How To Do A Journal Entry With Your Child
Students in Kindergarten are all at different levels in their writing, depending on their level of development. The first stage of being a writer is to have an idea. In class we get students to close their eyes and think about something they have done or a book we have read. Then students share their ideas. Your child may need help at home thinking of ideas.
|
The next stage is adding labels to the picture. Labelling is putting words on paper and is a skill that precedes sentence writing. Labels can be beginning sounds or words. Children start to label using beginning sounds and move onto sounding out words when they are ready. Before your child can label they need to know their letters and sounds.
|
In Kindergarten it is not important that your child has the correct spelling for each word. What is important is that they write what they hear. It helps for children to say the word s-l-o-w-l-y (stretch it out) and to write the sounds they hear. Please do not focus on correct spelling but let your child “kid write” the best they can.
|
Journal writing takes a lot of focus and can take a lot of effort to complete. Work at school and at home is meant to help them think about their writing not to copy words. The key is to help your child gain the skills of writing so that they have the confidence to write words on their own later without help.
Below are some "tools" that will help support your child with their journal writing. These include a picture alphabet chart and a “Word wall” with the sight words we are covering this year. Feel free to print them and add words that are special to your child (ex. sibling names).
Please help your child take a picture or a video of their journal entry and send it to us. A video of your child reading their journal to us would be best.
Please help your child take a picture or a video of their journal entry and send it to us. A video of your child reading their journal to us would be best.