Parent Tip: The value of metaphor
In Level 5: Solo Editing, we ask your child to write metaphors, extended metaphors (also covered in Level 4: Grammar & Punctuation for Life), aphorisms, and a parody. We include these practices in our program as an extension of the intellectual habit of looking for connections between ideas. Looking for and articulating connections is a big part of the argument development skillset kids learn in Level 2: Arguments in Microcosm, and remains a theme throughout our program. You can read more about why we teach this way here.
Metaphors are the original deep connection and are fundamental to the way humans make sense of our existence. While it may be relatively easy to riddle our texts with cliches such as “laughter is the best medicine,” it’s far more difficult to notice and articulate new metaphors, though kids vary. Some kids naturally think and speak in metaphors. You know these kids when they complain to you that the carrots on their dinner plate aren’t happy (i.e., bright orange, moist, and sweet) or that the street you’re walking on is a nervous dog (i.e., feels unsettled and soon to burst into loud fighting). Other kids don’t think this way unless prompted; perhaps their minds are disposed to linear logic. Both types of kids can benefit from being given space and support to grow their ability to write metaphors. The naturally disposed kid can dive deeper into all the deeper connections they’re hungry to articulate, and the more logically-disposed kids can add a new layer to their understanding of the world. (We also do the reverse, and help the metaphor kids learn to reason using logic.)
If your child is struggling to write metaphors that aren’t cliches, please have them drop into Live Help Hours, or send us a message. Kids who have completed earlier levels of June Writers should be ready to complete these practices without roadblocks because they’ve already done so much work on noting connections. We can help kids who don’t yet have that bundle of experience under their belts get up to speed, too. Our program is a tailor, not a factory.
