Ms. Nancy Online

Frequently over the last few days I realized how long it has been since I have updated this site and yet resisted the discipline of writing. Perhaps the most frequent admonishment in how-to books on writing is to establish the discipline of writing. If your children keep a journal at your request (or mine), know that the struggle is a real one, much like exercising when you don’t feel like it. And yet, if you “just do it,” it becomes a habit that you don’t think about. So I urge you to parent your child (and yourself) in establishing the good habit of daily writing. For homeschoolers this can be the activity the kids do as you are getting everybody organized for the day or it can be a wind-up activity that reflects on all that was accomplished. Either way, it is an established fact that good writers practice the craft. If you need inspiration on the subject, try “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott or any of the Ralph Fletcher books. I think the Resource Center has the Fletcher books; the former is available at a number of libraries.