Kid Writing in Kindergarten

 

    Before I discuss the topic of Kid Writing, I would just like to provide a little bit more background on my teaching career.  I have now taught Kindergarten for the past two years.  Prior to teaching Kindergarten, I was a second grade teacher.  I had went lower than second grade once, to first grade, as part of a looping program.  So being told I would be moving to Kindergarten made me both excited and nervous.

    I was excited because I never had taught Kindergarten and was ready for a new challenge.  I was also told that some of the biggest growth occurs from the beginning of Kindergarten until the end of the school year.  Students are entering your classroom with all different levels of learning.  Some students do not know their letters and numbers, some students do, and then there are some students that already have a basic understanding of how to read, write, and have a strong number sense.

    The biggest challenge that I was not ready for was Kid Writing!  In my previous years of teaching, my students would come into my second grade classroom with at least the background knowledge of how to write and what writing is.  However, for five year old children, I was going to have my work cut out for me!

During my first year of teaching Kindergarten, I had their monthly journals put together and stapled and ready to go.  However, I would struggle with having students come up with a topic of what to write and draw.  

Point blank...I could not find a way to inspire them to want to write each day.  I needed to think of a new plan to strengthen their writing ability.