Daily Writing Prompt

Have you ever gotten goosebumps? Those little raised bumps on the skin, which make your hair stand on end, when you are cold or scared?  Have you ever wondered how those bumps came to be called goosebumps? 

Well, no one really knows why they are called goosebumps or how or where the word originated.  
 Most etymologists (a person who studies words), believe that the word goosebumps, came about because the little bumps make your skin look like a goose's skin when all the feathers are plucked out.  In Japan, they call it chicken skin.  What would you call those little bumps if you were given the task of naming them?

Take 10 to 15 minutes to write a story about how you think goosebumps got their name. If you think they should be called something else, write what you think they should be called and why.  Share your story with your friends or family!

Grammar Thoughts

Pronouns.

Pronouns are words that can stand alone and take the place of a noun in a sentence.   The most common pronouns are I, you, he, she, it we, you, they. 

It isn't very hard to use pronouns.  Let me show you a couple of examples.

"Charlie ate all the donuts," can be said, "He ate all the donuts."  The pronoun he replaces the noun Charlie in the sentence.  He now means Charlie.

"Barry will carry the ducks to the pond," can be said, "You will carry the ducks to the pond."  The pronoun you replaces your name, which in this case is Barry, in the sentence (I know your name really isn't Barry, this is just an example.  So, we are pretending your name is Barry).
 Okay Barry, let's move on.

Why do we use pronouns?  If we didn't have pronouns, we'd have to say our nouns all the time in sentences and that would be very obnoxious and confusing. Plus it would give us all a headache.   Here is an example of what I am talking about.   "Barry will carry Barry's ducks down to the pond."  Did you get a headache? I can wait if you need to go tell your mom your head hurts so she can get you an ice pack....

Oh, good! You're back!  Sorry about that. I  hope your head starts to feel better real soon. 

Now, where was I.  Oh, yes!  It is much easier to say, "Barry will carry his ducks down to the pond." There now, isn't that so much better? No more headache!  Using his in the place of Barry's helps the sentence flow better, make better sense, and keeps us from having to spend the rest of our lives with ice packs on our heads.   Pronouns, they're the headache medicine for sentences!  Now, go lie down and take a rest.  Your headache should be gone soon. 

Vocabulary Word and Definition

Acronym - Noun.

Today's writing prompt used the funny little word acronym.  An acronym is formed by taking the initial letters (meaning the first letter of each word) in a multi-word name and making a new word that is short for the multi-word name.

For example, let's say your name is Broderick Emmerson Anthony Nash, but your friends find your name a mouth full to say.  Plus, it takes them an eternity to say.  So, they take the first letter of each word in your name: B, E, A, N, and they form a new word that they start calling you by.  This new word is Bean.  And that is what you are know as by your friends for the rest of your life.  That is an acronym.  

Businesses use acronyms also to shorten longer names.  I know you've heard of NASA.  Well, NASA is an acronym for, "National Aeronautics and Space Administration."  Don't you think it is much easier to say the shortened acronym, NASA, than the whole long name? 

The next time you are playing with your friends or taking a road trip in the car with your family,  see what acronyms you can come up with from longer names or titles you see.

Today's Writing Prompt

Ahhh! The rainbow.  A very pretty addition to the sky after a rainstorm.

No doubt, you've probably studied the rainbow in school.  You probably know that a rainbow forms when light passes through a water droplet at a 42 degree angle and shatters white light into the colors that make it up.  I bet you even know that rainbows have seven colors and you can remember those colors by using the acronym
 R = Red
O = Orange
Y = Yellow

G = Green

B = Blue
I = Indigo
V= Violet

I bet you found all that knowledge about rainbows extremely fascinating. But, have you ever wondered what might happen if you could climb up one side of the rainbow, slide down the other side of the rainbow, and land on a billowy, fluffy, puffy, gray rain cloud?

This is your challenge, take 10 to 15 minutes to imagine and write about what sliding down a rainbow would be like. Would your friends be sliding with you?  Would sliding on the rainbow stain your clothes?  How would the rainbow feel to the touch?  Does it tickle your tummy when you slide down?  What does the world look like from the top of a rainbow?  Let your imagination run wild!

Vocabulary Word and Origin

Worm - Noun.

In today's writing prompt, the word worm is used.   Have you ever pondered how silly the word worm is?  Have you ever wondered where the funny word came from?

