Encouraging Early Writing

In her article, "Encouraging Preschoolers' Early Writing Efforts: Take Another Look at That Scribble," which serves as the basis for the Exchange Out-of-the-Box Training Kit: Encouraging Early Writing, Leslie Falconer provides these insights:

"If there’s one object common to pre-schools and child care centers the world over, it’s pieces of paper covered with looping scribbles made by small hands learning to hold a pencil or crayon.  The next time you’re cleaning up at the end of a busy day, though, consider taking a closer look at those scribbles.  They’re actually samples of early writing, and an invitation for you to channel those small hands into recording their new ideas and creative thoughts....

"Writing is an extraordinarily complex process for young children.  It requires children to formulate personal opinions or ideas and then translate them into written symbols that represent words they use in oral language.  Because this process is very demanding on both an emotional and intellectual level, it is important for educators to celebrate the child each time she experiments with writing.  Cultivating a child’s willingness to express herself through scribbles or inventive spelling will yield benefits in her long-term social, emotional, and intellectual development."

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