A School Age Child Writing Activity – Set up a Writing Center



Posted: Sunday, September 17, 2006

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Creative Child Activity Notebook

In order for a child to express him or herself well, it is important to develop writing skills as early as possible. A child writing activity can help develop the skills they need to become a good writer. This activity will allow them to practice grammar and sentence structure along with creative thinking.

The first child writing activity happens at the preschool age. They learn how to hold a crayon or pencil, and move it from left to right on the paper. Next the kindergarten child learns how to express him or herself, group objects, and put pictures into logical classifications. They also learn how to recognize complete sentences.

Beginning in first grade, children learn grammar and word usage, and begin to have a well-rounded knowledge of writing concepts and processes. They should also continue to work on their creative thinking skills using fun writing activities that encourage their imagination.

A great idea for a child writing activity is to set up a writing center. This writing center will allow children to practice their writing skills during free time. Find an area that you can set up the writing center and leave it set up all the time. A small table or desk area will work just fine. Provide pencils, crayons or markers and paper for the children to use. Make a poster to post over the area that says, Write Super Sentences. Directions to list on the poster include:

  1. See how many sentences you can make.
  2. Copy the sentences on a sheet of paper.
  3. Draw a picture of the best sentence.
For the writing center, label five containers (1 lb. Coffee cans work great) with:

  • Describing words – Adjectives
  • Who or What – Nouns
  • Did What? – Verbs
  • Where?
  • When?
Then make 5-10 cards or slips of paper that has suggested words for each category. Place these inside the appropriate category (container). Use words appropriate for your child’s grade level. As the child progresses and words become too easy, add more difficult words to each category.

Another child writing activity to add to the writing center would be to have them make 5-10 sentences that they will put together to make a story. Let them use their creative thinking skills and imagination to write a short story. Have them illustrate their story and put all the short stories together into a binder for others to read. No matter how silly the story turns out, it is their original writing!

As a mother, grandmother, and child development professional, Nancy Johnson, shares over 20 years experience working with children and planning activities on her website, Creative-Child-Activity-Notebook.com. Check it out for more school age child activity ideas including learning, holiday, party, cultural, and nature child activity ideas.

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