Fun Unplugged Essays

I was talking with my grandma once and she asked me, “What would we do without cell phones, Mary?” And I joked that we’d still use the pony express, talk to our neighbors, see each other more often, and have more time to do productive things. She hinted that this would be a good essay topic (we’d been talking about homeschooling and my siblings’ school projects).

I was reminded of some other creative writing topics our parents posed to us as kids. Some of these ideas might be helpful in stimulating literary talent in your own children. I remember once when my siblings and I each wrote a sci-fi story written in the first person. We came up with a narrative in which we shrunk in size and entered a cancer patient’s body, with the task of destroying the tumor. If students of any age pen these essays, reading them in future years will be about as heartwarming (and humorous) as it comes. Beyond the value of writing practice, your whole family will gain beautiful memories from these years when imaginations are at their fullest.

Another essay we wrote was a theoretical autobiography based on the premise that we had never been born. Seeing as how we didn’t exist, I’m not sure how we were supposed to frame it, but it definitely stimulated our imaginations!

My grandma admired our creativity, and we mused how sad it was that public schooled children rarely get the opportunity to write imaginative essays and receive much feedback. I’ve seen some private school teachers retain a little flexibility with writing assignments and reading material. But any institution that has to keep the government and/or large groups of parents happy don’t have the flexibility to offer the prompts and advice that are most needed by each individual student. There just isn’t enough time for one or two teachers to put that much effort into a classroom of twelve or twenty kids.

Your children will appreciate that you know their potential and give them opportunities to tap into different fields of interest. It may feel a little strange at first, but pioneers and amateurs are the ones who do great things, not those who take the well-beaten paths. Guiding your children out of their comfort zone is the beginning of growth. If they only ever do what everyone else does, take a guess who they’ll wind up like? They’ll wind up like everyone else. Take the Christmas break to regenerate and come up with opportunities for your children to grow their wild fancy.