Creative writing has always been one of my favorite things to do. It is also one of my favorite things that my children do.
When my children went to a Catholic school, I would be eager to read whatever piece of creative writing they brought home.
Reading the creativity my children put on paper is like a little window into their minds. It tells me what they are interested in and how they are feeling.
When I thought about curriculum for homeschooling, I knew I had to have some creative writing involved. We have our journals, but I wanted to teach my kids how to bring out a creative side they may have never realized they had.
Miss who is in the fifth grade does well with creative writing. Lil D who is in 2nd grade needs to learn about the subject a bit more.
I came across the book Stories With a View by Margot Davidson. This book is filled with classic poems and artwork to get the kids’ creative juices flowing. The child reads a poem or looks at a painting. Together we discuss what they’re looking at or reading. Then the child is asked to write a poem or story based on the painting or poem.
The first lesson we did was on the poem Trees by Joyce Kilmer. The children are asked to write a poem about trees or creation. Miss took off with this.
Here is a sample of what she wrote:
Creation
A flower with her colorful gentle hair
I see nature everywhere
Birds and trees galore
As I play I hear bears snore
When I asked Lil D to write the poem, he just stared at me. He told me he likes winter, so we went from there. I had him read the Trees poem again to get the feel of the timing. I told him to tell me all the things he could about winter and I would help him turn his words into romantic language. He stared at me again and said, “What? Are we on a date?”
I finally got some sentences out of him and helped him turn it into a poem. Here is a sample of Lil D’s poem.
Winter
On a snow covered bed I make angels
I am a statue in the deep snow.
Under the frozen lake fish sleep
Snowball fights and forts
Star wars in the snow
The book Stories With a View is one of my favorite pieces of curriculum. It is always a mystery what kids may come up with when they have paper, a pencil, and a wide-open imagination.
This book gives the child a point of view for their creativity without taking anything away from them. This book is great for children who do well with creative writing and those who need a little help.
Maybe by the end of the year I will have a little Longfellow, or a Seuss, or kids who love to write–I would be happy with that.
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Kelly writes at Soul Pockets
photo by Marind is waiting for les tambours de la pluie
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Creative writing has always been a favorite of mine, too. I actually taught a creative writing class last year to homeschoolers in 4th-6th grade…it was so fun seeing how they learned and grew!
The book you mentioned sounds great, I’ll have to check it out and with the poems your kids wrote you just may have a Longfellow or Seuss! Great job!
Sounds like a great book — I’ll have to look into it!
I have this book and it also works well just used as picture/poetry study.
My oldest daughter hasn’t wanted to write stories based on the pictures or poems (she has her own ideas and no shortage of them) but the pictures/poems coupled with discussing the questions still has been fruitful.