Well,  the word worm today means, a soft bodied, long, slender, bilateral, and sometimes slimy invertebrate (that means a worm has no back bone or spine).  But, the word worm that we use today, stems from an Old English word wurm, which is a variant of the word wyrm, that was defined as a serpent, snake, dragon or reptile.  Dragon? Well, that is fun! Who doesn't want a pet dragon?  

So, the next time you and your friends are bored, dress up in your finest suit of armor, take up your spade (shovel), and go dig up some dragon lairs in the backyard!

NOTE:  This is very important.  Don't forget to ask mom or dad for permission before you dig.  It is never fun for a knight to have the king and queen of the land mad at him or her for destroying gardens, greenery, buried phone, television or electrical lines (which can be dangerous), while hunting dragons. Be sure to ask where a safe spot is to hunt for your dragons. Then, make sure once you find your dragon lair and retrieve your dragon, that you fill back in your hole with dirt so nobody falls in and is never seen again, or has to go to the doctor for a sprained or broken body part because they tripped in the hole.  All will be hunky dory in the kingdom if you remember this very important decree.   Happy dragon hunting!

Today's Writing Prompt

It has been raining where we live, and when that happens, the worms come out of the ground and party on the sidewalk! That got us to thinking about fun stories that can be made up with a worm as the main character.  See what you can come up with!  Take 10 to 15 minutes to write a story with a worm as the main character.  Include in your story:
-What is the name of your worm?
-What does your worm like?
-Is your worm a boy or a girl?
- Who are your worm's friends?
-What adventures does your worm go on?
-Where does your worm live?
-What does your worm do?

Vocabulary and Origin

Senator - Noun.

Today's writing prompt uses the word, "senator."  A senator, by today's definition, is a person who has been elected by a state to sit on the United States senate to represent the people's political views and concerns to the federal government. 

Where did the word come from?  Well, I'm glad you asked!  The word "senator," is of ancient Roman origin and stems from a word meaning, "Old." If that isn't funny enough, "senator" is also closely related to the word "Senile," essentially making the word "senator" mean, "old and senile." 

So, the next time you overhear your parents or friends talking about the elected officials in the government, you can educate them on the origins of the word, "senator."  I bet they'll get a laugh out of it.   

A Moment For Grammar: Your VS You're

Oh boy! Have you ever run into anyone that some affectionately call, "the grammar police?"  Maybe you have a friend, a teacher, or even a parent who's climbed all over you for your incorrect use of the English language?  Or maybe, you are a member of the grammar police and love to correct your friends on their linguistic faux pas?

Whatever the case maybe, one such grammar war is fought over the use of "your" and "you're."   Some people think the the apostrophe shows possession, but this is another such case where the apostrophe does not help show possession.  Just like our previous discussion on "its" and "it's."

Your = Possession.  Something belongs to you.
You're = A contraction.  It is the shortened form of "you are."

Here are some examples.  "That is your book."  Or "This is your pencil."  These all use the possessive form of "you" which is written, "your."  "Your" shows that an object belongs to you, such as the pencil or the book.

"You're" is the contracted form of, "you are."  Here are some examples. "You're coming to the party aren't you?"  Or "You're such a nincompoop!"   In both sentences, "you're" can be replaced with "you are" and the sentence will still makes sense.  This is not the case with "your." 

So, the next time you come across a battle on Grammar's front-lines between the use of "your" or "you're," you can negotiate peace talks by educating the parties involved on which usage is correct one, and why.

Today's Writing Prompt

You are sitting in class when your teacher announces, "Today students, we will be writing a letter to our senator to express something we are concerned about. This assignment corresponds with the history lessons we have been studying on how our government was established, and how it works."

She then explains that after putting today's date at the top of the page, the proper way to open your letter is thus, 

"Honorable Senator (insert senator's name here),"

Your teacher then explains that from there, you will write the body of your letter explaining your concerns, then properly close is with,
"Sincerely,"
And sign your name. 

Your best penmanship (handwriting), is to be used.  She then turns you loose to ponder a concern and to write your letter.

Today's writing prompt is just that.  Formulate a letter to your senator.  It can be a letter of thanks or a letter expressing something you are concerned about.   You can write a letter to an actual senator or you can make up a senator and write to them. Your parents should be able to help you find out who your senator is if you choose to write to an actual one.

Take 10 to 15 min. to write out your thoughts, more if you need.  If writing to a real senator, you can decide whether you want to mail it or not.

Today's Vocabulary Word: Doppelganger

Doppelganger - Noun.

