Try one of the following lessons, to best suit your children's skills and abilities:
Talk about the drawing.
After drawing the picture, sit beside the child and ask them to tell you about their drawing. As they tell you their story or description, write their words down on a sheet of paper. (Try to use the handwriting style that they are using or will be using). After they are finished talking, read the story or description back to them, pointing to each word as you read it. This helps children recognize the relationship between speaking and writing.
Write one letter.
Show the children how to correctly form and pronounce the letter. Start the letter at the top. Guideline paper is not necessary at this point.
s 
h
Write one word.
Show the children how to correctly form and pronounce each word. Help them space the letters evenly.
swanheron
Write short sentences about the bird.
Demonstrate -- slowly write a short sentence, so the children see how each letter is formed.
Swans are big birds.Herons are big birds.
Help the children learn that the first letter of the first word in a sentence is a capital letter, that a period is at the end of the sentence, and that there are spaces between words. Lesson to lesson, increase the amount of writing. Eventually get them to the place where they can write four sentences in fifteen minutes.
Swans are big birds. Ocean water rises on tidelands.
They swim in the water. It covers the land twice a day.
Some lakes have swans. Herons wade into the water.
Swans are pretty birds. They hunt for small fish.
You may want to create your own sentences, or use quotes or verses. See the suggestions listed in these lesson plans.
Write a story about your drawing.
Sometimes the subject and background drawings bring out a story! When this happens, the children need to get their thoughts down on paper quickly. They have so much to concentrate on while composing a story -- ideas, sentences, capitalization, spelling -- so this is not the time to stress slow, careful handwriting.
Children who love to write. . .
One mother told us that her daughter loved to write. The child's stories went on and on, page after page, but Mom wanted to see improvement in handwriting, spelling and paragraph structure. She regularly gave her daughter a drawing lesson, which naturally led to her writing a story about the drawing. After reading it together, the mother helped her select several sentences from the story. They discussed and corrected any spelling or grammar errors in the condensed story before the child copied the sentences onto another paper using her best handwriting. She learned to self-edit, while improving her writing legibility.
Children who don't like to write . . .
Write along with the child on your own piece of paper. You will model letter formation, the importance of spacing, and the pronunciation of words. Work for success, but push the child a bit. If you know they can write one sentence, have them write two short sentences. If a reluctant writer balks, use the coloring time as an incentive. Remind the child that you will bring out the crayons (or color pencils, watercolors, etc.) after the sentences are finished.
Practice grammar.
Provide the children with another sheet of paper and ask them to write all the nouns in their drawing. Another time, have them write all the verbs or adjectives.
Write a paragraph.
Practice writing simple paragraphs. Make the writing assignment short -- no more than fifteen minutes.
