The summer’s almost over and many young people have stayed busy with swimming, golf, and piano lessons, taekwondo, and just plain sleeping in. My grandchildren have also been included in all of the above, but they are also learning another activity that has become exciting to them and us. They are learning to become proficient in writing!
Now, writing is NOT one of those subjects that would thrill you to talk about. Nor are kids necessarily attracted to the idea of writing. As a former teacher of elementary school-aged students, I can affirm that writing is oftentimes a very difficult skill for young people to grasp. Grammar, correct verb tense, sentence structure, punctuation, and capitalization all make for a difficult mix for many young minds to grasp. However, blogging is for kids and can help alleviate the dread of writing because it is becoming a popular learning tool that we can’t ignore.
Our 9- and 12-year old grandchildren have both turned into quite the writers and a writing sample can be found here. One grandchild has authored numerous short stories – she writes as a hobby and also she writes stories for assigned homework projects. The other grandchild is learning to research so he adds information that will eventually culminate into a final written project. Although their writings differ in style, genre, and format, the blog offers a place to post articles, sharing ideas with teachers and classmates, and practice self-publishing. Blogging has become a motivator for them to produce written products and has taken away the fear that they used to have for writing.
There are many ways to set up a blog and there is no fee. Go to wordpress.com to register for a free site. However, the knowledge gained by writing is vastly important in so many areas of life. Main industry areas such as business, medicine, and education all require writing skills, and a blog is one of the best ways for young people to learn such a valuable skill.
Get Ron’s Free Guide “3 Simple Steps to Free Blogging”
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I’m so glad to see you working with your grandchildren on their writing skills. I don’t think schools stress how important it is to be able to communicate in writing. They don’t even teach cursive anymore! I look forward to reading more samples of their writing.
Hey, Valerie, I completely agree! It’s fascinating to see how young people have such a grasp of technology, but blogging pushes them to learn to write — and write well! Win-win for them and us!