Doppelganger is used in today's writing prompt. Where exactly did this long clunky word come from? And what exactly does it mean?

Well, it is of German origin and means "double goer." Doppelganger is a part of German folklore. It is believed that everyone has a wraith or apparition of themselves called a doppelganger. And, if having a wraith or an apparition of yourself isn't freaky enough, it is believed that if you meet your doppelganger, your death is imminent. Ummm....creepy.

So, the next time you and your friends throw a slumber party, be sure to include "The Lore of the Doppelganger" as part of your ghost stories. Your friends will thank you for it!

Today's Thought On Grammar: "Its" VS "It's"

It's vs. its. What a conundrum! 

 Apostrophe has multi personalities and sometimes he can get a little confusing. 

 Apostrophe is used to create possessive forms, contractions, and some plurals. But, not every possessive needs Apostrophe in their life. "Its" is one of these possessive forms that does just fine without Apostrophe butting in.  Thank you very much.  On the other hand,  "it's" is best friends with Apostrophe because together, they form the contractions for "it is" and "it has." 

For example, "It's been wonderful talking to you!" is the contraction for "it has," and therefore needs 's. 
Another example. "It's not fair that the teacher let Jimmy sleep in class, but wouldn't let me draw during the lecture!" is the contraction for "it is" and also need 's. 

In this example, "The mouse got its tail pinched in the trap." "its" shows that the tail belongs to the mouse and doesn't need Apostrophe to wreck the party.

So, the next time you face a fork in the road between its or it's, remember that in this case, Apostrophe forms the contractions and the possessive form doesn't need Apostrophe in its life.  See what I just did there?  Happy Writing!

Today's Writing Prompt

You are walking around town with your friends enjoying yourself, and having a great time. When, suddenly, out of the blue BAM! You walk right into your doppelganger! 

You have never seen or met this person before in your life. What a surprise! What do you do?

A Thought On Grammar

The daily writing prompt listed below has the word, "Poof!" in it. Poof! Is an onomatopoeia. What is an Onomatopoeia (pronounced On-Oh-Mot-Oh-Pee-Ah)? Well....

Onomatopoeia - noun. It is a written sound for an object. It is usually an exclamation and ends with an exclamation point. Some examples of onomatopoeia are: Ring! Ring! for a telephone. Buzz! Buzz! for a bee, Meow! for a cat, Pow! For a punch. Bang! for something falling, and Boom! for an explosion. See if you can draw some pictures and add some onomatopoeia to describe their sounds.

Today's Vocabulary Word

Berserker - noun. 

 Have you ever had someone tell you, "Well, don't go berserk man!" And wondered where on earth did such a funny word like berserk come from?  Well, it came from the Vikings.

 Berserk is short for Berserker. 

 Berserkers were Viking warriors who were greatly feared through Europe. Berserkers would work themselves up in to a frightening fitful frenzy before battle. They were ruthless, merciless, and savagely mean.

 It was said that, “The victims of the Vikings would see Dragon headed ships coming to shore, blood red sails and Snarling Grinding Viking warriors wielding heavy battle axes.” This sight naturally scared the socks off of people, because they knew they were toast! 

 So, the next time someone tells you or someone else, "Don't go berserk man!" You can educate them on the origin of this funny little word. 

In the meantime, you can write about some situations that would make you go berserk.

Today's Writing Prompt

You are a famous scientist. You are working on a project that will save the world! You mix a few chemicals and compounds together, and, POOF!..... What are you working on? What will it do? And did you succeed? Take 10 to 15 minutes to write about your latest experiment.

Daily Vocabulary Word

Cooties - Plural noun. slang. A term used by children to describe an imaginary germ. Write a sentence or paragraph using the word "cooties" and then try to use it in conversations with friends or family.

Example:

Daily Writing Prompt

You and your friends are racing your ostriches in an ostrich race. What is your ostrich's name? How did you get your ostrich? Who trained you to race? Who's going to win?

Take 10 to 15 minutes to jot down the facts about your ostrich race. You can always take more time to write if needed.

Grammar Thought

Who's vs. Whose. 

Who's is short for "who is" or "who has." 
Example: "Who's coming for dinner tonight?" is short for "who is coming to dinner tonight?" 

Whose is the possessive form of who. Example: "Whose book is this?"  Means, who does this book belong to? 

Can you think of other examples where "Who's" would be using instead of "Whose?"

Great Writing and Story Telling Activity For the Whole Family - Plus You'll Be Helping Endangered Wildlife Too!

