Idea Prompts

"Tags" is a game we invented. It's a great game to play when you have other kids over to play, or with your family. You'll just need some idea prompts, colored pencils and plain paper. One of the children selects a tag from our array of idea prompts and reads it aloud. For pre-readers, an adult reads the tag aloud. Everyone follows the instructions or responds to the question or words as they wish. It's open-ended ~ no right/wrong, just your interpretation of what is on the tag. The younger children sketch their answer and the older children often respond in words and pictures. Give everyone 5-7 minutes to respond in pictures or writing, then take turns sharing their work. They can get up in front of the group or share from their seat, as they wish. Some fun prompts:

1. Two Words: Swimming Pumpkin
2. Write definitions for these words: trumpopolist, fentura, grenaget, seneria, kwok.
3. Write a sentence that includes these words: starfish, blue, ketchup, firefly, tractor.
4. Design a machine to make rainbows.
5. List 5 reasons not to clean your room.
6. Invent a big lie.
7. What if your house had a swingset in the living room?
8. List 10 things you can do with a toothbrush.

For the kids, I try to keep it fun and quirky. Toasted Cheese has good journal prompts. To make the tags format the prompts in a variety of fonts, print, cut, and glue to standard tags (available at office supply stores), playing cards or index cards.