Daniela Singh

1. Have a story-filled life.

The best writers are avid readers. Read to your child every day. You say your child’s in middle school? Read to your child every day. Pick a book above your child’s reading ability, or take turns reading pages in a book of his choice. When your children are young, tell stories in the car, the doctor’s office, or when you’re pushing the stroller. Above all, talk to your children.

2. Recognize and celebrate early writing.

When your two-year-old scribbles and calls it his name, he’s writing. When your preschooler writes a string of letters and tells you what it says, he’s writing. And when your kindergartner draws a picture and adds a single word, she’s writing too. Call it that. Celebrate it!

3. Let your child see you write.

When you’re in a rush to head out the door and are scribbling down a grocery list – and your preschooler hangs over your shoulder and asks what you’re doing – take a second. Show him. Let him watch you make lists, send e-mails, write thank you notes, and compose a note for his lunch box.

4. Provide a great variety of writing tools and surfaces for writing, and give your child easy access to them.

Give your children pens, chalk, paint, and markers. Get big pads of newsprint, a chalkboard, or a dry erase board. When your child knows her letters, put her at the computer. Make the font big and bright, and let her type.

5. Create a writing space.

Set up a quiet corner for your child to write. If space is an issue, pack writing materials into a portable container that your child can pull out at the kitchen table. Include pens and pencils, pads of paper and envelopes, a notebook, and a spelling dictionary appropriate for your child’s age.

6. Schedule quality writing time into your day.

Don’t put a writing prompt in front of your child and call that teaching writing. While prompts can serve a useful purpose, the focus of your writing time should be short mini-lessons and plenty of time for independent writing. What’s a mini-lesson? Here are just a few examples:

a) Teach your child how to streeetch out a word and write its sounds.

b) Teach your child how to brainstorm writing ideas.

c) Teach your child to reread her work after she’s written it.

Give your child writing time as often as you can. Would one book a week help your child love to read? Neither would one writing session promote a love of writing. If your child is resistant, use your best judgment. But keep in mind that frequent writing develops the habit of writing. I think that three days a week of 20-40 minutes (depending on age) is better than five days of just 10 minutes a day.