1. Keep a pocket dictionary in your purse or backpack and try to learn the definition and spelling of one new word every week.
2. Read the front page and your favorite section of the local newspaper every day. (as well as the comics!)
3. Join a library reading club. Discover authors that you love, and pledge to read all of their books. If in doubt where to start, ask your librarian. They will have some super ideas!
4. Read the biography of someone famous, then try writing your own.
5. Go natural and learn, through research, how to identify the leaves, flowers, and plants found at the park or in your backyard.
6. Plan and research a make-believe vacation. Choose your dream destination or favorite hot spot and determine the best way to travel there and back, where to stay and what to see.
7. Keep a journal of your favorite books and websites, and then re-visit them a few months later!
8. Play mind bender games by stocking up on word games and crossword puzzles.
9. Create a family tree. Begin by gathering stories and pictures from relatives until everything, and everyone, starts to fall into place in history.
10. Write a story with a friend. Start out with a list of fictional characters and their personality traits, then cook up a good tale.
11. Write poems about your friends, family, pets, your feelings and emotions.
12. Join an evening art class at the library or community center and seek out the true artist within!