dandelion time

I am definitely one of these ... and I think it shows.

Nurturing a Natural Writer

by Sandy Larsen

Part 2: Dandelion Time

In Part 1 of this article we looked at how parents can nourish a natural writer by providing room to write. Room to write includes physical room (a place), schedule room (a time) and psychological room (permission).

Time to write and permission to write involve what I call “dandelion time.”

One summer I walked past a park and my attention was snagged by a T-ball game. The small batter had just stepped up ready to knock the ball over the chain-link fence. Meanwhile, the outfield was not exactly prepared. The left fielder was bent over picking dandelions. The second baseman was gazing at the clouds. When a grounder came rolling out between them, the coach had to call it to their attention. Then they both rushed at the ball, knocking their heads together.

I wanted to yell at those two dreamy fielders, “You! And you! You’re outta the game! Go back to your notebooks or your drawing pads or your sculpting clay where you belong!” Clearly those kids were artist types who needed some unstructured time to do nothing.

Artists of all kinds, writers included, need time for picking dandelions and staring at clouds. I have read it and read it from people who are professional writers today. Downtime is what made them writers.

Growing up, I spent enormous amounts of time down in the woods which started at the edge of our back yard and spread through steep gullies in all directions. I never took pencil and paper into the woods. But while I was there, whether with the neighborhood kids or alone, I was writing. Even while “doing nothing”—especially while “doing nothing”—the writer is observing, taking in, sorting out. Some of this is conscious work; some is unconscious experience.

Dandelion time is difficult to incorporate into a summer recreation program. It’s almost impossible to insert into traditional school. As a homeschooling family, you have a huge advantage. Your schedule is inherently flexible and under your control. The very nature of dandelion time is unprogrammed, and it’s exactly what your young natural writer needs.

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Sandy Larsen is a professional freelance writer and the author of the “Igniting Your Writing” homeschool writing curriculum, available on HomeschoolEStore.com.