Teaching kids to write

My kids were once reluctant writers.  They would sit at the table and stare at a blank paper or screen for hours.  (You think I'm exaggerating, don't you? I'm not. HOURS.) I always dreaded the assignments that consisted of them writing a story.  This might sound odd, since I'm a writer, but it's true.  They couldn't even get past "Once upon a time." Often, they couldn't even get that far.  They refused to start the story with Once upon a time unless it was a fairy tale.  And they didn't write fairy tales.

I'd sit down with them and ask they what they wanted to write about.  Sometimes I'd get a blank look and sometimes I'd get a rough summary, but even with a summary it was too hard for them to know where to start.  Finally, I told them to start with a character and build from there.  So I thought I'd write a quick little story starter for other parents of reluctant writers.

Who is the character?  

-Animal or a person?  

-Male or female?

-Name?

-What does the character look like?

-What is something funny about character?

What does the character want more than anything in the world?

-It could be a thing like a toy 

-Maybe they want to go somewhere like Disneyland

-It could be getting parents or enough food.

What is in the way of the character reaching the goal?

-Not enough money

-Mean people are keeping him from his family

When does the story take place? 

-It could be a time of day or year

-It could be in the future

Where is the character?

-Home

-Dungeon

-Farm

Why does the character want what he wants?

-Did he see an amazing toy?

-Is he lonely?

-Is he jealous of someone else?

How is the character going to go after his goal?

-Does he get a job?

-Does he escape?

With all these questions answered, you have a basic outline for a story.  The child doesn't have to use the examples listed below the question, but every question must be answered in their own words. Here's a first sentence to help them get started.

All (Character) ever wanted was (desire).

From there, they can build their story. It is important that they use every answer they gave for the questions above.  This is, obviously, a tool for very young writers.  But, once a child learns how to transfer the stories in their head to paper, they will have the tools they need and you will no longer be standing in the middle of the kitchen at 10:00 pm yelling at them to PLEASE JUST WRITE SOMETHING!

Our Books

Snow Angels

by Lezlie Anderson

5.0 of 5 stars

A winter storm, a family, and an idea for a service project all add up to a delightful Christmas surprise! When Mom and Dad suggest serving their neighbors for the holiday, their kids can’t stop grumbling. But as they secretly shovel snow, their attitudes change, and soon the parents can’t get the kids to stop serving. Share the joys of serving others in this wonderful Christmas pamphlet.

Coming October 14 2014!

Amazon 

Barnes and Nobel 

Rebel Princess
(This damsel is NOT in distress!)

"I was born to be evil.

Nice is NOT in my blood.

Besides, nice girls get locked in towers.".

Raven Perilous is like any other middle school girl--if middle school girls are usually evil princesses. The daughter of a gentle princess and evil sorcerer, Raven spends most of her time being as wicked as possible to avoid being stuck in a tower.  So when Prince Charming shows up at her school.  Raven knows she has met her nemesis.

In The Rebel Princess, loyalty, heroism, and a pinch of enchantment are perfect for conjuring up an adventure that you'll never forget.

Amazon
Barnes and Nobel

The Candy Cane Queen

(Kindle edition)

Susan Winters has a secret. Every year at Christmas time, she abandons her solitary lifestyle and anonymously spreads the joy and spirit of Christmas as The Candy Cane Queen. But this year, something's about to change. This touching story shares the important message that at Christmastime we need each other more than ever. Perfect for the whole family to enjoy together!

Amazon Link

Barnes and Nobel Link

Tween Spa Party

I'm a little behind on my blogging.  I've been working on my book and I'm so excited to announce that I am getting a book published! Rebel Princess will be out June 2014.  I will post a picture of the cover as soon as my publisher sends it to me.  I'll blog more about the book when the release date gets closer.  Needless to say, I am very excited.

I've been meaning to post my daughter's birthday party for months.  (The green grass and shorts should give you an indication as to how long!)

For my daughter's 12th birthday, she wanted a spa party.  We decided to keep it simple.  See the decorations on the side of the house?  That was all the decorating and we even already had them in the basement.  Party's don't need to be extremely elaborate to be fun. 

