The write start - Jennifer Hallissy 2010

Party Time
Guidelines for the Activities

TO PARAPHRASE an oldie but goodie: it’s their party, and they’ll write if they want to. And I assure you, they will want to write. Guest lists, invitations, wish lists, seating arrangements, party game ideas—they’ll be writing for weeks as they count down to the big day.

Parties are an exciting excuse to put pencil to paper. They involve quite a bit of planning, and kids want to be involved in every last detail. So put them to work!

And believe it or not, it’s not all about them. Children actually get almost as excited about throwing a party for someone else. Then there’s even more to do: banners to make, cards to create, gifts to tag, cakes to write on with icing. It’s education disguised as celebration, and a whole lot of fun!

MATERIALS

∗ paper

∗ pencil

∗ crayon, markers, or colored pencils

∗ place cards

∗ gift tags

HOW-TO

1. When party (or holiday) planning, a great place to start is with a guest list. Have your children help write a list of the names of everyone they would like to attend.

2. Another ridiculously motivating pre-party writing activity is creating a wish list. Who could resist this one?

3. Have your child contribute to creating and writing invitations a few weeks before the party.

4. As the party approaches, be mindful of all the ways excited children can contribute their ideas through writing.

Variations

For Scribblers: Involve Scribblers in making a giant party banner. Write out the letters of the celebration message in big block letters, and have Scribblers color them in.

For Spellers: Spellers excel at writing names, so definitely delegate writing the guest list, place cards, and gift tags to them.

For Storytellers: Storytellers will delight in making invitations, seating arrangements, and a list of party games and activities.

For Scholars: Scholars can be involved in planning the menu: have them browse through cookbooks, write down their favorite recipes, and help make a list of ingredients.