Word Clouds

Have you ever head of Wordle.net's word cloud generator?

Here is an example of a Wordle word cloud that I made for my daughter:

These word clouds are fun gift or note card ideas (Christmas, birthdays, etc.). They can be framed and hung on the wall or pasted into a scrap book. And best of all, they are a fun way to trick your child into doing some writing.

The word cloud generator uses your text to create a pleasant looking jumble of words that can be tweaked until you are happy with it. All you need is a list of words! Once your child sees these fun, colorful word clouds, he will be itching to try it. So have him sit down and write a list of words that describe himself (this is great brainstorming practice for future writing projects, by the way). Then go to Wordle.net and have a blast!

Some tips to get the best experience from Wordle:

• If you want a word to appear larger, input that word several times. The more times a word appears in your list, the bigger it will be in the word cloud.
• To use a phrase, place a ~ between the two words in your list so that the generator will know not to separate them (like in "Spelling Bee Champ" in the sample).
• Don't have a color printer? Wordle word clouds are just as awesome in black and white. And you could always have your child color them once they are printed.
• Go beyond having your child write about himself. Create them for other people, pets, holidays, favorite places, etc.

Have fun with your word clouds!