Parent Tips: Free writes

Your child might not know what to write during a June Writers free write, or feel overwhelmed, just like adult writers facing a blank screen. We encourage you to help your child get going if they are stuck; ask them to say their first sentence out loud and then write down what they just said. Resist the urge to judge what they produce after that point. Instead, note where you see progress in their physical skills and engage them on ideas that they bring up in their writing. You should expect what they write to be raw thought. We want them to tell us what they really think, not what they believe we want to hear.

If your child is not yet physically able to write continuously for 20 minutes, be prepared to swap in when they reach their limit and take dictation. Balance the thought work with physical skill development.