I did secure the table clothes with an elastic band, as you can see in the picture.  That was to keep the cloth from blowing away.  Worked like  a charm and it's kind of cute too.  Win! My daughter's friends have faces.  I just blurred them out because they're not my kids.  I blurred my daughter's face too, just so she wouldn't feel left out. They're all adorable.  You'll have to take my word for it.

The first activity was to decorate shopping bags. I got fabric markers and rulers with lettering.  They all put their names on their bags so there wasn't any confusion.  I was surprised at how long they all took to decorate their bags.  They spent a lot of time chatting about boys and camps that were coming up. They also sang funny parodies.  Twelve year old girls are too fun.  The bags turned out very cute and they were excited to take them home.  I found the canvas bags on Amazon in bulk.

Next, they filled their bags with goodies.  I found scented hand sanitizer at Bath and Body works for a dollar each.  We also found a 12 pack of flavored lip gloss for a few dollars at a party store.  Then we added all sorts of chocolates because my daughter insisted that girls needed chocolate at a spa party.

Once their bags were filled (and their mouths), we played a game of musical toes.  The pink table cloth isn't really necessary, but I thought some girls might not like sitting on grass.  It also made it easier if a bottle of polish was dropped.  For this game, I got a 20 piece lot of nail polish from Amazon for about $20. (The price has gone up since then.) The girls picked a color and I turned on some music.  When the music stopped, they painted a toe nail.  A few of the girls wanted to do finger nails instead.  I let them pick.  They all ended up with super cute multicolored nails. They got a little silly so it spread onto their toes too. 

I you're thinking of doing something like this, be sure to have polish remover handy.  Several girls wanted to remove the polish they had before painting with new colors. I had a little basket with all the polish, a bottle of remover, and cotton. It was nice doing it outside so we didn't have to worry about spills or getting remover on the carpet. 

After the game, I had them each add a bottle of polish to their bags.

Instead of cake, we did cute little cupcakes and ice cream bars.  For the cups, we put temporary tattoos on plastic cups.  They looked pretty fancy.  Most of the girls took their cup home instead of throwing it away.  I froze green punch in a star shaped ice cube tray and poured the lemon lime soda over it.  It was a huge success. It was cute and tasted really good.  I also had plain water available for the girls who didn't like soda.  The frozen punch worked well in water too.

I worried that we wouldn't have enough activities, but the girls spent a lot of time chatting, singing, playing with balloons, and taste testing chocolates so it filled up most of the time.  Once my daughter opened her presents and all the cupcakes were gone, the two hours were over and it was time for the girls to go home.

It turned out to be quite a successful party. The girls had a great time and I didn't spend a boatload of cash.  Win!

Super Easy Link Costume

I was walking my cute 3rd grader home from school on Tuesday and he told me they were going to have a superhero day and he needed a costume.  I said that sounded like fun.  When was the day? Turns out it was that Friday and he needed me to sew an entire Link costume. (I agreed only because he's going to use the same costume for Halloween.) Link is the hero in the Zelda video games.  There are also *graphic novels available. 

I've come to smash your pots and take all your rupees!

On Wednesday, I went to the store and bought the green undershirt and an XL men's shirt.  I put the XL shirt on my son and marked the places to cut and sew with chalk. (I was short on time and my camera is broken, so I made a lovely drawing to show what I did.)

I took the sides in and used a sleeve to make his hat.  I didn't hem anything. It gives it a rough look.  Also, I don't have any green thread.  It wouldn't have been pretty.

 I cut and sewed while my son was at scouts.  He tried it on on Thursday.  We added the belt and boots.  My husband took the picture so you can't see the boots. And he's wearing the whole outfit today.  Whew!

He couldn't have his sword or shield at school. They will be part of his costume for Halloween.  The light and dark green are swapped, but we weren't going for accurate on this costume.  We were going for fast. 

* A quick note on graphic novels.  They are more than just comic books.  Many of them are on a 5th - 6th grade reading level.  They are perfect for kids who read on a higher level, but have a shorter attention span.  They are also perfect for older kids who struggle with reading or kids that just enjoy reading them. My 9th grader still likes them. (He lets his little brother and sister check them out, though.)

You may be addicted to the internet if . . .

