Homeschooling parents have a great opportunity to tailor their childrens’ education around specific needs and learning styles. When your child takes a keen interest in a specific topic, you can explore that topic to a greater extent than would be possible in a class with twenty-five students.

It is important, however, not to let your child’s lack of interest for certain subjects dictate whether or not an important skill is covered. I have talked to thousands of parents this summer at homeschool conventions, and I see this happening repeatedly in the area of writing. If a child is a reluctant writer, parents decide to opt out of having the child engage in structured writing instruction and practice. In many homes writing is being treated more like an optional learning style rather than a required subject like math and reading.

The ability to communicate effectively through writing is an essential skill in almost any professional field your child may choose to go into as an adult. For example,

• Scientists must publish their findings in peer reviewed journals,
• Historians must become story tellers that bring people and events from the past to life through the written word,
• Business people must be able to write a compelling case for a new business idea,
• Medical professionals must write or dictate summaries of their patients on a daily basis so that other caregivers can continue a care regimen, and
• Engineers must create technical documentation for each of their new designs.

Writing in Public Schools

Because of its importance, writing should be an integral part of a child’s Language Arts program from Kindergarten through graduation. Schools across the country (and many homeschooling parents as well) are beginning to put more emphasis on writing. If you were to go into almost any exemplary elementary school in the country, you would find children writing on a daily basis. Once they have mastered their letters and are beginning to write words, even Kindergarten children are asked to keep a journal. The emphasis on writing in primary and secondary schools is also being driven in large part by the inclusion of a writing component on the SAT. University faculty have lamented that fewer freshman were prepared for the more rigorous writing required at the university level, and now the SAT has a writing component that is weighted equally with math and reading (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7031480/).

Reluctant Writers

I believe that writing should be a part of the daily routine of every homeschool student as well. Many children, however, are reluctant writers and homeschool parents often acquiesce to their children’s complaints and allow them to simply dictate written assignments or bypass them altogether. Most parents would not consider allowing children to opt out of math assignments, regardless of the protest. Writing should be treated much the same way. It is a very important skill and should be practiced daily.

There are many factors that may lead to children turning off to writing. These include

• Excessive copy work with little opportunity to express ideas and creativity,
• Writing that is isolated from a child's learning and experiences, and
• Strict adherence to grammar and spelling rules too early.

The Art of Writing

Young children should be given opportunities to practice writing letters and copying words to improve their penmanship, but it is also important to practice the art of writing. These are two very different skills. Copy work and practicing letters help a child improve handwriting skills. Creative and open-ended writing allow children to practice the art of writing while at the same time providing practice in the mechanics of writing. Many homeschool programs focus almost solely on the skill of handwriting in the younger years, leaving out activities and assignments that encourage children to record personal responses, observations, and creative thoughts. Through expressive writing activities, children are practicing the mechanics of writing (correct formation of letters and age-appropriate spelling) in a much more engaging and meaningful way.

Writing does not have to be drudgery. It can be approached in a fun and creative way that stems from a child's own experiences and from what is being learned in daily lessons. Writing should be a natural extension of a child’s ideas and observations of the world.

Writing Across Disciplines

Writing should be encouraged across the disciplines and not only reserved for language arts instruction. As mentioned earlier, writing is an essential skill for scientists, medical professionals, business people, historians, and politicians. I believe that it is essential to tie writing instruction into what children are learning, rather than teaching it only as an isolated subject. When a kindergarten child is learning about the seasons of the year in science, for example, she can be asked to write about her favorite season, about the weather she observes when she looks out the window, or about what she likes to do on a winter day. After conducting a science experiment, a child can write the results of the experiment, describe what occurred, and reflect on why she thinks it happened. As a child learns about historical time periods, she can write a journal entry from the perspective of someone who was an eye-witness or a newspaper editorial about an historical event.

Even if a young child does dictate some of her ideas for a parent to record, she is still practicing skills in the art of writing. A major writing skill is formulating an idea and staying on topic. She is also learning that writing has meaning and is used to convey a message or an idea.

