Kids will feel special writing autobiographies about themselves. Prompt them by asking questions about their ages, their appearances and their favorites, such as their favorite toys or foods. After they've written a few sentences, have them draw self-portraits or help them glue a photograph of themselves on the paper. Kids can also "interview" family members or friends and write and illustrate biographies about them.
Get children to unleash their creativity by giving them a prompt that relates to a story you've just read together. For example, after reading "Goodnight Moon," kids can write about their bedtime routines, or after reading "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," they can write about their favorite foods. You can also ask children to write about what they would do in a situation presented in a book. If kids seem stuck, ask them questions to help them get started.
Students can make up stories from a variety of pictures, including wordless picture books, photographs in magazines or pictures they have drawn. Don't worry if kids' stories don't make logical sense; encourage them to be creative and inventive. If they get stuck, prompt them by drawing their attention to a specific part of the picture or simply ask them "What happens next?"
Greeting cards represent a fun writing and art project. Fold pieces of construction paper in half and let the students draw pictures on the front. Then help them write a message on the inside. Homemade greeting cards are great for relatives' birthdays, Christmas and thank-you notes to relatives and teachers.
Parents and educators can encourage writing development by making writing materials easily accessible to kids and modeling writing frequently. For example, parents can put together a "writing box" at home that includes paper, a small spiral notebook, crayons, pencils, markers, stickers and colored pencils. Parents can also add small notepads to other play areas; for example, kids can write grocery lists while playing house. Parents and teachers can also model writing for children by explaining to kids why they write lists and keep a calendar.