Christopher Edge, author of , shares his five top tips to help you fan the flames of your child’s creative writing in the run-up to Christmas.

1. Story sparks

Every story needs a spark of inspiration. Encourage your child to look out for Christmas-themed story ideas. Maybe a last-minute shopping trip could be the setting for a comic Christmas tale, or a newspaper headline about refugees could inspire a story about the true meaning of Christmas.

2. All you need is a book

If you want to inspire a young author, books make the perfect Christmas gift. And why not give your child with a creative space that’s all their own – a notebook or journal for them to scribble down story ideas, invent incredible characters or even draw pictures of the places where they want to set their story. A writer’s notebook is a private place where they can gather their inspiration, so don’t go sneaking a peek when they’ve gone to sleep on Christmas Eve!

3. Santa’s story

Everyone knows that Father Christmas eats the mince pies on Christmas Eve and leaves the crumbs behind. But how about Father Christmas leaving behind the first line of a story too? Tear out a scrap of paper from a diary showing the date ‘December 24th’ with the handwritten line, “Looks like being another busy night
” When your child finds this near fireplace, ask them to finish Father Christmas’s diary for the busiest night of his year.

4. Remix for Christmas

Making a mash-up story that mixes together characters from different books, films and TV shows can be a lot of fun. Cut out pictures of different characters from your Christmas TV guide and create a Christmas story that brings them all together. How about Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who teaming up to solve a Christmas mystery on Coronation Street? Encourage your child to let their imagination run wild as they write their mash-up story.

5. Make it fun

Christmas is the perfect time to play games as a family, so why not create your own story-telling game too. Choose the first line of a book for inspiration – that’s the opening line of your story. Now everyone has to add the next sentence to the story before passing it on to the next person. Make these as wild and wacky as you can and you’ll soon end up with a story that has the whole family laughing!

Article first published in 2016

More from Oxford Owl

• Creative writing advice and activities
• Christmas activities for children
• Children’s books for Christmas

You may be interested in:

Follow these instructions from Tom McLaughlin, author ofÌęThe Accidental Father ChristmasÌę, to draw your very own Father Christmas – from his hat to his shiny black boots!

Decorate your tree and impress your family with these yummy Christmas cookies!

Making woven heart baskets for Christmas is a tradition in Scandinavian countries. Learn how to make these lovely baskets to fill with sweets or hang on the Christmas tree, with .

Help your child make their own little knitted Polar pug from the hilarious and highly-illustrated book,ÌęPugs of the Frozen NorthÌęfrom Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre.

The Vikings were mischievous folk, who even had a god of mischief and mayhem called Loki – a cunning trickster and shapeshifter. Create your own mischief maker with this activity fromÌęRiddle of the RunesÌę.

This is the classic game ‘I Spy’ based on any Christmassy things, seen in or outside the car. It also is a great activity for practising those speech sounds. Someone says ‘I spy with my little eye, something beginning with
 a, b, c
’. Then everyone else has to guess what it might be. For example, ‘S might be for ‘star’. You may need to give each other clues.

More from Oxford Owl

• More Christmas activities for kids
• Children’s books for Christmas

Coming up with a great story idea can be tricky, which is why we’ve gathered together four fun activities to spark your child’s imagination and help them overcome writer’s block.Ìę

Why not use these activities to inspire your child to create an exciting adventure for the BBC 500 Words short story competition, which opens on 26th September 2023?

1. Find inspirational objects at home

Unusual objects can be a great source of story inspiration. Raid your kitchen cupboards or hunt through the attic to find lost treasures. Anything from an old hat to a telescope will do the trick. Ask your child questions about the object to inspire different story ideas.

What could it be used for? Who might be looking for it? What secrets could it hold? Suggest different genres or types of story such as mystery or science fiction and discuss how the item might be used in this kind of story.

2. Turn facts into fiction

Fun facts from encyclopedias, museums, zoos, the internet and beyond can inspire astounding stories. Did you know a jumping flea can accelerate faster than a space rocket taking off into orbit? You could use this science fact to spark a story about an astronaut flea saving Tim Peake from bug-eyed alien invaders.

What is the craziest story idea your child can think of inspired by the facts they find?

Author Top Tip:
Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks: just write the story you would love to read.

3. Scour the headlines

Real-life events can often spark great story ideas. Have a look through a newspaper or find some news articles online. There are all sorts of interesting details in news stories that could inspire wild and wacky stories. Why not combine details from different reports to create a fresh and original story?

4. Have fun with our idea generator

Sometimes it’s the mix of ingredients that can give you a story idea that stands out from the crowd. Get your budding writer to choose different characters, settings and genres from the table below and mix them together. What kind of mystery would Sherlock Holmes solve on his visit to Hogwarts?

