Writing is much more than just producing a story. In fact, it can benefit children in multiple ways. For example, it improves their spelling and helps with understanding of grammar. Since writing and reading are closely linked, it can also fuel children’s enthusiasm for the latter.
By creating stories, kids can grow their self-confidence and sense of achievement. But most importantly, writing brings a lot of fun, especially if it’s done in the company of friends and complemented by illustrations.
Also, handwriting can be a great tool to boost children’s imagination. Below, you can find a few reasons why this activity helps kids become more creative.
Why writing improves imagination
It’s quite complex
Complexity is a key to original ideas. Simple actions don’t stimulate visionary thinking. If kids just press buttons on the keyboard, they are less likely to become creative individuals. On the contrary, by acquiring more complex skills, children can develop their imagination.
According to a professor of developmental psychology at the University of Geneva, young learners must feel a pen and be able to direct movements by thought since it stimulates brain activity much better than typing. In its turn, stimulation of certain brain areas ensures good imagination.
It enables creative outcomes
When typing letters on a laptop, we always know what visual outcome we will get. Although we can experiment with fonts and layouts, this is not really about creativity because there is no room for designing original patterns in a digital format. However, handwriting allows children to make every single letter unique.
They can literally draw each word of their story and produce a result that is highly variable. If you encourage kids to combine their art skills and writing, it will definitely enhance their imagination.
It involves a creative space
A paper has three dimensions, so kids can manipulate it in different ways, which is basically impossible with a page on the screen. Hence, handwriting brings more possibilities for creativity. Instead of following a set pattern, kids can benefit from greater freedom.
They are allowed to write on either side, decide whether to set margins or not, superimpose lines or distort them. What’s more, the paper used for handwriting can be folded, cut out or glued. So the opportunity to do all these actions encourages children to use their imaginations and apply a creative approach.
It slows down the brain
Kids can type as quickly as they think and it’s not really good for creativity. In fact, imagination works best when the brain activity is a bit slowed down. Psychologists say that we need to have a calm state of mind and not to rush in order to come up with original ideas. Handwriting prevents children from thinking too fast and thus helps them use their imagination more effectively.
According to professional educators and AssignmentBro writing makers, pupils who write their compositions by hand typically get high grades. Probably this happens because they have a chance to slow down, focus and be more thoughtful.
Some tips for parents
To help your children improve their imagination, you should encourage them to create short stories on a regular basis. You can even take little ones for a trip to a local museum or a forest, so they can get inspiration for story settings. It’s important to praise kids’ efforts in any creative activity they do and to organize an appropriate environment for their development. You should ensure a quiet place where children have everything they need and can write without any distractions. Buy a beautiful notebook for kids and display their works on visible spots to remind them of a great job they did. You can also read those stories aloud and discuss them with kids.
The writing process
As you might already understand, writing stories is extremely useful for imagination boost. However, it might be quite difficult for kids to do it on their own. Therefore, you could offer them some guidance.
To begin with, ask your child to make up a setting and characters for their story. They could think about the number of characters, their appearance, features and behaviors. After that, they can move to an introduction. At this stage, they need to decide which time frame to use: present, past or future. Teach your kids to make the introduction as gripping as possible. This can be achieved by describing what characters feel, see or hear.
Next, a little writer needs to think about story development. Help your child to decide if there will be a problem and how it will be resolved. Try to make the resolution extraordinary and construct a mysterious ending. You should also provide your kid with exciting vocabulary and linking words to make the writing process easier. Besides, explain how the language can be used to evoke a particular mood in readers.
Final thoughts
Writing can be a bit overwhelming for kids. But this activity should be done on a daily basis since it’s essential for child development. In particular, writing is a great way to boost imagination and creative thinking. Hopefully, this article gave some valuable insight on how to use this simple tool for educational purposes.
