Blogging is a great way for kids to practice their writing. I started a blog for my boys when they were 4 and 6 years old. Now their blogs are over 6 years old and are a great record of their writing progress. Initially they blogged about things of interest. Later when they lost interest in blogging, I used their blog to keep a record of their writing assignments. Once they complete a writing assignment, I have them cut and paste it onto their blog.
This past year, an interest in blogging was rekindled when my boys, now 13 and 11, wanted to blog about one of their current passions. They spend hours each week reading, researching, and writing on their blog. Check out their blog here. They even started a Facebook page to go with their blog.
My 7-year-old daughter recently started a blog too. She has enjoyed writing stories for quite some time now. Initially she wrote everything by hand and then she discovered Microsoft Word. She loved typing out her stories and then printing them off. She recently decided that she wanted to blog about her life. My boys helped her get started with a blogger blog and she did a post or two. When I downloaded the blogger app so she could type on the iPad without having to wait for a turn on the computer, she started publishing more and more posts. Some of her entries are silly ones about my work. The blogger app also allows her to convert voice to text so she is enjoying figuring that part out. Here is one of her recent posts that she hand-picked for me to share here:
ME AND MY THE MISTRY OF LEGOS KIT
One day I made a detektiv kit cold THE MISTRY OF LEGOS. It was super super super like 100 hard to make. But rite naw my mistry kit is dun. I am the only one ho nows ho in my story got the 100 dollrs.
Translation: One day I made a detective kit called The Mystery of Legos. It was super, super, super like 100 hard to make. But right now my mystery kit is done. I am the only one who knows who in my story got the 100 dollars.
As you can see, spelling is all over the place. I don’t correct these blog entries. We work on separate spelling and writing during school time, but this is a creative outlet. I want to leave it as such. Check out her blog here.
Privacy Concerns
Some might have privacy concerns related to children blogging. Before my children set up their blog, they were aware to not reveal any personal information. There are no personal names associated with their accounts. I am the only one who knows the passwords that allow them access to blogger as well. Also, if my boys decide to move their blogger site to a domain, they will need to register it as a private domain to keep their name and address private.
Setting up a blog for kids
While I prefer WordPress, Blogger.com is what my children use. It is free and easy to use. It allows you to choose a template and start writing without any knowledge of html. Html knowledge can be helpful for customization later on.
Blogging has been quite beneficial for my kids. I love looking back at earlier posts and see the progression in writing skills over the years. I love seeing the silliness, the seriousness, and thoughts that my children want to share. And my kids love showing me their latest posts. I highly recommend starting a blog for your kids.
If your child has a blog, please share a link in the comments!
Kids blogging is a great idea … its help them to stay busy indoor in winter time . Thank you for sharing your tips with us .
I couldn’t agree more on the value of a blog for kids and teens. Besides providing an outlet for writing, we’ve found that empowering kids with their own websites can be tremendously helpful for three reasons: a website acts as a living portfolio, which can be helpful especially for older kids who are applying for programs and colleges; it helps them keep their work organized; and most importantly of all, it is highly motivating for students (and people of all ages for that matter!) to feel that they are producing and circulating work that has value for others. We have our students include their STEM/STEAM projects on their websites, along with their writing projects. Thanks for a great post!