Author Top Tip:
Don’t just go with your first idea for a story. a) it might not be your best idea and b) the chances are, a lot of other people will think up that idea as their first idea too. So come up with at least three different ideas – and then choose the one you think is the best.

These activities should help your child get off to a flying start in writing an amazing tale. The only limit is their imagination!

More from Oxford Owl

• Blog:Ìę4 top tips for writing great plots
• Blog:Ìę4 fun ways to develop characters for a short story
• Blog:ÌęHow to find the perfect words for your story
• Tips and activities: On ourÌęÌępage, children’s author Christopher Edge shares his top 10 tips to get your child writing, whilst free activity sheets will help them discover their inner author.
• Blog: Find out all you need to know about the BBC 500 Words short story competitionÌęright here.
• Blog: Find more inspiration in thisÌębreakdown of the 2017 500 Words competition,Ìęincluding excerpts from 2017’s stories.

Books to support creative writing

This summer we’re feeling inspired! Join us, and get out and read wherever you can – on a bus, in the park or at the beach – just grab a book and go!

Try to squeeze in time to read, even if it’s just 10 minutes a day – and don’t forget about our handy Progress with Oxford activity books for when you’re on the go and in need of some fun learning activities! #OnTheGoWithPWO

If you’re looking to update your bookshelf this summer, we’ve also put together a great list of book suggestions below.

Please note that all links to books will connect you to Amazon.co.uk.

Some of our suggestions are also part of The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge 2023.

Looking for more book recommendations? Take a look at our free eBook library for more holiday reading inspiration!

More from Oxford Owl

• Blog: Establishing a reading habit for the summer holidays and beyond
• Book list: Not your typical books for boys
• Book list: How to build a girl: books to inspire your daughter

As March marks both Women’s History month and International Women’s Day, we’ve put together a list of our favourite reads which feature strong and inspirational female lead characters. Perfect for any young readers looking for compelling stories to move and engage them.

More from Oxford Owl

• Blog: Establishing a reading habit for the summer holidays and beyond
• Book list: Not your typical books for boys
• Book list: How to build a girl: books to inspire your daughter

The start of a new term is a great time to think about ways you can help your child with their schoolwork.

One key area you can really help your child with, whatever their age, is mental arithmetic. Mental arithmetic is being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide in your head and to solve problems using method and logic. These skills are the key foundations of maths skills, and speed and accuracy makes everything else in maths so much easier.

Building confidence in maths early on will pay back many times over. Repetitive learning increases confidence, improves speed and builds connections in the brain; skills that last a life time. Once your child has strong mental arithmetic abilities, they can tackle all sorts of problem solving.

Here are some fun and easy ideas of how you can support your child’s learning.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

In Key Stage 1, your child will:

• cover counting in twos, threes, fives and tens knowing both the multiplication and division facts for the twos, fives and tens multiplication tables
• work out a number that is one more, or one less than a given number
• work with number bonds to ten and twenty
• add and subtract two-digit numbers
• halve and double numbers.

Here are some ideas of how you can help them:

1. Flashcards

Don’t underestimate the need for repetition! It is amazing how many times a child needs to repeat times tables and number bonds before they are consolidated.

Flashcards are a great way of having fun while learning. Try taking them with you when you are out and about – spending a quick 5 minutes here and there can be fun and can make all the difference. Why not use the stopwatch on your phone for an element of challenge? Can they tell you the multiplication facts for the two times table in one minute? How about the division facts?

2. Number bond targets

Try this fun game to add, subtract or multiply to reach a target. Give your child a target of 10 and then shout out any one-digit number (including 0) and they have to add one other number to reach 10.

You can then vary this by making the target 0 and you shout out any one-digit number that they have to take away from 10 to reach 0. Once they know these bonds off by heart, try working with a target of 20.

3. Double and halve

This is a great game for waiting rooms, in the car – whenever you have a minute to spend. Say an even number and ask your child to double the number and then halve the number. Begin with a single-digit number, then up to 20 and then a multiple of 10.

Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6)

Your child will know their multiplication table from ones to twelves by the end of Year 4. They will be able to add and subtract three-digit numbers and to solve problems using more than one operation at a time.

Here are some fun ideas to support them with their learning:

1. More flashcards!

Flashcards continue to be a useful resource as your child gets older. There are many sets available, or it is easy to make your own.

Use the flashcards for all of the multiplication tables. Older children might enjoy seeing how many correct answers they can give in a set time. Doubling and halving bigger numbers and doubling and halving odd numbers are all brilliant ways of extending your child’s mental arithmetic skills.

