When we think of arts and creativity, we often think of arts and crafts. But what about all those whacky stories your child tells and the funny poems they write? Don’t forget, language arts is also a wonderful medium for creativity!
Creative writing is a great way to get kids to think creatively, both in terms of ideas and language use. Yet, while many parents see the importance of reading, and actively encourage their children to read, fewer parents actively encourage their child to write creatively. Instead, children usually get most of their writing practice in school.
If you’re looking for varied ways to develop and promote creativity in your child, then neglecting creative writing is out of the question. Making it a regular activity for your child at home can reap them plenty of rewards in terms of boosting their language skills and communicative confidence. Here are some more reasons to give your child some time with a pencil and writing pad today!
Turning ideas into words
Is your child full of imaginative ideas all the time? From their fantasies of dragon dungeons to magical fairies, writing gives them an outlet to present their wildest ideas. Writing helps them put these thoughts into words, developing the crucial skill of being able to sort their ideas and phrase them coherently.
More introspectively, writing also requires a thought process of thinking through one’s ideas, experiences, and feelings. It can be beneficial for children to learn how to express their personal thoughts and memories, making them more self-aware and confident in the process.
Problem-solving
A conflict and resolution are the basic ingredients to any good story. Fictional as most of your child’s stories might be, they still need to craft a solution for the problem in the story. From lost pets to a dispute amongst friends, the wide range of story topics means plenty of different scenarios to think about.
Children will need to exercise their problem-solving skills each time they write, not just to craft any solution, but solutions that are believable yet exciting for the reader! Through creative writing, children can become more comfortable with the process of brainstorming and selecting feasible ideas.
Practising empathy
Creative writing can come in many forms. Some are personal recounts, while others are third-person narratives. Thus, writing, like acting, requires one to be able to be sensitive to varying perspectives, feelings, and personalities, in order to portray different characters.
As a writer, children will learn not just how to put themselves into the shoes of others, but also gain vocabulary of how to describe these emotions. This can have an impact on building up a child’s communicative intelligence.
Building up concentration
Writing a complete story takes time, and a child can take anything from 20 minutes to more than an hour to work on one. While that means a moment of peace for parents, it also presents a wonderful opportunity for children to practise their concentration.
This practice of focus and getting into a state of ‘flow’ is a valuable one, even as the world increasingly feeds us with distractions and shortens our attention spans. Amidst the writing process, children also learn how to persevere and perfect their work through multiple drafts and revisions.
Suffice to say, creative writing is something that shouldn’t be overlooked, even at home! Alongside other creative activities like drawing and craftwork, incorporating some time for writing activities at home will be beneficial to your child’s development.
It also goes without saying that the partnership of a strong language curriculum in school will help your child become more confident in their language abilities and creative ideas. The school is one of the best international schools in Singapore for an IB education, in part thanks to their diverse, rigorous, and engaging language programmes. With actively implemented reading programmes and an extensive library collection, your child will have no lack of inspiration for all their writing projects!