Day-by-Day Calendar
Turn a large calendar — commercial or homemade — into a personalized family communication center. Have children fill in the blanks with morning messages, weather reports, birthdays, special activities, or notes to the family.
Writing Instead of Talking
Exchange notes at different times during the day — when getting up in the morning, at dinner, or at bedtime — or whenever the noise level becomes too high.
Picture Stories
Develop imagination and creativity. Have children select four or five pictures from magazines and newspapers, and put them together to tell a story. Ask children to number the pictures — 1, 2, 3, etc. First, ask them to tell the story with the pictures in numerical order. Then, ask them to write it down on paper. For variety, have children rearrange the pictures and tell a new story using this different arrangement.