This is a win - win opportunity.  Get some great creative writing and story telling in, spending time with family making memories, and saving endangered wildlife all at the same time!
Saturday, June 28, 2014 is the annual Great American Backyard Camp out! For more details, check out The Great American Backyard Camp Out's site here: http://www.nwf.org/Great-American-Backyard-Campout.aspx

Daily Vocabulary Word

Abloom - Adjective. Covered in flowers.

Example: The hills were abloom with summer flowers. 
Write a sentence or paragraph using the word abloom, then try to use it in a conversation with a friend or family member.  

Daily Writing Prompt

Today is the Summer Solstice, which means, it is the first day of summer!! Hip, hip, hooray! What are your plans for the summer? What would you like to do? What are you going to do? What do you like about summer?  Take 10 to 15 minutes to write about summer.

Daily Writing Prompt

You go to the fridge to get yourself a nice healthy snack. When you pull the door open and the light pops on inside the fridge, you see a very obnoxious head of cabbage sticking its tongue out at you (how rude)! What do you do?  Write for 10 to 15 minutes about what you would do or say if you had a cabbage sticking its tongue out at you like this.

Daily Vocabulary Word

Today's Word is Collywobbles - noun. Stomach ache or queasiness.
Example:  I couldn't go to school today because I woke up with collywobbles. 
Use "collywobbles" in a sentence or paragraph and then try to use the word in conversations with friends and family.

Daily Vocabulary Word

Jalopy - noun.  An old broken down or dysfunctional car.   Write a sentence or paragraph that uses the word jalopy.  Then try to use the word during the day in conversations with your friends and family.

Example: I'm sorry dad, but it's embarrassing to ride in that old jalopy. 

Daily Writing Prompt

You have been given an airplane ticket to anywhere you want to go.  Free of charge!  Where do you go? What do you see? What do you do? Who or what do you take with you? Take 10 to 15 minutes to let your imagination run wild and write your adventure out!

Punny Puns

This is "punny." A pun is a play on words. It exploits possible meanings of a word or words and uses to its advantage. It makes a joke out of words that sound alike, but have completely different meanings. In this case "rhombus" is used in place of "wrong bus." We all know that a rhombus isn't really a wrong bus, but any parallelogram with equal sides, which includes the square. This is what makes the joke funny. What jokes can you come up with using puns?

Just For Fun

This is our cuddly Siamese kitty.  What do you think he is saying in this picture? 

Thought For The Day

Daily Writing Prompt

You are walking through a strange room, when you come to this sign attached to the carpet. "WARNING - DO NOT REMOVE THIS TAG," is what is says. As you study it, you notice that the tag has strange writing on it. A code maybe? You don't know. But, your curiosity gets the better of you, and you rip the tag from the floor! DUM, DUM, DUM! What happens next?

Daily Vocabulary Word

Here are 2 vocabulary words that can be added to your vocabulary tool box.  You can draw a picture of the words, write a sentence using the words or write a paragraph using the words.  Then see how many times in the day, you can slip one of these words into your conversations with family or friends.

1.) Defenestrate - Verb. To throw something out a window.

2.) Argy-bargy - Noun. An argument or disagreement (It is a word mostly used by the British, but we find it a fun one to say!)

Example: The very near-sided man tripped on his cat while carrying a watermelon.  The watermelon flew from the man's arms, defenestrating and breaking all over the ground.  The chickens, which were roaming in the yard, had an argy-bargy over who got to take a peck at the juicy red watermelon first. 

Just Getting Started!

We have just launched! And we are so excited to welcome you to our page!  Our goal is to help kids get excited about writing. Particularly in a daily journal.  It only takes 10 to 15 minutes a day.  The kids can use prompts from this page or they can think of their own.  Grammar and punctuation don't matter.  What matters is writing and getting ideas out. 

Above is pictured one of the many writing journals that the float around our space.  Writing journals do not have to be expensive.  Paper stapled together or a spiral notebook is perfect.  Whatever the child prefers will work!  Writing everyday helps children not only develop their imaginations, it helps them learn to problem solve, and the ideas they come up with, will spill over into other aspects of their lives.  Especially at school.  Don't be surprised if you see your child's grades go up from daily writing practice!

This isn't just for kids.  Adults are welcome to practice too!  Make it a family affair!  Just start!  It is not too late!  Never is it too late!  Let's write!

Daily Writing Prompt

List 5 things that floats around in your imagination and then write one way you can bring each item to life.