Children are born creative. They have raw and powerful minds with ideas we may never think of as adults. Teaching them how to transform those ideas into actual stories can help them develop their creativity further. Homeschooling families should teach their children creative writing.
Here are five reasons to make creative writing part of your homeschooling program.
First, creative writing helps homeschoolers discover their creativity
Aristotle and the Stoics were among the earliest believers of the mind as a blank or empty slate (called tabula rasa) waiting to be filled with information. Centuries later, Western philosophers, such as Aquinas and Locke built on that view of the tabula rasa to advocate the value of systematic education.
On the one hand, this is true if we are talking about knowledge about the world. On the other hand, we cannot say the mind of a child is literally blank. While education is important in shaping a child’s knowledge, their God-given brain is already endowed with the power of thoughts and imaginations.
Your child is born creative. Try asking them their opinions of events or items they see inside your house or in your backyard, and they will give you fresh perspectives. Yes, children as raw and cannot be left on their own. They need the guidance and care of their parents and guardians so they will develop their minds and bodies, and eventually maximize their God-given potential.
Second, creative writing breaks the repetitiveness of standardized learning
Standardize learning is beneficial. But it can stifle creativity. The boredom of its monotony tends to block new positive ideas. Standardized learning is good for disciplines where rules and conventions are necessary.
Standardized learning, however, cannot produce new insights for solving problems and making things better. Minds forged by standardized learning are often afraid to challenge conventions, even when push comes to shove.
Creative writing gives our children the opportunity to think outside the box. It gives them liberty to express their thoughts and emotions, harness their imaginative powers, and find fresh new ways to perceive the world we live in.
Third, creative writing teaches homeschooled children be more observant
Everything happening around us are either complete stories or stories in the making. When we are observant, we can generate plenty of new stories and ideas.
Think of an ant who dares to pick up a small crumb at the risk of being squashed by the gigantic thumb of a human being eating on the table. How about the noisy dog of a neighbor, who one day stopped barking? What could have happened to the animal? Creative writing will make you child more observant.
Fourth, creative writing teaches homeschooled kids to be more self-aware
Self-awareness is knowing your feelings, thoughts, and beliefs. In creative writing, children can be authentic and honest about their thoughts and emotions. We want them to convey what they really think, feel, and see. Hence, the words flowing through their pencils, pens, or keyboards reflect their level of self-awareness.
Fifth, creative writing can turn homeschoolers into future novelists and filmmakers
Let’s be honest. Many books and movies today, especially modern-day cinema, are recycled tropes and plots loaded with nonsensical liberal ideologies. This makes one wonder what happened to the creative brilliance of our writers and directors. But we can improve the availability of better stories through creative writing.
With proper guidance, we can inspire our kids to write new novels that inspire and change society for the better. Christopher Paolini, author of the novel Eragon, was homeschooled. In his article, My Experience with Homeschooling, Paolini said:
Eragon would not exist if I had gone to public school. Homeschooling gave me the opportunity to pursue my own interests, time to dream, and time to write. And I had freedoms the majority of today’s teens don’t have. I didn’t have to contend with peer pressure to conform to social fads. I could be myself. Without the frantic schedule kept by many teens, I had time to think, to daydream about adventures, to create the world of Alagaésia.
There are many other writers, whose works shaped modern culture, who grew up homeschooled:
- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
- Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
- Robert Browning, The Pied Piper of Hamelin
- C.S. Lewis, Chronicles of Narnia
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
Your child could be the next seasoned writer. Of course, don’t pressure them to be one. But teaching them how to write creatively can unleash that potential in them.