Journal Writing

Kindergarten students write in journals!  It is true!  They write in their journal every day.  At first the pages may have a basic drawing and you will see where they tried to write their thoughts.  Throughout the year the drawings become more advanced and your child will start to draw letters and then words using inventive spelling or by looking at the Word Wall in the classroom. In time they will be able to write on their own.  Some kindergarteners come in knowing how to write, so then they are challenged to write more or use adjectives. 

Each child is at a different level and that is okay.  I try to get them to learn something new each day.  Each day I do a lesson teaching them how to write and how to use a "magic line", if they just can't figure out how to sound out a word.  

I explain to the kids that their writing is called "kid writing" and mine is "grown-up writing".  We don't want them to think that their writing is wrong, but just different.  The goal is to get a child to feel free to write and express themselves without the pressure of it being perfect.  I think that you will enjoy seeing what your child was thinking about at this young age.  It is also interesting to see the progress that they make throughout their kindergarten year.  We also keep a class nature journal where we write about what is happening around us in nature.

Journal writing teaches: 

• how to read from left to right 
• how to write a sentence and how to read 
• how to spell and sound out words 
• how to use correct punctuation 
• how the spoken word can be put into written words

This is our anchor chart that we read through each day as I demonstrate how to do it.

"The boat is floating the taxi cab."

"I like to look at flowers."

"We are scared of the big shark!"

"I like my family."

"This is a school bus."