Creative Writing Mentorship for Kids: How The Write Compass Helps Children Read, Write & Thrive

A few months ago, Chehak’s mum, Naina, approached me to help Chehak with her reading, speaking, and writing. She was concerned that though Chehak was reading storybooks, she was unable to express herself clearly, and she just did not want to write.

I assured Naina that this is a common problem that most parents face. Their children either read a lot or don’t read at all, and they just don’t want to write because they find learning, reading, and writing super boring. Who would like to read, which requires effort, while it is far easier to pick up a mobile or a tablet and get an instant dopamine rush!

What these children are missing out on is dedicated time, age-appropriate mentorship and guidance, focused feedback and some creativity. Agreed, it is not always possible for a parent or a teacher to devote so much time.

To fill this gap and to help fellow parents, I launched The Write Compass, a unique blend of mentorship programs infused with NLP and Art Therapy, along with reading and writing. Here, we’re not just reading; we focus on problem-solving skills, emotional regulation, ‘out of the box’ thinking, creative writing, and working on small projects. We focus on current affairs, topics on sustainability, environment, and mental health, to name a few.

My aim is to help children from Grades 4 to 7 in the W.I.N.G.S. Program and senior students with our 6 Month Writing Mentorship Course to nurture and guide them. Not all children like to read and write, but we blend in creative thinking and games to make reading and writing less of a chore, something that the children will look forward to.

With my 20+ years of experience in content and mentorship, and as a cross-disciplinary educator, I have curated writing mentorship programs for various age groups, including professionals. In fact, my 6 Month Certificate Writing Skills Course was also co-certified by SNDT Women’s University, where I taught as a Visiting Faculty, mentoring postgraduate journalism students in advanced writing techniques.

Naina enrolled Chehak for The W.I.N.G.S Program, where I worked with her on reading skills, word meanings, vocabulary development, and creative thinking.

Yes, initially, there was a slight apprehension as Chehak saw the sea of words in a book or the ones she had to write during our sessions. Yet, she gradually fell in love with the process as we used not only words, but also colours, cards, and board games, and read children’s newspapers, and we started expanding our horizons.

I usually take my sessions in my study, which is a cozy spot. On a beautiful sheesham wooden shelf, I have kept colour pencils, games, paints and more. Chehak happily helps herself to the colours on the days she misses bringing them. We don’t focus on the miss; we focus on what we can do. She knows where the games are kept, and we usually play word puzzles and memory games, which she loves. We have a healthy competition, and we laugh and have a lot of fun, while I gently guide her to writing and creating as well.

I must thank Naina too for being patient and trusting me in this process. Patient because Naina understands that this is going to be a slow and steady process. If we are to rush with the mentoring, the child/ learner is bound to feel pressured and we may run the risk of shutting the child to accept something new.

This is also one of the things I work with during my writing mentorship programs, especially for children and young learners/ senior students. I keep the communication channels open with the parents. In case they want any assistance or an area they feel we need to work on with the child, I subtly introduce topics and activities. Everything I discuss with the parent is kept confidential, as trust is key to the success of our program.

We work on self-belief, self-confidence and self-love too. I want our kids to be kind to themselves, especially in this super competitive, social media-heavy environment where they’re so easily influenced by external factors.

I’ve worked like this with my daughter too when she was little; with words, colours, art and craft, and so much more and now I see how much she reads, writes and sketches and is so creative. This helps our children to deal with the stresses they can seldom talk about, especially when they’re reaching adolescence. And luckily, we have preserved all her board games, story books and now I’m passing on the learnings to Chehak and other bright kids who enrol for our W.I.N.G.S Program.

If you’re looking for someone to mentor your child who offers more than just academic learning, let’s connect. We can have offline/ online sessions. Let’s rekindle the simple joys of life, of reading, being idle, and being creative in our children.

Note to parents: We give out certificates to children who complete six months to a year in our W.I.N.G.S Program and those who enrol for our Six-Month Certificate Writing Skills course, which also includes a recommendation letter.

See you at The Write Compass Mentorship Programs.