How to introduce the mentor to your child — and the write-a-little, draw-a-little habit that makes it stick.

Your first week

Day one: let the first cheer land

Don’t announce it — just make it happen. Find something your child already wrote or drew (the fridge door usually has one), snap it together, and let them hear the voice reply with you. Their first experience of KindyWords should be a cheer they already earned.

When they ask what it is, tell them honestly and warmly:

“It’s our writing helper — a computer friend that loves your writing. Every time you write or draw something, it cheers. Want to make it cheer again?”

That’s the whole introduction. It’s an AI and we never hide that — “computer friend” is the truth at four-year-old height.

Starting from zero? If the fridge door is empty, don’t ask for writing — ask for a drawing: “draw me your favourite thing while I make dinner.” Snap that. The first cheer works on anything, and a child who got cheered for a drawing will usually write something under the next one on their own. The kickstart is the hardest moment of the whole journey — which is why it should ask nothing of the child except something they already love doing.

The habit: write a little, draw a little

Here’s the pattern that makes writing stick: encourage a picture under every piece of writing. It works for three real reasons:

1. Drawing keeps the page fun. The habit is the goal; joy is the fuel. A page that’s half drawing never feels like homework.
2. Drawing is a doorway into writing. Young children plan stories in pictures before they can plan them in words. “Tell me about your drawing” turns into “it is my dog” — and there’s the next sentence, theirs.
3. The mentor cheers the drawing too. Drawings are always celebrated and never corrected — so even a no-words day is a winning day.

The gentle don’ts (from one parent to another)

• Don’t hover over spelling. “becos” is your child listening to sounds — the mentor knows how to handle it gently, and so does time.
• Don’t make it homework. “One more, then bed!” builds a habit. “You must do three” builds resistance.
• Don’t correct what the mentor just cheered. One voice at a time — let the cheer breathe.
• Don’t worry about no-words days. A drawing sent is a habit kept.

A first-week rhythm that works

Then read the practice email together at the fridge. The proud moment is the product.

Five warm minutes when it suits your family — that’s the whole ask. See How it works · Why writing