Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
Writing is a valuable life skill. Everything we do involves communicating through speaking, reading, or writing. Even if you don’t write essays, you must be able to communicate thoughts clearly in writing. Most people need to be able to communicate effectively through e-mail for their jobs or businesses. This requires proficient writing skills. I believe and know that writing is a skill that can be learned through systematic instruction and practice. The way you get better at writing is by writing.
Whether your children are home educated or attend a school outside of the home, I think it is up to us parents to ensure that they receive proficient writing skills.
This became even more clear to me this week. I took my 16 year old son to our local community college for a placement test so that he can do duel enrollment for the next 2 years.
Happily, he soared through the math scoring well beyond high school level math. Sadly, because I teach writing, he didn’t do so well on the writing portion. He made careless organization, spelling, and mechanic errors. Over the past year, I’ve pointed these type of errors out to him. However, he wasn’t willing to receive the feedback from me, his mom. WriteAtHome would have helped him develop as a writer much better than my instruction even though I am qualified to teach him.
I like the way WriteAtHome focuses on the needs of each student and strives for improvement rather than a grade. My motto is as follows: “Mistakes are for learning”. WriteAtHome helps students through their mistakes. They also make the lessons interesting which motivates children to write.
For those that know me, I mostly write posts that give you nuts and bolts on how to help your children increase their literacy skills. Currently, I am not affiliated with any company. Therefore, this post is shared with you solely out of my excitement that this type of program is available for our children to increase their writing skills.
Additionally, I am going to meet Brian Wasko, the founder of WriteAtHome, June 11- 13, 2015 at the HEAV Convention. I’m excited to learn about how he helps kids be better writers. Click here to see his seminars.
What WriteAtHome can do for you
WriteAtHome also has helpful tips on their blog.
In conclusion, no matter what you use, it is important to help your children develop their writing skills. They will use the skills for life.
How do you ensure your children are developing their writing skills? I’d love to know. 🙂
Let’s make a positive difference~ one word at a time.
♥Pamela
Please share this article with others that you think would benefit from these tips. Also, please ask any questions that you may have about teaching children reading or writing. Leave your questions in the comments. I’ll answer. 
To learn more about Literate For Life, see the welcome post.
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Photo Credit 1. maywood.org 2. writeshop.com 3. everything-home.usstoragesearch.com 4. WriteAtHome.com
Very interesting post Pamela! I think that children/teens, in the age of texting and emoticons, really are losing their writing skills. So great that they have these types of programs to help them hone their writing skills. Thanks for sharing in the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
Renee,
You are right, in the age of instant messaging, we have to work even harder to instill correct writing conventions. I’ll prevail. 🙂 As you know, good writing skills are more important than ever.
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela
What a fabulous post. Literate for Life is such a great concept. Can even begin to count how many times I told my high school students that “The way you get better at writing is by writing.” I taught writing for 25+ years, and there are very few, if any, skills as important as being able to express oneself in writing. Thanks so much for sharing and joining us on the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
Cheryl,
Thank you. 🙂 Wow, 25+ years teaching writing. I know I can learn from you. 🙂
You are so right; writing skills are more important than ever.
Together, we make a positive difference ~ one word at a time. 🙂
Pamela