The Preprimary classrooms have all been engaging in Writer’s Workshop. This daily writing time exposes children to various skills and tactics for becoming writers. Children are learning that they are all writers and their writing can be used to teach things to others. When doing writing we first think of an idea in our heads, then we talk about our idea with a friend. Once we are done thinking we get a paper and do a quick sketch of our idea and then we write about it. This is different from simply drawing a picture because when we draw a picture, we draw first and then write/talk about it. In writing, we think first, sketch, and then write.
The children are learning that when they think they are done writing, they’ve actually just begun. Writers can add more details to their words or sketch and they can reread their work. They are learning to stretch out their words to hear all the sounds of the word.
Even the young preschoolers are engaging and learning a lot about what it means to be a writer. Even if they cannot yet write words or sentences, they still have stories to tell. We want them to learn that their ideas can be put on paper and shared with others.
