It Got My Son Writing without Whining!

Every child is different they say.  Well, the irony in my family is when all three of my boys were younger, they shared the same distaste for one subject in particular:  WRITING!  As a teacher and a mother, I often felt discouraged.  Many times I  wondered where I went wrong.  

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When Derek was first homeschooled he dreaded the "Morning Journal" with a passion.  Despite well-planned lessons and a great hands-on science project prepped and ready-to-go, my spirits would sink the moment he would plead with a heavy sigh, "Do I HAVE to write in my journal?"  

And, yet, I knew the extreme value associated with implementing daily writing practice into my lessons.  The "daily journal" seemed the simplest, easiest choice, with great freedom, but my son hated it.  Quickly, I discerned that telling Derek he could write about anything that interested him was far from liberating the poor boy.  I may as well followed it with, "and then we'll head to the dentist."  Writing without direction was a form of torture for him. 

From years of reading through multitudes of writing curriculum, I also knew I could find other ideas and solutions.  However, we all know that sometimes there are truly too many options.    

One, however, quickly came to mind.  Knowing that my structure-loving, Lego building boy performed successfully with direct instruction, I concluded a structured, by-the-book writing method just might do the trick.  

Filled with hope and inspiration, I began refreshing my mind on the Four Square Writing Method by Evan J. Gould and Judith S. Gould.  The method is simple which is exactly why it still works all these years later.  

We all know and depend on the facts that math has rules, and science has its own method to follow.  Once Derek realized that writing, too, could have structure, he knew just what to do.  And, the whining came to a halt.  Sometimes change alone can improve attitudes, but it never hurts to have great material to back it up.  

First, I modeled the Four Square structure in his composition book.  We used a ruler and drew one long, straight vertical line from the middle of the top of the page to the bottom.  Then we drew a second line horizontally from the middle left to the right side of the page.  There we had it.  Four squares. 

In the center,  I drew a rectangular box and wrote "Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day."  In the upper left box, I wrote "Oatmeal with brown sugar and blueberries."  In the upper right box, I wrote "Banana pancakes."  In the bottom left box, I wrote "Breakfast burrito with eggs, cheese, potatoes, and bacon."  In the bottom right box, I wrote, "I wish every meal was as delicious as breakfast."  That was it.  Derek gave me a cautious smile and asked if I was "all the way done."  Smiling, I nodded and said, "I am for today."  He loved it.  He said, "this is easy!"   And it was.  More importantly than being easy, he was writing with a positive attitude. 

We made a list of topics on the next page.  Some included:

• Anything with Legos (The hardest, the easiest, Star Wars Lego sets, Pirates of the Caribbean Lego sets, etc.)
• All Time Favorite Places (This could have been a recent field trip, grandma's house, the park, beach camping, etc.)
• What I Learned (This topic also made for great summary practice after learning a new science, math, or historical lesson.)  
• If I Didn't Have To... (For some reason, Derek enjoyed imagining all he could do if he did not have school work, house chores, yard work, or had to run errands with mom.)

For quite some time we used this method - a few months for certain.  On Mondays, he would have to look back at the previous week's Four Squares and develop one into a full and complete, properly organized paragraph.  At that point, he would add in more details, sensory description words, and even some dialogue from time to time.  The Four Square writing books give so many details and ideas on how to expand writing once the outline is completed.  

Truly, the Four Square Writing Method was the perfect catalyst for more detailed, future writing assignments.  The structure allowed him to get his thoughts organized and, later, transitioned those outlined ideas into excellent paragraphs. 

Why not try the Four Square Writing Method with your child?  It just may be the change or program you need to turn whining into better writing.  

Write On!