No, not me. I have diarrhea of the fingers, as you've likely noticed. Trouble is, writing comes easily to me (I never said it was good, just easy). My poor son, however, HATES to write. He has an assignment to write a page or two about something exciting or surprising that happened. He used an entire notebook page to write about the drive up to the Mt. Rose ski resort last January. The DRIVE, people. Arrrrgh. Not really exciting or surprising.
When I pointed out that the actual interesting part of the story (the day at the resort and the ski lessons) was covered in 2 measly sentences, he got upset.
I try to help him, really I do. I asked, what happened when you got out of the car? Was it cloudy? Was there snow on the ground? Or marshmallows? Was it cold? When you signed up for the lessons and got your equipment, how did you feel? What equipment did you get? What did you do in the lessons?
He won't write and instead of forcing the issue I have just left it alone. (As I listen to my patient husband helping him right now I realize I probably should have forced the issue a little more.)
And perhaps I should provide some more excitement. I think maybe I'll send him to Sandy's -- those squirrels sound pretty dang exciting.
Mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend. Scrapbooker, family historian, reader, cook, photographer. Volunteer. Political junkie. Springsteen fan. Loves deeply, strives daily to be a cheerful, kind and generous person. Fails regularly. Snarky, judgy and more than a little blunt. Some people don't appreciate my style. If you're one of them, that's ok. Get your own blog.
Oh, yeah...they're exciting all right. Like thinking you're having a heart attack exciting, right Jennifer? :)
ReplyDeleteI've had the chance to teach composition to high school students, and I have to tell you that what you experienced with your son was my DAILY experience for five years. I wouldn't worry -- he'll hone his writing skills over time.
What happened on the drive? Now you've got me wondering.
ReplyDeleteHenry doesn't like writing either. He reads a lot, but the brains usually runs way too fast for the pencil to catch up and he gets very frustrated.
ReplyDeleteCome think of it, I have the same problem. i think a lot more about what to write in my blog than actually typing them up.
You'll never make it if you try to pester him. You might be okay with the "I" statements...When I want to write I remember the 5 W's... something like that.
ReplyDeletePlus, and this is a tough one, what is exciting to him may not be exciting to you. So you don't want to say what he wrote wasn't exciting enough because he might be thinking...oh, I really liked that part. (recently had this discussion about new blue framed glasses that one person loved and this mommy wasn't so sure about, and I think I hurt his feelings because I didn't love them the way he did. ooopsie!)