Reluctant writer and draw-er

[FranglaisMamma]

My eldest (8yrs) dislikes writing and drawing. And I dislike her using the computer to find her images etc. And I sometimes wonder if there is a more productive way of using the time and resources.
For example, in history, that is so often war after battle after war, she will draw a sword for every narration that has a battle... and will draw nothing else. And then I scribe her oral narration.
Has anyone else got similar children or ideas that will make things more productive?
Cheers,
Franglais Mamma

[ErinElizabeth]

My 6 year old is a perfectionist. No matter what anyone says about doing your best, if he can't draw or write perfectly, he doesn't want any part of it. I don't know if that sounds familiar or not, but there is a series of books called Draw Write Now that teaches you how to draw specific things step by step and has sentences that she could write as handwriting copywork. Between that and oral narration, you should be okay. Or if that doesn't look like it would work, how about filling in maps of where the battle is taking place and maybe doing some craft projects that would replicate art native to that region and/or time period. Worst case scenario, there are some great free coloring pages on the activity village UK site that have lines underneath for writing. I hope that these ideas help.

[funkmomma71]

My daughter has also been reluctant in the past to draw pictures and when she did the were very simple and repetitive. We are now using the Draw and Write Through History books and her drawing has blossomed and she seems to look forward to drawing even without the book to guide her.