Make a Place for Writing at Home

     Last week I was babysitting so my son and his wife could go out.  I walked downstairs to find four year old Jacob.  He was standing next to a white board that was as tall as he was, and 5 feet wide.  It was a new addition to the basement.  "Come on Jacob, let's write the ABC's," I said.  He said "Oh Grandma, you are always trying to teach me, aren't you?"  He went to retrieve a large case of markers and we started writing.  We had an enjoyable moment, talking, laughing, and writing the ABC's.

     I know markers and children do not always go well together.  I had times when I was raising my boys, that markers made their way to the wall. But I do know that writing, reading and literacy will be forever linked.
     The ages before school we are just trying to unlock the alphabetical code.  But as children learn the letters and sounds, it will turn into writing thoughts, experiences, and feelings.  "Tools of the hands becomes tools of the mind." (Living Between the Lines p. 57)
     So give your children a place to write and supplies for writing.  Find a bucket, a drawer, a shelf or a desk.  Fill it with all kinds of writing supplies: paper; colored, white and lined, pencils, pens, crayons, markers, white boards, scissors, magazines, index cards, paper clips, staples, stickers, envelopes, notebooks, tape, and file folders.  Use your imagination.
     Once a child has decoded the alphabet, he will begin to spell words, and them if dons continuously, thoughts and personalities will emerge onto paper.  "Writing is a powerful tool for thinking" (p.56).  Our lives are rushed.  We need to give children a quiet place where they can pause and reflect.

     If you model writing for your children, they will write.  Read your lists to them and they will read their lists to you.  Their list may look like scribbles, but your child will know what it says.

     Children need lots of time to read and write, imagine and play.  Give them this time. Childhood passes much too quickly.  Give them the tools they need for life.  Give them a place to write.