Please help! I need to write an expository essay for my college English class, but I can't come up with anything to write about. I was thinking maybe I should write about something to do with child rearing, since I am a stay at home Mom. Or maybe something about being an adult student and having more on my plate than traditional students. However, I can't seem to think of anything specific that I know a lot about and is interesting enough to write about. I think once I come up with a topic I will be okay, but I when we don't have unassigned topics because I can never think of anything to write about!

Here is my assignment:

Expository Essay--1 1/2 to 2 pages in length

Choose a topic that you are familiar with, and that you will enjoy working with. What is something that you have knowledge of, and would like to write about? You will write a short essay in the expository style, simply explaining something to the reader. Your essay should have a clear introduction, a solid thesis statement, supporting body paragraphs, and a strong conclusion. This is not a research paper, so you don't need to use outside sources. However, if you choose to use outside sources, you must follow APA guidelines for citing, paraphrasing and writing a reference page. You may write in the first person, using 'I' if you would like to.

Any ideas? Maybe even an example would jump start my brain. I tried finding example essays on these topics but have not had much luck. I don't want to copy someone elses' work by any means, I just need something to help get me started. Thanks for your help in advance!

Hmm... ok, well it says that you'll be explaining something to the reader. Do you enjoy being a stay at home mom? I don't know if I can really imagine just being a stay at home mom. I think its great that other women do. My own mother was sort of a stay at home mom, she ran a company from the house so even if she was working she was there. I just don't know what I would do all day if I were a stay at home mom. Do you play with your kids all day? Are you constantly cooking and cleaning up after them? I think if you wanted to you could write about being a stay at home mom. Pretend you're writing to someone like me, who is a full time student and working full time with no kids- I have no idea what its really like to be a stay at home mom. :)

In the beginning I didn't want to be a stay at home Mom because I thought it would be boring, plus I am not really the "domestic" type - I hate cooking and cleaning! However, I didn't really have a choice in the matter because daycare was so expensive that I couldn't afford to keep working. When he was little and slept a lot, I got bored because there isn't a lot to do around the house - you can only clean so much lol! Now that he's older, I spend time with him playing and teaching him things. He is only 2 and he already knows his letters, numbers, colors, and shapes! He also has a very large vocabulary and even knows some Spanish (which he got from his educational DVDs, I don't know any other languages). Sometimes we go on playdates, or go to the parks, pool, library, museums, etc. but usually we stay in. I also am a full time student (online) so I spend his nap time doing homework and studying. I only have one child though so I think the biggest downside is that he and I both don't get very much social interaction with people our own ages.

I originally wanted to write about this, but our teacher did point out that we should do a specific topic that is interesting to readers (I wish I could find her exact wording but I can't seem to), so I didn't know if that would be too broad or if I could even write enough to fill 1 1/2 - 2 pages, or for that matter if it was interesting enough. I think I will try to get started on this topic though and see what I can come up with. Thanks for your help! :)

Teaching children can be really difficult. My cousin is almost 3, neither of her parents work (that's a story for another thread though), and she still barely talks. Did teaching your son come easy? Did you have to take parenting classes or early childhood education classes? Or did it just come naturally?

What else interests you? Or what other life experiences have you learned from?

I disagree - I think it's very easy to teach them! Some things come harder than others (like potty training), but for the most part small children are like sponges and absorb everything they see/hear. The key is repetition and to make learning fun. No, I didn't take any classes of any sort, it just came to me naturally I guess. Since I am home with him anyway (and I knew that they teach the same things in daycare/preschool) I just worked with him whenever I had the opportunity. I didn't want him to go to Kindergarten and be behind all the kids who had gone to daycare/preschool. So I never talked to him in baby talk, but instead carried on actual conversations with him. I also used toys and educational videos to make it interesting, for example he loves cars so I got a car in every color and would make him tell me which car was blue, and how many cars there were, what letter does car start with, etc. etc. etc.. I only allow him to watch programs that teach something, nothing that has no educational value - leapfrog is really good, that's how he learned what sounds each of the letters make. I never even tried to teach him that or knew that he had learned them, he just picked it up from one of the videos and started saying "A says a-a-apple, B says b-b-bus, c says c-c-cat" one day!

