writing

F has been a great reader for many years now, but I've always had a hard time getting her to write more than a sentence or two at a time. When she was just starting out, a lot of the problem was that it took so long to write each word because she was new to the mechanical process of putting the letters on the paper. But even when she got so that her handwriting was better, she just didn't enjoy writing at all. She didn't like writing on paper, dictating to me or using the computer. I haven't pushed too hard on that one because I figured that if she kept on reading good books, a certain amount of writing skill would come with all that reading. Now she's writing a story to give to E. for her birthday. The last time I asked her, she had written over twenty pages, typed. She has a story within the story going. I am amazed. Her punctuation needs work, but her vocabulary, word usage and grammar are really quite good. It just reminds me that kids are learning all the time, whether we teach from text books or just by living life.