Love and Support your New Writer.

Dear Room 101 Families,

Do you remember the joy of watching your child take his or her first steps?  Those first wobbly steps are so magical! When children first begin to take those first timid steps, it doesn't look much like walking.  A child may stumble and fall hundreds of times, but, cheered on by his adoring caregivers, he or she keeps trying. We know that the stumbling is part of learning to walk, and we celebrate the effort the child is making.

Learning to write isn’t all that different from learning to walk.  When children first begin to make marks on the page, it doesn’t always look like writing.  And yet, when we celebrate all that they are trying to do as writers, children will continue to try.  When they continued to try, they get better at writing - and that is our goal!

Throughout the year we will send home samples of your child's writing, so you can see the growth your child is making, and so you can encourage and celebrate all that your child is doing as a writer.  Here are some things you can say to encourage your child along the way:

• Wow! You’ve done so much writing!
• Can you tell me about some of your writing?
•  I can tell that you’ve been working hard.
• I love looking at your writing.

Sometimes beginning writers have trouble remembering what their writing says.  If that happens you might say, “You’re the writer. What did you want it to say?”  Or ”Let’s look at your picture. Is there something in the picture that can help you remember what you wanted to say?”

Watching your child learns to write can be just as magical as watching your child learn to walk.  So enjoy the moment and celebrate the process!