The Unlikely Homeschool: Creative Writing Prompt Bag

Creative Writing Prompt Bag-The Unlikely Homeschool

Although I have an entire year of creative writing prompts planned for our weekly creative writing time, every now and again, I like to veer from THE PLAN. (Insert big gasp! As I've mentioned many times before, one of the benefits of having an ordered plan is the ability to liberate from it from time-to-time knowing it will still be there...in perfect order...when you return to it. But, I digress...)

Today, when faced with a random prompt that I didn't think any of my kids would want to write about, I declared a PLAN B. I found an old gift bag, scrounged around for a handful of hodge-podge items, tossed them into the bag, and gathered my brood of writers around for a "story in a bag."

The kids each took turns drawing something out of the bag and revealing the item to the rest of the group. Once all the items (an old pocket watch, a cork, a tomato, a leaf, a bottle cap, and a smooth stone) were displayed, I instructed them to write/dictate a story that mentioned at least three of the items from the bag. I gave no further instructions. They, then, scattered with notebooks in hand and inspiration in their heads.

Later, as is our tradition, we all gathered on the couch and took turns reading and listening to the stories. I was really surprised to find that all three of my older kids "interpreted" my simple instructions completely different from each other. Sweetie Pea (4th grade) wrote a fiction story about a garden and discreetly wove in her three prompt items into the plot. Super Boy (2nd grade) wrote three short non-fiction stories, each separate from the other and each detailing one specific item. Blonde Warrior (1st grade) dictated an EPICALLY-long sci-fi novel for me to transcribe.

Three kids. Three completely different learning styles and preferences. Ahhhh....homeschooling!