Emergent Writing: My Little Journal

"Emergent writing “means that children begin to understand that writing is a form of communication and their marks on paper convey a message” (Mayer, 2007, p. 35). Emergent writing progresses along a developmental continuum. Reading and writing develop simultaneously and are interrelated. The relationship between reading and writing is bidirectional (Mayer, 2007) such that reading facilitates writing abilities and learning how to write in turn improves reading ability. Thus, progress in one fuels development of the other. Research suggests that letter-writing instruction and letter-writing activities may improve emerging literacy skills (Puranik, Lonigan, & Kim, 2011). " -NEFEC

I have truly seen this statement lived out this month.

This October I have seen so much curiosity, wonder, and understanding come to my little 3 year old girl.  Not only has she been into reading words on her own, which you can read here, she has been enamoured with writing words!  With our My Little Journal from Mother Goose Time, I can help her practice her writing skills and foster that love of writing she is so eagerly ready to do.

The inside cover of the My Little Journal gives ideas and prompts on how to use the pages.

We don't do these on the suggested lesson days all the time, but we do them whenever Sweet Pea wants to write...which currently is all the time!  

The other day, she picked 3 fake leaves from a craft bag I had, and glued them to her page which was suggested on the inside cover.  However, Sweet Pea wanted to add words and trace the lines which you know is just perfectly fine with me. :) 

Earlier in the week, we worked on the letter "U" and made its short sound as she drew over the lines. 

I love how this little journal doesn't just have the letters and numbers, but also a continuous line to trace to help develop the movement for that particular letter or number. 

For example you can see the curved continuous line that mimics the shape of the "U" in the picture below.  With the letter "N," there is a continuous zig-zag line that can help with making the capital N shape.

I videoed her tracing her name the other day, and linked it below.  I love how much she concentrated on tracing the letters.  I know she is not tracing the letters in the the correct direction is which they are made, but for now, she is loving writing and I want to foster that love of writing.  So instead of correcting her at this early stage, I will continue to commend her progress and let her know I am proud of her.

That look of accomplishment!

And I get to keep it all stored right here in the little journal. <3

Happy Writing!