PT LEICS EASTER 19 DIGITAL

Primary Times Leicestershire & Rutland
PRIMARY TIMES EXCLUSIVE
“Creativity is
intelligence
having fun”- Albert Einstein
Writing is the art of making
the impossible seem
possible and making
the world of your imagination come to
life. Everyone has a story inside them
and, although it is said, ‘Everyone has a
book in them, but in most cases that’s
where it should stay’, I believe that
every story is worth listening to.
Reading, writing and arithmetic;
vital for every child’s educational
development. Reading and arithmetic
are a given in any school, but writing
can often be seen as a poor relation
with children not really enjoying
putting pen to paper, seeing essay
writing as a chore and creative writing
as irrelevant. As adults we also see
writing as bringing back memories of
essays we had to write when young,
of reports and presentations we now
write in work. Writing is dull and
hard work, not something to be
enjoyed but endured.
I would argue, along with Albert
Einstein, that ‘Creativity is intelligence
having fun’. Music, drama, art, creative
writing – examples of creative activities
which, unless we are professionals in
those fields, we all too often consign
to the ‘hobby’ pile.
So many authors find their voices
later in life when, if encouraged as
children, they would have enjoyed
years more finding that writing is
a muscle which, if discovered and
developed, leads to fitness of mind
and the imagination. Writing provides
an entry to other worlds, not
just of the imagination, but
to the ability to use your
intelligence to the
utmost, to stretch
brain cells and expand your vision and
experience of life.
So, how to encourage your child to
write? Reading is a must. Read to
your child, every day if possible. A
bedtime story is a wonderful way of
spending valuable time with your child
and allowing them to enter worlds of
wonder and delight.
Make time for reading and writing.
A way to create fun and laughter is
by sitting with your child and both of
you writing a story. It doesn’t have to
make sense! You could start with, ‘The
elephant lumbered down the road
blowing his trumpet’. Your child could
follow with ‘the tangerine collided with
the horse’. See where it goes. Take
turns and let your imaginations run
riot. Don’t try to limit vocabulary or be
guided by logic. This is story-telling.
Like the tales of the gods and heroes
of ancient Greece, the Epic of
Gilgamesh or the Bible, stories allow
us to try to make sense of our world,
to create realities.
Ask the questions essential for any
story – who, what, when, where, why,
what happened next? What does this
person look like, how high did the
rabbit jump? Play with words – enjoy
and relish them.
Set a space aside, a corner where your
child has writing materials, paper, pens.
In the early stages grammar does not
matter – think about expanding the
imagination, not where the apostrophes
should go.
Show an interest. Listen to your
children’s stories and be entranced
by their creativity and originality.
Encouragement is underestimated.
Celebrate with them! Display your
children’s work. Drawings are often
magnetised to the fridge. What about
the stories?
Your child may show great creativity
but find it difficult to write. So, take
dictation. Write down your children’s
stories. It worked for Barbara Cartland.
Creative writing is no longer available
as an A Level and summer 2018 was
the last time students were able to sit
this examination. STEM subjects are
essential and learning languages a
skill for life – both areas opening up
career opportunities with which A Level
Creative Writing couldn’t compete.
I would say that the ability to create
worlds out of your imagination, to mix
the fizzing bubbles of your mind with
the crafting of language and enjoying
the resulting literature is a glorious
thing. Every child should have the
opportunity and the right to plunge
into this world.
Writing will not only expand your
child’s vocabulary but lead them
to develop the skills to critique, to
analyse – to think! Childhood is a time
for discovery and exploration and your
child can only benefit from the delights
that are there to be grasped in the
wondrous world of their imagination.
Every child has the capacity to become
a visionary of the impossible and a
glutton for the possible. Let your
child find their voice, it will lead to
confidence and intellectual curiosity –
to a world of pride and prejudice, war
and peace, sense and sensibility and
love – in a cold climate.
Article written by
Mrs Sarah Raffray, MA NPQH
Headteacher, St Augustine’s Priory
14
EASTER 2019 | www.primarytimes.co.uk/Leicestershire