When I first started homeschooling my son (first grade level), I had this perfect picture in my head. We’d sit at the table, he’d carefully write each letter, and I’d sip my coffee, admiring his progress. Reality? He wrote one letter, flopped on the floor, and dramatically declared, "My hand is too tired!"

So, I came up with a plan... happy to share it with ya'll 😊


Making Sentences Simple (and Silly)

One of the first things I realized was that kids love goofy sentences. Instead of the usual “The cat sat on the mat,” I started using sentences like “The dinosaur ate my pizza.” My son thought it was soo funny lol and was way more willing to practice writing. We also took turns making up ridiculous sentences for each other to write, which kept him happy.


The Capital Letter Mystery

I remember the day my son wrote his name in all lowercase letters...That’s when I knew we had to focus on capital letters. Instead of drilling rules, we turned it into a game. I’d write a sentence with missing capitals, and he’d "catch" them like a detective, circling and fixing them.


Punctuation

Getting a six-year-old to care about punctuation was a challenge until we started reading sentences with over-the-top emotion. If a sentence ended in a period, I’d say it in the most boring, monotone voice. If it had an exclamation mark, I’d practically yell it. Question marks got my best detective voice. Soon, my son was adding punctuation just so he could hear me act out the sentence.


Learning Prepositions

Prepositions were kinda tricky until we started using real objects. I would hide one of his dolls (I mean "action figures") around the house and ask, "Is it under the table? Behind the chair? Inside the toy box?" He had a lot of fun finding it :) After that, he started pointing out prepositions all the time, especially when trying to tell me exactly where his missing toy was.


Drawing and Writing Go Hand in Hand

My son loves to draw, so I started using that to my advantage. I’d give him a silly prompt, like "What would happen if a penguin lived in our house?" He’d draw his answer first, then write about it. Somehow writing about a penguin eating cereal at our breakfast table was way more exciting than writing a regular sentence... go figure 😃


Storytelling from Real Life

One of my favorite writing moments happened when my son lost his first tooth. Instead of just talking about it, I asked him to write a short story: "The Day My Tooth Fell Out." personal stories make writing feel meaningful, and a lot funnier read out loud.


I think that that the more fun and personal we make it, the more my son actually wants to do it. So instead of teaching all the time, my best advice would be to just have fun with it!