Making a difference, leaving your legacy, being a word keeper

WHAT IS A WRITER?

Someone who writes or dictates a story.

Images such as old holiday cards make fantastic writing prompts. The authors of these pieces are four- and five-years-old.

Wouldn't a grandparent love a story authored by your little ones? This activity increases reasoning, creative and critical thinking, and confidence.
When you write it as they say it (verbatim) the stories bring joy.

I prompt with WH questions: who, what, where, why, how; can you tell me one more thing?  

I value all ideas, praise their efforts, nod, smile, and comment positively. Age-appropriate goal for four year olds: stay on topic for four (or more) related sentences. Five year olds, five or more sentences.

Sometimes during my 40 year career as an early childhood teacher, when I did these THINK ABOUT IT literacy activities I had to redirect without squashing ideas and overpowering with censorship.

 "Wow! You have good ideas. I like how you think. Can you think of another idea rather than shooting, killing, eating the....?" I asked the child who insisted on violence to imagine a kinder, nicer, less harmful idea. And they always complied. I hung the students' stories in the hall. In all those years I only had one boy tell his mom, "She left out the part about ... (violence)." I said, "Yes you did say that. Thanks for reminding me." Acknowledged and moved on.  

Charlie is a creative thinker and talks incessantly. Ideas about everything pour forth. He is funny. yes he said, "I welcome." 

Alex's first response is usually, "I don't know," or "I can't remember."

I have to encourage him by saying, "I don't know either, and whatever your idea is will be your story. Now use your imagination." Encouragement works. In four months he has gained confidence. He told this story with very few verbal prompts. He kept going. This is progress! 

I know this is a busy time of year, but if you have a few extra minutes, won't you sit down and write a letter/story or help a young child create a keepsake story?

 My greatest accolades came this week from several of my former students' parents who told me they still post their child's preK holiday stories at Christmas. Their children are in college or are grads or married adults. 

My most memorbale story, was dictated by a boy who selected a manger scene (card front) and "wrote" about the shepherd going to visit the baby Jesus and sneezing all over him. LOL