Preschoolers are in the emergent stages of writing (pictures, scribbles and random letters). Experience Curriculum is created with tools to help you scaffold your child’s writing journey. My Little Journal is one of these tools sent each month for children to practice their emergent writing skills. While we offer a prompt in the guidebook, we also want to provide creative ideas to extend the way you can use the journal. Let’s take a look at the varying ways you can do this.
Highlighter Tracing
Use a highlighter to write the letters or numbers in the space provided. Have your child try and trace the letters, both upper- and lowercase, along with the numbers. Can the child tell you what letter he is tracing? Throughout the day, ask, “Do you see this letter in the classroom?”
Mystery Writing
Write the number or letter with a white crayon in the area provided. Have the child “reveal” the mystery number and letters using watery paint. Once the mystery is revealed, ask the child to try to write the letter or number in the space on the bottom. Repeat. Encourage your child to write the mystery letter with the white crayon, too!
Glue Writing
Write the desired letter or number in the blank space. Have your child trace this with glue and stick pieces of paper or yarn on the lines to create the letter or number. As an option, invite your child to trace the letter or number with a bottle of glue. Next, work together to sprinkle some glitter on top of it to create a sparkly letter or number!
Count It & Write It
Work together to count objects, like blocks or socks, aloud up to the desired number. Next, write the number in the journal. Encourage your child to write the number also. You can trace the letter with dotted lines and have your child trace, too.
Chalk Outside
Set up a chalk and sensory station outside. Use the chalk to write the desired number and draw that many corresponding stars. Ask your child to count the stars with you while you write. Have the child practice writing the number with the chalk in the My Little Journal first. Next, encourage your child to write the number on the ground with chalk. You can even invite your child to try and draw the stars!
