Have you discovered how hard it is to show love to our kids when we’re not feeling especially charitable? It takes a lot of self-control to keep a calm and gentle spirit when the toilet is overflowing, your son locks his sister out of the house, or the school day has gone south in the blink of an eye.

Take writing. If you’ve been working carefully on grammar, story organization, and descriptive details, it can be frustrating as all get-out to edit a paper that’s riddled with errors. How easy it is to whip out that red pen and begin circling and crossing out with a vengeance!

Truth be told, most of us don’t feel very loving when we’re having a staredown with misspelled words, poor punctuation, and disorganized reports. So how can we put a positive spin on editing and grading when we’re feeling peevish?

Here are three heartfelt tips for how to love your kids’ writing, especially when you’d rather wad it into a ball and toss it across the room. 

(These tips are excerpts from the full article you can read here.)

Here are just a few of the tips that Kim gives you. Read the full article here.

1. Show Love with Words!

Frustration overseeing the same old mistakes can keep our emotions at a slow boil. The poisoned words: “How many times do I have to tell you…” erupt from our lips before we can call them back—and by then, the damage is done.

Give Praise

No matter how bad the writing, no matter how many errors, there’s always something to praise. We only have to look for it—even if it’s hidden between the lines.

Give Specifics

2. Show Love with Colors!

When correcting a paper, it’s so easy to zero in on mistakes, isn’t it? Instead, show love by looking for things your kids did well!

Use Proofreading Marks in Various Colors

Introduce your children (even your younger ones) to basic proofreading marks like the ones you see on the free printable (PDF) linked below. [This chart is one of the handy printables found in WriteShop Junior Book E and Book F.]