Three times now, our family has tried a fun writing experiment. Each participant needs their own computer. We agree on a starting sentence, like "The sun had finally risen over the rocky ridge." Then we start typing a story that goes along with that sentence.
After 15 minutes, a timer beeps. Everyone stands up and switches to a new computer. Each participant reads what has been written already, and continues the story for another 15 minutes. We cycle through until everyone has had an opportunity to write on every story. Depending on the number of participants and how much time we have, we might go through all or part of a second round. Finally, each person ends the story as well as they are able.
Now, let me tell you a little about my history with getting E14 to write. Last year, I tried to compel him to write a paragraph on some subject or other. "How long is a paragraph?" Well, it should be at least 4 sentences, I guess. "How long is a sentence?" Well, you need a subject, a verb, and probably some kind of direct object or modifier. "Okay, this twelve word paragraph fulfills those minimum requirements." Seriously? You just wrote a "paragraph" with fewer words than your age in years?
In September 2019, though, E14 (and P15) enthusiastically joined NCFCA, a Christian speech and debate league. All of a sudden, he was writing pages of material. There's something about not wanting to look like a moron in front of one's peers, I suppose. I decided that since I had been unsuccessful in teaching him to write, I'd just sit back and let NCFCA do it for me - it certainly seemed to be working much better. It was so satisfying to see him in a debate, hurriedly scrawling pages of notes in order to construct an argument that could rip his sister's points to shreds.
Of course, with COVID-19, the NCFCA season ended early. So much for my convenient writing program. But just last Saturday, E14 asked us, "Can we do the writing game?" Yes, my oldest son. Yes, voluntarily writing multiple paragraphs (with more than 12 words) in 4 different stories. Yes, on a Saturday! He had never shown an interest in the game before (it had always been Ari, P15, and me, with extended family added in over Christmas break). But I guess, given the motivation of NCFCA over the past 7 months, he has learned to enjoy writing, and actually missed writing on a regular basis. I wonder what other interests will come out of the woodwork if I can avoid forcing him.
After 15 minutes, a timer beeps. Everyone stands up and switches to a new computer. Each participant reads what has been written already, and continues the story for another 15 minutes. We cycle through until everyone has had an opportunity to write on every story. Depending on the number of participants and how much time we have, we might go through all or part of a second round. Finally, each person ends the story as well as they are able.
Now, let me tell you a little about my history with getting E14 to write. Last year, I tried to compel him to write a paragraph on some subject or other. "How long is a paragraph?" Well, it should be at least 4 sentences, I guess. "How long is a sentence?" Well, you need a subject, a verb, and probably some kind of direct object or modifier. "Okay, this twelve word paragraph fulfills those minimum requirements." Seriously? You just wrote a "paragraph" with fewer words than your age in years?
In September 2019, though, E14 (and P15) enthusiastically joined NCFCA, a Christian speech and debate league. All of a sudden, he was writing pages of material. There's something about not wanting to look like a moron in front of one's peers, I suppose. I decided that since I had been unsuccessful in teaching him to write, I'd just sit back and let NCFCA do it for me - it certainly seemed to be working much better. It was so satisfying to see him in a debate, hurriedly scrawling pages of notes in order to construct an argument that could rip his sister's points to shreds.
Of course, with COVID-19, the NCFCA season ended early. So much for my convenient writing program. But just last Saturday, E14 asked us, "Can we do the writing game?" Yes, my oldest son. Yes, voluntarily writing multiple paragraphs (with more than 12 words) in 4 different stories. Yes, on a Saturday! He had never shown an interest in the game before (it had always been Ari, P15, and me, with extended family added in over Christmas break). But I guess, given the motivation of NCFCA over the past 7 months, he has learned to enjoy writing, and actually missed writing on a regular basis. I wonder what other interests will come out of the woodwork if I can avoid forcing him.
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