Writing is one of the main aspects we teach our kids at school because writing is a key to communicating ideas. Though visual media is overtaking the use of words in print, writing is still a part of the process of creating visual media. Writing is still an essential aspect to education. I like this quote, and it has shaped how we have handled the language arts in our home.
Reading maketh a full man,
conference a ready man,
and writing an exact man.
Sir Francis Bacon
Reading, speaking and writing are all part of the same skill set – communication. Reading gives our kids ideas, inspiration. Talking about ideas helps them be ready to communicate to others and writing helps them to be careful about what how they communicate their ideas.
Unfortunately we tend to narrow in on the skill of writing – our homeschooling will be successful if our children can write. But writing is not isolated from these other aspects. We need to teach and train reading, speaking and writing.