I don't really have a lot of interests outside of my family, I'm a pretty boring person lol. I haven't really had a lot of abnormal experiences either, I had a typical childhood. The only difference is I never went to college and instead worked, which is where I met my Husband. We got married, I got pregnant, and when we figured out we couldn't afford daycare I became a stay at home Mom. I'm using the time to go back to school, and when my kid(s?) are in school and I've graduated I'm hoping to become a HR Manager.

You make it sound so easy! I try to get my cousin interested in anything and she either stares at me or walks away.

Hm. I can't come up with anymore ideas for topics. :(

I would work with her parents more than her. The problem is that her full-time caregivers need to work with her, consistently! Sometimes it's annoying how many times you have to repeat the same thing over, and over, and over just for them to pick it up, but if you are patient and consistent the reward is so worth it! I have sung the ABCs with my Son so many times that I think it's now permanently stuck in my head (when I'm washing dishes, doing laundry, or cleaning, when we're grocery shopping, running errands, out to dinner, you name it! And no I didn't care about the looks people gave me lol) but eventually it paid off and now I'm glad I did it. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but if she isn't picking these things up then to me that means no one is really working with her, or they aren't working with her enough.

I think I'm actually starting to get a halfway decent outline from this topic. Just talking it out with someone got the ideas flowing. Here's what I have so far:

The advantages of being a Stay at home Mom

Intro

• Advantages for Mom (Body Paragraph 1)
- Get to see all their “firsts” and watch them grow up
- Knowing they are safe/well taken care of
- Less stress/healthier/more time for domestic chores
- Less expensive than daycare/gas
- Teaching them your morals/values and raising them the way you want

• Advantages for child (Body Paragraph 2)
- Better bonding with Mom
- More one-on-one attention
- Ability to go places/do things on a moments notice (more opportunities for fun!)
- Healthier, happier, more family time
- Ability to breastfeed
- Being on a consistent schedule

• Disadvantages (Body Paragraph 3)
- Lack of social interaction with children of same age/adults of same age
- Lack of “me” time/no breaks
- No income/vacation/sick time
- Can be boring, frustrating, and make you feel unappreciated
- Separation anxiety/stranger issues (with anyone other than Mom)
- Putting your career on hold and missing out on valuable experience/on the job skills/training

Conclusion

It's not much yet but it takes up almost a whole page of just notes so I have a feeling once I turn it into actual sentences/paragraphs this will be a breeze! Thank you so much for your help.

Looks like a great start so far!

Okay so here's my first rough draft. I know I need to expand on the intro and conclusion paragraphs, those are definitely works in progress! Any thoughts?

The advantages of being a Stay at home Mom

When you decide to have a baby, you have a lot of decisions to make, including whether to stay at home with your child or go back to work. I decided to stay at home, mostly because I couldn’t afford daycare on my income. So, for the past two years I have been a stay at home Mom, and there have been many advantages along the way.

My favorite part of being a stay at home Mom is that I get to see all of my Son’s firsts and really watch him grow up. I know that he is being raised the way I want him to be, with the same morals and values as myself and my Husband. I don’t have to leave him with a stranger and worry if he is safe or being well taken care of. Which makes things a lot less stressful for me, and I feel like I can get more accomplished, such as cleaning the house and making home cooked meals. Also my staying home has been less expensive than what we would have been paying for daycare and gas to get to and from work.

Staying at home has been beneficial for my Son as well. He has had a lot more bonding with me, and has received all of my one-on-one attention. We are able to go places whenever we want, which has allowed us more opportunities for fun since I don’t have to plan ahead. He gets to spend more time with us as a family, always eating meals together and spending lots of quality time. He has been very healthy since he isn’t ever around sick children. I have also been able to keep him on a consistent schedule that works for him.

However, there have been some disadvantages as well. My Son isn’t able to get as much social interaction with children his age, and I miss the social aspect of work and being able to have adult conversations. Because he is with me all of the time, it can be hard for him to go anywhere without me. I don’t get paid for what I do, and there is no vacation or sick time. Sometimes I also worry that putting my career on hold for so long will put me at a disadvantage when I do return to work.

In the end, I believe that my staying home was the best decision for our family.