WF, 1/8/2019 | Wee Friends Early Childhood Program LLC

Happy Tuesday!

**A reminder that Wee Friends will be closed on Friday, February 15th for conferences! Thank you!

The art table is open all day, every day which gives children unlimited opportunities to write, draw, and explore using their fine motor skills. During journaling time, it is a ten to fifteen minute time frame where we horn in on writing skills, letters, sounds, etc. It is extremely age appropriate because at the age of 3, children are not usually ready for this step. However, 4 and 5 year old children are ready for a more structured writing experience.

During journal time, children are asked to draw a picture. There are no rules or suggestions given by teachers. This is a time where children use their imagination. After they’re finished, we work with children to write a description about their journal. Depending on their readiness, children either use kid spelling or collaborate with a teacher to write the description. We’ve been working on letter identification along with the sounds that letters make. It is an ongoing process where children thrive and continue to grow in their knowledge and confidence.

“Generative knowledge describes children’s abilities to write phrases and sentences that convey meaning. It is the ability to translate thoughts into writing that goes beyond the word level (Puranik & Lonigan 2014). During early childhood, teachers are laying the foundation for generative knowledge as children learn to express themselves orally and experiment with different forms of written communication, such as composing a story, writing notes, creating lists, and taking messages. Children can dictate words, phrases, or sentences that an adult can record on paper, or they can share ideas for group writing.”

https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/yc/nov2017/emergent-writing