First, take a deep breath. We all have things in life we don’t like doing, but that we have to do, like making dinner E-V-E-R-Y SINGLE NIGHT. We can help it become less of a dreaded task when we:
Stay calm.
Find a genre of writing our children like: poetry, storytelling, journaling, etc.
Prepare ahead of time for the task. (Gather supplies and find a time to bounce around ideas for a brainstorm.)
Set a realistic time limit. (20 minutes)
Don’t correct anything about their writing; instead praise the things they did well.
Reward them for completing the task no matter how much or little they completed.
If your child hates every kind of writing, I would consider a few questions? Do they hate the “penmanship” part of writing or the “coming up with ideas” part of writing? If it’s the penmanship, try teaching them how to use the FREE Voice to text option on Google Docs. This will also help with self editing since it doesn’t put all the punctuation and capitalization that is needed in a final draft. If they hate coming up with ideas, I would play an “I See, You See” game where they have to describe to you what they see in their mind, and then you do the same. This helps children practice getting the information out of their brain by verbally communicating the information first to you, in a fun way.
If you need a list of December writing topics try some of the options below. (These are great discussion topics too!)
December Writing Prompts
What is your favorite Christmas movie?
What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
What is your favorite Christmas food?
Do you have a favorite Christmas book?
What would you name a pet reindeer?
What do you love/hate about school?
What do you wish your teachers knew about you?
What do you want to study next semester?
What is the hardest part of your life?
What is your favorite Christmas song that you dance to?
Imagine you are in charge of your family’s holiday celebration. What supplies do you need? What are your plans? What do you want to do?
How would you describe a snowflake?
What helps you to settle down when you are upset about things?
What are you grateful for?
Who are you grateful for?
What things in your life are important? Why?
What do you want to accomplish with your hobby over your holiday break?
If you could travel anywhere over Christmas vacation where would you go and why?
Describe your favorite place to complete your schoolwork?
Describe what makes a great treehouse or fort?
How has the weather affected your mood?
What activities do you get to do now that the weather has changed?