My kids want to write their own Newsletter.
They kept on encountering stories of kids who have written and published their own works. Thomas Edison published his own newspaper at a very young age. Benjamin Franklin did the same. They would frequently hear stories of homeschooling kids who get to write and publish their stories and articles in different venues, and the idea has inspired them.
My kids love history. And their favorite books about it are those in the "History News" style. This only encouraged them to try their hand at "reporting".
I am very excited about this possibility, because it could be such a great learning experience for me and my kids on so many different levels.
So my goal is that in January, we will have a name for our newsletter, and give it a try to see if there is a receptive audience. I am going to try and learn how to use some software to figure out how to format a newsletter.
The newsletter will be very versatile. The kids want to publish stories, poems, essays, book reviews, current events, homeschooling events, and local news.
The kids have big dreams of "going big" and "getting rich" and "getting great advertisements". I, however, would be pleased just to give it out to family, friends, and neighbors for fun. I would be delighted if in some way, it could build a better bridge of communication between the homeschooling and public schooling realms. I would love to see other kids from both sides contribute to some kind of local publication.
Ideas, anyone, for getting started?
As I have no experience in publishing, (at least I have some experience in editing) I am sure I will quickly be in over my head.
But I am thrilled to give it a try, and just see where it goes!
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microsoft word has some good newsletter templates!
ReplyDeleteI was going to say Microsoft Publisher. I didn't know there was any in Word. If they wanted to make it online, the kids could just start their own blog. Then you wouldn't have to print it -- kind of the wave of the future. Most newspapers are going under these days, unfortunately. Blogs can be set up to accommodate a group, the "posted by" at the end of the post will show who posted it.
ReplyDeleteAmy
Our family did that when we were kids - it was called "The Bassett Star" and had a circulation of, well, our immediate family. (: (This was back when we had to use carbon paper to make copies. Yes, I'm ancient.) We would write poems, stories, letters to the editor, do art, crossword puzzles, and all kinds of things. I'm glad that at least some were saved for us to look back on and giggle.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually with your friend that suggested doing something online (blog or other) instead of publishing it. You're much more likely to get a wider audience that way, and it will cut down on costs. At the end of a school year or whatever, you could easily have it printed into books for your parents or whomever you want to have a hard copy great Mother's/Father's Day presents!).