Guest Author - Jeanette Norman

Writing is an important part of literacy development. Most children starting preschool can't write any letter or their name. But they will benefit greatly by being exposed to letters, signs, symbols, and shapes. I usually blend this center with the library. If you choose to do this, children should be reminded to not write in the library books.

A small table and chairs with a small shelving unit to store supplies is all that is needed. Materials to make available should include:

- Varies sizes of paper (lined and unlined)
- Notepads
- Staple a few pages together to make mini books for little authors
- Varied writing utensils
o Pencils (skinny and fat ones)
o Ball-point pens of many colors
o Colored pencils
o Markers
o Crayons
- Alphabet stencils
- Shape stencils
- Rubber stamps and ink pads
- Hang an alphabet poster on a wall near the table

Around the age of 4, children may show an interest in learning to write their names. There are two ideas I used that you may want to try. On a wall near the writing center within reach of the children make a "friend" wall that has all the children's names onit. Make a banner that says "We Are All Friends" or something like that. Below the banner place small strips of Velcro. Make name cards for each child. Mainate or put clear contact paper on the name cards. If possible, take a picture of each child to include on their name cards. This gives them a visual to relate letters. Put Velcro on these, hang them on the wall, and encourage children to take names off of the wall and copy them.

My second suggestion is name sheet that has their name printed with lines to practice on. Before the internet was so widely used, I made my own in a word processing program on my computer. Now there are websites that have worksheet generators. This is the site my son's kindergarten teacher used. Choose the style you wish then the second page asks you to type in a word or words TampaReads

This tends to be a popular center especially when you introduce a new activity/ Check this area often to make sure there are enough supplies, markers are recapped, and papers are being placed in children's cubbies. A recycling bin is a great idea for this center! Paper will be wasted but recycling will help the environment.


Other Worksheet Sites
Here are some sites that have prewriting and writing practice sheets

Kids Page Archive
http://tlsbooks.com/preschoolworksheets.htm

Soft Schools
http://www.softschools.com/

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