Writing Through the Elementary Years

Early Elementary

In the early years (ages 5 and 6) the focus of writing should be on the content, as opposed to spelling and grammar skills. When children are young we can actually stifle their writing abilities by focusing too much on grammar and correct spelling. If a child thinks he is going to have to correct every single word he misspells, he may stop using challenging words. If a young child is under the impression that he must correctly use commas and conjunctions, he may start writing short and choppy sentences. A good strategy for young children is to keep the focus of spelling corrections on common words and words covered in spelling instruction. Focus on a few grammar rules in kindergarten and first grade, such as starting sentences with capital letters, using correct punctuation at the end of the sentence, and making sure that every sentence has a subject and a predicate.

This approach does not belittle the importance of grammar rules and correct spelling, but instead highlights the importance of writing as a means to communicate. More complex grammar rules and spelling will be introduced as children progress through the grade levels.

My own son was a reluctant writer when he was first learning to write his letters. He only turned on to writing once he was able to express his own creative ideas and his own reflections. Before he got to that point, however, he had to practice something that he would have preferred to avoid. Once we got over the initial hump he began to excel in his writing. For about the second half of my son’s first grade year he would use his spelling words in conversations that took place between gnomes and fairies. He was told to use each spelling word for the week in a sentence, but how he chose to do this was up to him. His sentences became longer and more interesting throughout the year and the vocabulary he used was quite amazing. If I had asked him to correct every word he spelled incorrectly or to use quotation marks correctly, he certainly would have regressed in his writing because he would have become frustrated. He knew he had to spell his spelling words correctly, start sentences with capital letters and use correct punctuation at the end of each sentence. Outside of those parameters he felt free to express himself and his own ideas. The spelling words actually became a very small piece of his written work. The ideas and vocabulary were more important to him. Sometimes he would get so into his writing that he would actually forget to use his spelling words. That is what a parent loves to see!

Later Elementary

As children get older, we introduce more rules of writing and of course they learn more correct spellings of words in their spelling instruction. By this point however, they have learned to express themselves through the written word and have learned that writing is a natural extension of everything they are learning.

Once children are comfortable as writers, we introduce more rules of writing and spelling. But as children get older and gain more skills in the mechanics of writing, we still have to reinforce the importance of voice, word choice, and ideas. It is not enough that they use correct grammar and spelling in their writing. This is why it is so critical that writing be integrated with literature studies. Children learn to write by reading quality literature. I have never met an excellent writer who didn't love to read. Reading and writing must go hand in hand. As children read they should examine how writers use descriptive words that impact a reader and should find examples of figurative language in text, such as alliteration, hyperbole, similes and metaphors. Then they can be encouraged to model these elements and techniques in their own writing.

In the later elementary years, children should also be introduced to different forms of writing such as report writing, persuasive writing, and poetry.

Earlier we referred to writing as an art. Just as art students learn about art by studying artists throughout history who have made an impact on the world and by exploring a variety of different techniques of famous artists, writers must do the same. They must examine closely the works of professionals. This is why the Moving Beyond the Page language arts program in the upper-elementary years has a literature focus. The mechanics of writing are taught in the context of reading an excellent piece of literature. Then the mechanics of writing are applied as children practice a variety of types of writing and respond to a variety of prompts. For example, a child may study the rules of correct comma usage and practice this skill in an activity where he is asked to add the correct punctuation to sentences that are missing commas. Then later in the unit, he will be given a writing assignment and will have to apply his knowledge of the correct use of commas to his own piece of writing.

We also encourage children to look at how authors use descriptive language that appeals to the reader and makes their writing interesting. Children record examples of this from literature and then practice using interesting and descriptive words in their own writing.

Balancing the Art and Mechanics of Writing

Many reluctant writers could be much more motivated to write if writing were presented in a more creative, open-ended format as opposed to only copying letters, words, and sentences in the early years. In upper elementary grades, it is important to emphasize voice, figurative language, and ideas as well as grammar and spelling rules. A balance between the art of writing and the mechanics of writing is essential to a child’s academic development and future success.