Writing In the PreK 4's

There is a lot of writing happening in our classroom! We write signs for structures, tickets, menus, dinner orders, and we write at the writing table, tracing alphabet letters and doing "homework" and write in our journals every day after  lunch. The marker table is the most difficult table for the children to leave at clean up time, they usually have to do "one more thing!" which tells me that they have a plan that needs to be completed. The children ask "how do you spell "____" or "what does this say?"  and hold up a list of letters. When I pronounce "WMBPO," they look at me sceptically, and I need to explain that letters make sounds and need to be written in a certain series  to make a word.

Marie Forst shared some wisdom about letter reversals that I thought might be interesting to read especially  when you see all the "reversed" letters on the papers that your child brings home.  ( and I agree with the writer, that preschoolers teach me something new every day!)

(The above writing sample is taken from a 4.5 year old child that was participating in a game utilizing starfall.com)…
In preschool young children often learn to draw letters by using a visual aid, such as name tags or letters found in written format around the room. Letter reversals often occur when children are writing letters using their memory alone.
The brain usually doesn’t form the concept of left and right consistently until around the ages of 5-8, and all children can have incidents of writing reversals when they begin to write. In preschool, when children first begin their attempts at writing, the brain is only beginning the training process of learning that letters need to be made in a certain way and/or sequence. The children are beginning the process of learning that letters make sounds, and when sequenced in a specific order those sounds/letters create words.
When these letter reversals do occur it is important NOT to correct the child in a way that causes them to feel guilt over getting something wrong–we applaud their efforts always!!! What we can do, in preschool, is model the appropriate letter formation and participate in games together that will provide us with the practice we need to help our brains really grasp the concepts in a fun and positive way. Preschool is the place where new concepts are introduced yet not typically mastered. We are showing children that learning can be FUN and with persistence/practice we can grow and learn everyday~with emphasis on FUN :)

Preschoolers teach me something new everyday!
H.