99 Stories I Could Tell (A Timberdoodle Review)

 99 Stories I Could Tell takes creative writing to a whole new level. If you have a reluctant writer, and are looking for a way to spark a little creativity, this activity book for teens is exactly what you need. Adding this activity daily to my son's ninth grade homeschool routine has helped him tremendously. 

Creative writing can be a challenge for literal children. My ninth grader is a hands-on, practical, get-the-job-done type of kid. On several occasions he will write when it is not a school assignment, but writing is not his favorite activity. He will write to his pen pal (through a program available to subscribers of Focus on the Family Clubhouse Magazine), and he enjoys participating in the annual Rainbow Resource Center Summer Writing Contest. Both of these activities have a reward. Writing to his pen pal means he will receive a response in the mail. Creating a story for the summer contest means he will receive a hard copy of his story, and a $5 Dairy Queen gift card. When rewarded for his work, he will put forth an effort.

Oftentimes, when busywork is assigned, a child will not see an immediate reward or benefit. They wonder why they should even try. Even though as the parent, we know that the hard work will pay off in the long run, it often helps to give them assignments that provide an immediate reward—at least sometimes. 

99 Stories I Could Tell does just that. This creative activity book for students twelve and older comes with partially created drawings to work with. Each day, your child is encouraged to follow a prompt. They are able to add to the drawing and/or answer the questions. After all ninety-nine of these are filled in, your child will have ninety-nine story prompts to work with for creative writing. My son is actively working through these prompts. When he is through, he will begin to work on stories, based on his favorite pictures. I am not going to require a story for every picture, only the ones that truly made him stop and think. The one pictured above asked him to think about something that his friends like, but he does not care for, and vice versa. He shared that his friends like video games, but he prefers woodworking. This will lead to an excellent paper.  

The final pages are where your child can create titles for the stories that he could create. After this book is finished, your child will have thought-provoking prompts to write stories and papers in your homeschool. This is an excellent addition to the Ninth Grade Timberdoodle Curriculum Kit that can be purchased as a stand alone product or as part of the kit. 

Disclaimer: I received the above product in exchange for an honest review.