My children LOVE Webkinz! But they are not so fond of writing. I have found a great way to use something they love, to practice something they do not like doing. Not only do they practice writing, they also get to learn research skills in the process.

About every six weeks or so, we go Webkinz shopping.

The rules are simple:

1. Pick any type–real or imaginary.
2. Agree to complete two writing assignments based on the animal they have chosen.
3. NO Webkinz until the assignments are complete.

The assignments:

1. Research facts about the animal chosen. They must come up with a list of five facts and write them down. Then they must work at changing the lists into paragraphs.
2. Write a creative story about the animal chosen.

Having spent so much money on different curriculum that just never seemed to work to motivate my kids to write, these fun reports with Webkinz have simplified the process AND made it so much more enjoyable. It is also really cool to watch my children research and learn new things because they are motivated to do it.

~Aimee Sonderman is a homeschooling mom of two and can also be found at Journey2Learn