Creating a love for writing is an important part of our preschool philosophy.

Drawing on foil with white board markers and wiping with a little sponge, is an exciting invitation to develop a love for 'writing' and it also gives our little friends a feel of control as they can wipe whatever they draw.

Creating a love for writing is an important part of our preschool philosophy. And there are so many ways we apply and encourage this. We believe in making 'writing' playful and engaging, by using games, activities, and stories so that it is an enjoyable experience for our little friends. 

We model good writing habits. We let our little friends see us writing on a daily basis. By writing notes, letters, their names or writing in a journal, etc. When we write, we make sure to talk about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and we sound out the letters as we are writing them. This helps our little friends understand the purpose of writing and why it is important. 

We provide plenty of opportunities for 'writing'. Making sure that our little friends have plenty of opportunities to 'write' throughout our school day. This could include providing them with writing materials, such as pencils, crayons, and markers. It could also mean setting aside time for other writing activities, such as journal writing, and writing pads in all our class areas like our pretend and block areas.

It is important for us to be positive and encouraging so when our little friends 'write', we praise their efforts, providing them with feedback that is helpful and constructive. We celebrate their successes. When our little friends are 'writing' something that they are proud of, we celebrate this, by letting them 'read' their writing aloud to the class, displaying it on our bulletin board, or even placing it in our class book.

We also use a variety of writing forms, instead of just focus on traditional forms of writing, such as stories. We expose our little friends to magazines, newspapers, poetry, recipes, menus, prescriptions, grocery slips, letters, other environmental print, etc. 

We connect writing to their real world, so that our little friends see the importance of writing by connecting it to their own lives and experiences. For example, when they draw or paint, and they tell us about their picture, we write their story on their picture, which could be about their families, their friends, or their favorite things to do.

We make writing personal. We encourage our little friends to 'write' about their experience of more meaningful and engaging things that they are interested in and that they care about, by making sure there is paper and writing tools available at all our areas in our classroom.  

Patience is crucial. It takes time for our little friends to develop their writing skills. Be patient and supportive, and they will eventually learn to love real writing.

We encourage these strategies in our classrooms and at their homes, as we want to develop a love for writing that will last a lifetime.