Try theseÌęÌęfrom Bond.

2. Puzzles

Lots of puzzles require knowledge of number patterns. Puzzles such as Sudoku, number crosswords, maths mazes and number riddles are all excellent ways of learning by stealth!

Bond have a range of ‘brain training’ books and the number puzzles book is especially good for developing mental arithmetic. TheÌęÌęalso has some free puzzles to try!

3. Logical thinking

Giving your child challenges that develop their logic and reasoning is perfect practice. Ask them to halve, double or triple a recipe, or to round up or down the cost of items in the supermarket and to give an estimated total. You could ask them to work out how much water to add to cordial, how many weeks of pocket money it would take to save up for something or how much the total cost will be at a café or day out.

4. Mental arithmetic games and apps

There are lots of great games and apps that make mental arithmetic more fun for children. Take a look at the free downloadable and interactive activities available on theÌę

More from Oxford Owl

• Blog post:ÌęTimes tables tips
• Web page: What is the Year 4 multiplication tables check?
• Web page:ÌęFun maths games and activities

Books and flashcards

Queen is the Oxford Children’s Word of the Year 2022.

Children express overwhelming sadness at loss of Queen but remain hopeful about year aheadÌę

According to research conducted by 51șÚÁÏÍű, Queen is the children’s word of the year for 2022. Almost half of children surveyed chose Queen as their word of the year, followed by over a third selecting happy and more than one in ten choosing chaos.Ìę

When asked why they chose Queen, many children talked about sadness and loss as well as feelings of pride in relation to the late monarch. Girls were more likely than boys to relate to the late Queen, and analysis of the Oxford Children’s Corpus, the largest children’s English language database in the world, revealed Queen Elizabeth was regularly in the top-ten list of famous peopleÌęchildren have written about over the years.ÌęÌę

The Research

In order to find the Children’s word of the year 2022 4,000 children aged 6-14 across the country were asked for their suggested word of 2022 and based on the most common responses and themes in their answers, three words were shortlisted:Ìę

• Queen
• happy
• chaos

The three words were then put to vote by a further 1,000 children to decide their overall word of 2022.

“It comes as no surprise that Queen is Children’s Word of the Year for 2022. This not only reflects Her Majesty’s 70 years of incredible service, but over the past decade our research consistently reveals how attuned children are to the news and the impact current affairs have on their language. It’s vital we continue to invest in language development and ensure children have access to a wide range of vocabulary in order to feel equipped to process and discuss the news.”Ìę –Ìę Helen Freeman, Director of Oxford Childrens

“The choice of Queen highlights how affected children were by the emotions and sense of community and connection around the Jubilee and the Queen’s death. We always encourage teachers and parents not to shy away from discussing the news and the empathy issues of the day. Schools report that making brave book choices, and focusing on honest, empathetic talk really opens-up a new, deeper relationship, between teacher and pupil, and among children themselves.”Ìę –Ìę Miranda McKearney OBE, founder of EmpathyLab

The Highlights

• The research suggests that children are very aware of wider global, political and economic issues: themes including the war in Ukraine, cost of living crisis and the climate emergency were frequently mentioned in early surveys. Responses also show that many are taking stock at a pivitol point in time and recognising a point of transition, both after the Covid-19 pandemic and that “we have a king now instead of a queen”.
• 39% of boys and 52% of girls in the final survey chose the word Queen, suggesting girls were more likely than boys to choose this word. There are also some newly-emerging word senses that the research uncovered, with participants revealing that they were using the word ‘queen’ as a compliment, saying:
  • “I always say ‘yes queen’ to every woman/girl I know I want them to feel empower[e]d. Every woman/girl I know is a queen in my eyes”
  • “Because we girls are queens”
• Cool was voted as the children’s colloquial word of the year, chosen by 40% of children in the final survey. Sick and slay were also popular choices identified as words used by children and teenagers but not adults.
• Overall, there was a very hopeful feeling about children’s suggested words. Happy was the most popular chice from the shortlist with 36% of the votes. Both happy and happiness were poular suggestions and xhildren frequently contrasted the difficult years they have experienced with a sense that better times are to come.

Empathy and Vocabulary

A strong theme in the research is children’s capacity for empathy, particularly in looking beyond events in their own lives to bigger picture things like the Queen’s death and conflict in Ukraine. IfÌę you are looking to explore topics in the world around you with your child at home, the following links may help:

• Blog: Mindfulness and mental health: top five tips for parents
• Blog: Building kids’ resilience and confidence
• Books: Big Words for Little People

Books to build Vocabulary