One of the things young children love to do is “read”. You’ve probably seen them pick up a well known book, and recite the story, turning the pages on cue. They may not be actually decoding the words, but they are doing some very important preparation for learning to read.
How much more fun they have when they see their own words in print, and other people can read what they have said!
In my family child care home, experience charts were a vital part of our daily routine. Not only did the children see their words in print, it was a way for parents to see what the children had been doing, read what they said, and talk about it. This was an activity we all enjoyed, because children realized that their words were important, and that by writing those words, we could all be part of the activity.
It was pretty simple. I had large chart paper, and a magic marker. We’d be doing an activity, making something, eating something, building something. I would ask each child some simple questions – when they answered, I would ask if I could write their words so we could share with everyone. They were honored! Often they would look up from their work and say “write this down. I think….” When parents came in at pick up time, many times the children would show the parent the chart and point to their words. “Look at my words! Look what I said”. As they got older, they enjoyed identifying and recognizing simple words they said. Of course, nothing beat seeing your name by some important writing!
When children know the power of their words, they know the power of their actions! One day the group visited the public park a block from my home. Two four year olds and a 5 year old decided they were tired of “being careful and going slow” on the whirly go round – there were no wood chips under it, and the ground was hard, so if you fell, you could really get hurt. They asked me who we should write to about getting some wood chips in the park!
When we got home, we wrote to the parks commissioner. They dictated the letter, and I typed it all formal on the computer. They wrote their names. Before mailing it, I made a copy for their parents. We mailed the letter the next day.
The parks commissioner never answered. But the next week there were wood chips. The children felt that of course, this was because they had told him to fix it up! It may well have been a coincidence, but I wasn’t going to tell them that!
If you are home with a young child, or are home schooling, get out that chart paper, turn on the computer, and write down all those profound things children dictate to you! Teach your children the power of the written word, and to take pride in it!