Getting Ready to Write

The students had a great time writing, drawing, and painting in shaving cream that they spread all over the table.  This fun and engaging activity was a warm up activity to the creative writing that will happen in kindergarten.  The children wrote letters, names, words, and drew pictures in the smooth, foamy backdrop that they had created.  In this type of play they are using fine motor skills and letter recognition that they will use in writing.  In addition, there was a wonderful tactile component and pleasant smell that made this a joyful activity.  And, at a student's request colors were also added to the fun!

We also had a chance to play with the wooden pieces from the Handwriting Without Tears program that will guide our letter formation this year.  There are four different pieces (lines) that create every upper case letter of the alphabet.  There is a big line, a little line, a big curve and a little curve.  The students created a variety of designs, shapes and pictures with the wooden pieces in addition to forming several letters of the alphabet in an exploratory and rewarding way.

These activities helped shape our first journal writing experience.  We read the books, All I Am by Eileen Roe and Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood.  The students recognized two sentence patterns in the books which we used to start our writing.  "I am a ________." and "I am as_____as a _______."  They thought about themselves and how they wanted to be portrayed in their writing.  We practiced stretching out the words that would be used to fill in the blanks by making each sound that was heard.  This 'kidwriting' gives the students the opportunity to write freely and without worry about 'correct' spelling.  It also informs the teachers of the letters and sounds that may be challenging.  Our initial writing activities begin with only a word or two so the children can become comfortable with the written word and still reflect the uniqueness of each child.