Easter Egg Hunts and Creative Writing.

"And this blank page where my fingers move." Ted Hughes, The Thought Fox.

April in England is always glorious.

The sunlight and gentle warmth being chased by the playful chill of the wind - like children playing tag in the park. The weather shifts back and forth, but it is still glorious.

Gardens filled with nodding daffodils and the shy crocus peeking between the shoots and leaves of the larger, more gaudy spring time flowers.

Our local park is filled with laughter and shrieks - the children have finished school and they are out, some have built swings, some are playing football, others: hide and seek. One thing they all have in common is they are all laughing, pink cheeked and happy.

So why, when they go back to school, with memories of Easter Egg hunts and days filled with outside do they suddenly struggle to write creatively?

I believe the problem is not a lack of ideas, but the pressure to get it right:

the pressure to perform,

the pressure to put the first word on the page -

not just any word, but the word.

We are so used to seeing perfection on social media and in films and programmes, that we forget the process.

Those reels that show beauty and perfection - often after dozens of retakes. Those scenes we love in films never right first time.

The key to writing is simple: get words onto the page and don't worry about perfection. Practice does not make you perfect - it makes you better.

If your child struggles with writing, I've created a free KS3 English guide to help them get started.

Sometimes all a child needs is permission to start.

You can download it below:

Download Here