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How to Encourage Children to Write a Story: Is the First Step to Draw?

When teaching your children to write creatively and to express themselves through words and drawings, there isn't a firm set of rules or a structured order. The goal is to encourage imagination and to instill in your children a love of literature, stories, writing and art. To this end, you can try several different approaches to making homemade story books. The first step can be to encourage your children to draw.

Craft paper (8.5 X 11 inches)
Crayons
Colored pencils
Markers

Instructions

- 1
  Give each child a blank sheet of 8.5 X 11 inch paper.
- 2
  Lay out a variety of art tools, such as crayons, markers and colored pencils, in your work space.
- 3
  Tell your children that today they will be making story books. Tell them to think of an idea for a story they would like to tell. Think of a main character who will tell the story. On the piece of paper, they should draw their main character doing something. This is the beginning of their story.
- 4
  Give the children additional sheets of paper. Instruct them to tell a new part of the story with their main character on each sheet. They can draw new characters at any time.
- 5
  Create a story book of your own as an example. Read it to the children, and show them what they are to do through your example.

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