For a well-rounded writing approach, many homeschoolers use both a formal writing curriculum and fun supplemental activities, such as these no-fuss homeschool writing center ideas. Though your homeschool writing program teaches important skills, extra activities like these help kids practice and improve their writing.
1. Songwriting Challenge
Provide a selection of index cards with a word written on each card. (Or download our free Poetry Word Strips to save time.) Children take turns drawing one card at a time, until all cards are drawn. Next, ask each child to write a song or jingle using all the words they’ve picked. As needed, help them work out melodies and rhythms.
Older children might like to create rhyming jingles. If so, introduce them to an online rhyming dictionary such as RhymeZone. When their songs are finished, entertain one another with a performance!
Related activity: Poetry writing prompts for kids
2. Picture Files
In an accordion file (or manila folders), sort and store colorful prints, magazine pictures, and calendar photos by topic. For example, children love topics like animals, people, nature, sports, holidays, toys, and vehicles. Have each child choose a picture for inspiration and write a short story based on the picture.
Related activity: LEGO minifig photo writing prompts
3. “I’m Thinking of…”
For this guessing game, each child writes a detailed description of an object nearby—perhaps in the family room, kitchen, or backyard. There’s just one catch: they can’t actually name the object itself! When finished, read the descriptions aloud and see who can identify the items described.
Related activity: What’s in the bag?
4. Noun Safari
In your writing center, keep handy a selection of magazines, glue sticks or tape, construction paper, and scissors. (If you don’t have magazines at home, pick some up for cheap at a thrift store or public library used-book store.)
Ask children to look through the magazines, searching for nouns. Have them cut out the pictures and glue them to construction paper. Later, invite them to choose a noun from one of the pages and use it as the basis for a story.
Related activity: Make a noun mini-book
More homeschool writing center activities to try
- Homeschool Writing Center Ideas for Elementary Ages
- Creative Writing Center Ideas
- Hands-on Homeschool Writing Center Activities
For over two decades, Janet Wagner was an elementary and middle school teacher. She also had the honor of helping homeschool her two nieces. Janet and her husband live on the family farm in North Carolina. She enjoys a flexible life of homemaking, volunteering, reading, tutoring, and writing for her website.
