At-Home Ideas For Beginning Writers

 

            Today's Snack: There's just something about graham crackers and milk that seems to go with children who are about 5 or 6, and just emerging as writers. So let's make them today's snack - the graham crackers and milk, not the kids!!!

 

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            Eager-beaver kindergartners and enthusiastic first-graders are a joy to teach. Wise parents will take advantage of the glory years of early grade school to establish some supportive at-home activities that are a lot more like play than work.

 

Keep it light-hearted! Keep it fun! Activities in that relaxed, positivce spirit will pay off on down the road as kids who love to learn - and write - do better in school.

 

            Being diligent about conducting learning activities at home has a broader purpose, too. Nothing beats having a great working relationship with your child and your child's teacher.

 

The best way to get that going is to do a little bit of "afterschooling" with your child in relaxed moments during the kindergarten and first-grade years. It'll make the teacher's job easier, too. Best of all, your child will know you love him or her, and will be a better writer to boot!

 

            Examples:

 

            Rhyme Time. Give your child a love for the sound of words by playing around a lot with rhyming as you go about your daily life. Demonstrate how easy it is to rhyme words, and take turns. Let's say you're matching socks with your child. While you're finding matching pairs of socks, find matching pairs of words together. Say: "See this sock? It'll hold a rock." Or at dinnertime: "Eat your dinner, or you'll be thinner." Rhyming is probably the best way to give your child phonemic awareness - a recognition of, and appreciation for, the sounds the alphabetic letters make in forming words. That recognition and appreciation translates into a love for language overall, which is crucial for good writing.

 

            Copycat. Once your child can write alphabet letters fairly well, Mom or Dad can write short words that are meaningful to the child, and the child can copy them. Start with the child's name and the names of your family and familiar household objects. Progress to short sentences and questions. Show your child how and when to use capital letters, and how and when to use lower case. Point out proper spacing between words and proper punctuation and so forth, but don't preach. Keep the tone light and the copying fun, in just two or three 10-minute sessions each week.

 

            Boss and Secretary. In the days before computers, business executives used to "dictate" letters to secretaries, who would then type them for the boss' signature. When a child can write words fairly fluently - without a lot of fuss or taking very long - he or she is ready to "take dictation" from you. It's important for helping the child form a mental picture of the order the letters should take in each words, and gradually be able to write them rapidly and accurately. For fun, you can lean back in a chair, put your feet on the table or desk, and pretend to be smoking a cigar like a big boss (for heaven's sake, use a straw or a carrot in these days of environmental friendliness!). If you can dictate words and sentences that have something to do with playtime or toys, it'll make it more fun and more meaningful for your child. For instance, you could dictate, "I love my Furby," and then help your child sound out the proper spelling of Furby if necessary. Of course, the child should "deliver" that memo to the Furby and return for the next one, just to make the game complete.