More ideas for parents to help their children become confident, skilled writers

Making Books as a Family
Contributed by Jin Dorst, Teacher Consultant, Bay Area Writing Project, UC Berkeley

Writing the Content

ABC Books of Self or Family
There are so many wonderful ABC books that are available in bookstores. Find a few that will work for you to use as examples. After reading and enjoying them with your children, they can write their own ABC books about themselves as individuals, or about the family, or both.

I Can
Creating a book of “I cans” can be done as an ongoing project, with children adding a page a day or a week. Each book of the book will start with "I can...." The “I cans” can be as concrete as "I can eat and grow." to those that are less so like "I can be grateful everyday." Children can add their own illustrations or photos. After children write their I Can books, the family can write a We Can book together.

I Am
Everyone in the family can contribute to this book. Everyone should brainstorm a list of things they are and the roles they play. For example, "I am a mother, a sister, a wife, a teacher, a reader, a writer, a thinker, a friend, an aunt, a daughter, etc." After everyone lists the various roles they play, then they can elaborate on each one by adding just a few more sentences and details to create a whole paragraph. So about my own roles I might say, "I am a mother of two from two different worlds. One is pushing me away and one can't get enough of me." Then I’d add more sentences to develop that idea into a paragraph.

Each family member’s paragraphs will make up their own I Am chapter in the family’s book. Family members can add photographs to their chapters so that the words and photos tell the story of each individual in the family at the time the book was written.

Making the Books
There are numerous books on the market that teach simple ways to make books, albums, and journals. Bookmaking is not as hard as it looks, and the results are beautiful and very rewarding. Making books can inspire children to write more, and the beautiful books you create as a family can make great keepsakes for families or gifts for others.

Two book-making resources:
For younger children—Making Books that Fly, Fold, Wrap, Hide, Top Up, Twist, and Turn by Gwen Diehn, published by Sterling Publishing in 1998. (ISBN 1579900232)

For older children and adults—Cover to Cover by Shereen LaPlantz, published by Sterling Publishing in 1998. (ISBN 0937274879)