In each work drawer, the children have a journal. Some have started the journal with the teachers, while others have not started. While we're in school the children can choose to write on one page per day. The journal is a beautiful opportunity for children to begin expressing their loves and interests.
Today we read ,"The Squiggle," during our zoom circle time. If your child is interested, they could draw a red squiggle in their journal. The author turned the squiggle into a dragon, a Great Wall, a moon and a ripple in a pool of water. What can your squiggle become? Can you add many details and multiple colors? Is there anything you would like to add to your picture?
Once your child has drawn in their journal, it's time to add words to the pages. For some friends, they would like you to scribe for them. Let them tell you their story. As you write, sound out the words so they can hear you make the sounds. Talk to them about proper punctuation, capitalization and spacing (finger space between words).
Some of my friends are interested in writing their own words. They may be writing letters that don't necessarily connect to the sounds the words are making. It would look like a string of letters. This is fabulous. These are the beginning stages of independently writing. Let them write and then ask them to tell you about their story. They know what they are writing and they find great joy in telling their stories.
For other friends, they might want you to write their words and then copy the words. Encourage them to first trace over your words and then ask them to try to write it again. In this example, the child wrote the sentence multiple times. Remember these are the beginning stages of writing. It's okay that the letters aren't on the lines or that there are reversals. Celebrate and notice how they are working hard.
Lastly, your child might be at an independent writing stage. They may need help sounding out words. You'll notice in this example that the student skipped the letter "I" in the word birthday. It's totally okay, the student heard the sounds in the word and had a positive, joyful writing experience. If the student asked me, what letter or letters make the /ir/ sound in birthday, I would share the proper spelling; however, I would not draw attention to a mistake the child made. I would tuck that in the back of my mind as a reminder for a future lesson for them to receive.
Remember, at school the children don't always write in their journal everyday. Follow the child and their interest. One of the greatest gifts in teaching in the early childhood classroom is to watch the children begin to become readers and writers. Enjoy the magic and happy writing.