DIY Homeschooler

If you are requiring your child to write something every day and he is running out of fresh material, ask him to complete the story. Sometimes having the beginning established takes the pressure off of the writer.

Here are ways to incorporate this inspiring writing idea in your homeschool:

Table of Contents

• Create Your Own
• Try Online
• Use an Unfamiliar Tale
• Purchase a Book of Works to Finish

Create Your Own

For example,

Dad was away on a business trip. Mom and little brother were in bed with the flu and their fever wasn’t going down. An announcement came over the radio that rabies was on the rise. From her bed Mother asked her two young daughters to check the doors before all retired for the evening. They found the back sliding-glass door caked with ice – the latch couldn’t lock. They tried opening it wide and slamming it shut to crack the ice. This activity attracted the attention of a rabid dog that some men were tracking in the dark. It was staring at them through the glass.

I left them, pencils in hand, to continue with the story as I prepared lunch, because very soon we needed to run out to music lessons. They worked quietly and quickly at the kitchen table with a real sense of purpose…. I also observed no dawdling, pencil biting, or other signs of restless fiddling. What they wrote wasn’t long. Each wrote one paragraph that was brief but concentrated. The results were remarkable!

Exciting Writing — Karen Andreola

Sometimes shared family funnies make perfect beginnings. 

We were once reading a book, the title of which one of the members of our family thought was “winged watermelons.” It became so funny in conversation that writing about watermelons that could fly was an easy assignment.

Try Online

Sometimes when we are busy, tired or otherwise non-creative, we can use some help. There are many story starters online. You’ll find a sampling below.

Use an Unfamiliar Tale

Read aloud. Leave off just at the climax. Ask your student to provide the ending. Some of the early readers are set up very well for this activity.

Purchase a Book of Works to Finish

There are several options on the market. See our recommendations below. Our book has several complete the story prompts:

Write Something Every Day: 366 Pencil Sharpeners for Students of Writing
Our book will get you started. This huge 554-pg. resource provides carefully crafted writing prompts and challenges for each day. We use nearly 20 different forms of writing to keep the student engaged. Also included are writing instruction, tips for modifying assignments for “younger writers,” and other resources. Learn more.

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Additional Resources

Starters
Great interactive at Scholastic.

Writing Bug: A Noise in the Attic
From Education World.

Finish the Story
Unique story starter created to illustrate a Biblical principle.

Writing Helps
More here on our site. Or check out our Writing Index for resources sorted by type.

Books

Reading Literature: Fourth Reader
Filled with good stories that can be used to “finish the story” as described above.

Story Starters by Karen Andreola
Ready for more? From the author of A Charlotte Mason Companion and A Pocketful of Pinecones, this work has as its goal “helping children write like they’ve never written before.” Suspended in the middle of a predicament, your child decides what will happen next.