1. You go through withdrawals every time your WiFi light blinks.
2. You posted pictures of your child sitting on the potty (for the first time!) on Facebook.
3. You've forgotten how to use a phone book.
4. You are seriously considering getting a waterproof phone so you can take it in the shower and not miss any new tweets.
5. Your children set the house on fire while you were checking Pinterest.
6. Your first impulse, upon seeing a massive zit somewhere on your body, is to take a picture and post it on Instagram.
7. Fresh air hurts your lungs.
8. You get tired while walking from your computer to the bathroom.
9. You constantly compare real life with a video game.
10. You turn every occasion into a tweet.

Back to school blues.

Just to be clear, I'm not feeling blue. This is my happy day.  I even wrote a song for the occasion. (Sung to the tune of The Sound of Music's Favorite Things.)

Alarm clocks that beep in the wee morning hours,

Kids that forgot to take their nightly showers,

What do you mean, your backpack is gone?

Why won’t you just put your new pants on?

Cute lacy skirts with no matching shirt,

Leggings that somehow got covered with dirt,

Someone is searching for their new shoes,

They are all dealing with back to school blues!

Eat some breakfast, put your shoes on,

You shouldn’t look so sad.

As soon as you’re all out the front door and gone,

Then I won’t feeeeeel soooooooooo bad!

Okay, I admit that I'll miss having them around all day, but I'm also excited for them to get out and grow. They're pretty good at growing.  They do it the moment I buy new clothes for them.  Happy back to school everyone!

Dear Pissed Off Mom...

There has been a letter going around the internet that a woman sent to a mother with an autistic child.  It is rude and cruel.  If you haven't read it, the link is here. I know the woman in question will never see this, but I'm going to post it anyway.

Dear Pissed Off Mom,

I do not have an autistic child.  My kids are, as you put it, normal.  In fact, my kids are very bright.  All three read well above their grade level.  My oldest son even skipped 7th grade math and went straight to 8th grade honors math.

When we first moved into the house we live in now, there was a little boy in our neighborhood that scared my son. This was about nine years ago so my son would have been five.  This little boy often hit him and my tender hearted son couldn't understand why someone would be so mean.  I didn't understand either, but didn't do anything since he wasn't hurting anything but my son's feelings. After a while, we learned this boy was autistic.

I sat my son down and explained to him that this boy's brain was wired differently.  He had a hard time telling what was right and what was wrong.  I told him that the boy was still loved by Heavenly Father, even though he was different.  My son looked doubtful and opted to avoid the kid. I didn't blame him. No one likes to be hit.

Cub Scouts unite!

I was lucky enough to be put in charge of the wolf scouts (8 yr old scouts) a few years later.  I was nervous when the autistic boy joined our little group, but hoped we could find a way to include him. Autism wasn't something I was familiar with, but I read what I could and asked to his mom for advice. I also insisted he have an adult helper of his very own.

The boy was still randomly violent. (He bit another boy and I once had to physically remove him from my cat.) His attention span was short.  He wasn't able to do what most of the other boys could do, but the other boys didn't seem to mind.  They took him in like a little brother.  Even my own son got over his fear and helped out.  They made sure this autistic kid finished every project and completed every requirement we did together. It was an amazing thing to experience.  I expected the other boys to tease or make fun of this autistic kid.  I never heard one negative word toward him.  Not even from the boy he bit.

The boys are teenagers now.  The same age as Max.  My son has learned compassion from this boy. He has learned to look beyond the obvious and see the worth of someone who is different.  My son, who is reading on a college level and skipped a year of math, has learned from a boy who will probably never read. My son no longer fears this boy.  He likes him.  He considers him a friend.  He says the other boy is funny and he likes spending time with him.

So now I am going to do for you what I did for my son years ago.  Max's brain is wired differently from other boys.  He still has feelings.  He matters. He might make strange noises, but all kids do that.  Kids like making weird noises.  Max has so much to offer the world, if you only stop and take the time to see it.  I think if my son can learn compassion and kindness from someone so different, you can too.  Then once you understand, you can explain it to your own children.  They don't need to be afraid.  They can learn to see the worth of someone who is different. Maybe Max could even put a smile on their faces.

Sincerely,
A Loving Mom