and ideas when it’s time to write. Sometimes, I want to take the easy way out and skip the writing lesson. There is plenty to do, and there are other subjects he prefers. That said, I try not to skip writing. Why?

• Students who write in their daily lessons are better communicators when they graduate high school.
• Students who write in response to a prompt become better at articulating their thoughts and opinions as they age.
• Students who write in their daily learning activities have a better grasp of grammar and syntax rules and can apply them to other subjects as they continue their education.
• Research shows that there are distinct differences in college freshmen between those who had a daily writing curriculum and those who did not.
• Students who are stronger writers do better across all subject areas.

Writing well matters. Strong writing doesn’t just happen. It takes time and consistency. This means we must find ways to incorporate it into our daily homeschool lessons. Before you throw in the towel or stop reading this article, there are tried-and-true ways to easily incorporate writing into your lessons.

1. Start small. Writing doesn’t have to be grandiose. Writing is like Legos. It builds off itself. When students start small, it helps build the skill, which then leads to growing the skill. Start with answering questions out loud, then begin with writing those answers onto paper. Let the sentences build into a paragraph.
2. Stay consistent. Even if writing doesn’t happen every day, it should happen at least every week. For example, on Monday mornings, my son writes in his journal (Journaling Through Scripture for Teens, by Late November Learning Tree). At first, he complained, but now it’s a habit. He likes that on Monday mornings when he’s tired from a busy weekend, he can sit down and have quiet time with his writing journal. We also have a literature response journal so that when he completes a reading section, he writes three main points he just read. These are consistent, and he knows to expect them.
3. Connect writing to different subjects. Do you have a cool history lesson? Have your student write a paragraph about three interesting facts he learned. Are you working on a science project? Your student can write out step-by-step directions for it and then walk you through it. Did you just finish a great book? Have your student write a starred review of it. What did they like about the book? What didn’t they like? How many stars would the book earn and why?
4. Not all writing should be graded. It’s important that students have writing outlets that aren’t always graded or critiqued. My son’s journal responses are not graded or marked up. They are used to start conversations and to get his brain moving in the right direction. Some writing should be more formal and critiqued, but if your student struggles with writing, make sure to incorporate some fun ways to write that won’t get marked up by a red pen.

Don’t let writing cause stress for you or your student! There are fun, easy ways to bring it into your homeschool lessons that will eventually lead to the daily or weekly habit of writing. Remember that habits take time, so be patient and consistent. As your student gets older, their writing will improve, and you will be glad you took the time for them to strengthen this important skill.