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Instead of Speaking, Write for More Practice!

Shelby Moore

May 11, 2011

All year long we have been learning and reciting the mantra:

“Everything we say we can write.
Everything we write we can read.
And so can the rest of the world!” 

This saying helps children realize that anything someone verbalizes can be written down into print.

Anytime you can get a child to write, it is great for their skill development; mostly it allows them to discover the conventions of print through their own exploration. Kindergartners are always pretending to be little adults most of the time during imagination play.

My students love to play house, restaurant, banker, etc. If you include writing into those areas of play, children will be more likely to take chances with their writing and they will be less likely to worry about how things are spelled--and we know the more they practice the better their writing will be.

The more children feel comfortable to try writing, the better their writing will soon become. So, here are some ideas of ways you can get your child to do more writing:

  • Have small tablets available for your child to jot down words and/or ideas while they are playing. For example, if they are playing house they may want to write down an imaginary grocery list.                                             
  • Have a small white board and dry erase marker available for your child to use. Have them write you a message instead of speaking the words to you.             
  • Conversation writing with a parent, sibling, or friend. Click on the link to get specific directions for conversation writing.

 convo5.jpg

  • What other things do you do to get your child to practice writing?
  • How did it go having your child write instead of speak?  It may be difficult at first but it will get better every time they practice!
Try and write tonight and every night after that too!
~Shelby Moore