Seven reasons why today's children
need to write creatively

Children who write...

#1 learn about themselves

We write who we are.

Writing gives children opportunities to explore their own thoughts, feelings, and ideas. These are all fleeting, fluttery things, and writing them as they happen allows young imaginations to capture them, look at them, run with them.
 
When children write, they imagine, and invent, and innovate.

#2 understand others

When creating characters, we look at the people around us for inspiration.

Children put on the shoes of others and go for long walks, developing insight and empathy along the way.

#3 are confident

Writing ourselves onto paper - and sharing what we write in group workshops - allows others to see us from the inside.
 
As children write and share, they're encouraged to push at their creative boundaries. They develop their own unique voices, and become confident communicators.

#4 have fun!

Second to none in their ability to imagine and fantasise, children love telling stories!

In writing classes, children often don’t know what they'll write until they put pencil to paper - it's a fascinating voyage of discovery.

#5 get organised

In developing story plots, we look at cause and effect, action and reaction, what comes first, and next, and after that.

As they learn to create cohesive pieces of work, in which elements work together logically and in an orderly fashion, children become logical planners, and critical thinkers.

#6 stay healthy

Writing gives children time to think. When they write, children disengage from their busy, sometimes stressful lives, and slow down.

Psychologists believe for good mental health - in childhood and beyond - we need to utilise a healthy balance of analytical AND creative thinking.

#7 write well

Just like any other kind of writing, a well written story demands good grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, sentence and paragraph structure, and spelling.

When children write stories regularly, they improve the technical side of their writing - and they enjoy doing it.

Children who enjoy writing stories, enjoy writing.