Writing Center at Home

We have an ever changing writing center downstairs. At the beginning of each month I try to spruce it up, switch out some of the supplies, and give it a fresh look so both the kids continue to be inspired to sit down to create.

The writing center is made from two drop leaf tables from IKEA. I cover the tables with brown paper that comes from the never ending orders that we receive from Amazon. The paper is held on with large binder clips. The paper protects the surface of the tables and serves as a doodle paper for the kids. I switch out the paper when it gets too messy or ripped.
The chairs are not ideal but they work for now. My three year old kneels on the stationary chair on the left and my six year works at the swivel desk chair. They each have their 'own' supplies and projects stored at the writing center but most of the materials are shared between them.
This week I added the little shelf which I picked up at Family Dollar. The shelf is supposed to be an above the sink shelf but I liked that it was made of real wood, lightweight, and only cost $6!

My goal is to get both of the kids writing and creating this summer. My son needs to work on a variety of writing skills since he is skipping first grade, but rather than making writing boring I am hoping to get him excited about the writing process. Then we can work on writing conventions by editing some of his stories.

Currently the writing center is stocked with the following...

Supplies for both to share:
Wide variety of writing utensils - glitter fat crayons, regular crayons, markers (which are all dying and slowing being faded out to better tools!), colored pencils, regular pencils.
Kid Scissors
Blank paper of different sizes and colors (tucked into a plastic 2 pocket folder so it stays crisp and a certain little sister doesn't go overboard)
Actual pictures so the kids can 'scrapbook' or make cards with them. (My son is almost in shock that we have "real pictures and not just on the computer screen". Geeez)

My son is enjoying:
Learn to Draw types of books so I pulled out one we had about Animals
Sketch book - so we can start making double page spreads (inspired by Tinker Lab)
Copying pictures - check out the Monarch butterfly and the postcard he used as a model!

Bookmaking - so I pre-made blank books using a variety of paper types, colors and sizes

Clip board - so he can take his writing & art projects on the go




"My Books" Binder - which is a 3 ring binder with plastic page protectors to store all of his books. I have added every 'book' that I can find that he has made. This has been a great motivator to keep him writing! Later in the summer I plan on doing some sort of "author's tea" and have some special friends come check out his book collection!




My daughter is currently enjoying:

Butterfly stickers (left over from her butterfly birthday party)
Foam stickers
Index cards - she loves these things!
Smaller 'Radish' sketch book - which we will use for her double page spreads
Envelopes & pre-folded cards


Located near by but out of the reach of a certain little sister:
Glue sticks
White glue
Stapler
Tape
Rulers
Rubber stamps - letters & pictures

I took lots of pictures to make this post my jazzy but Blogger seems to be on the fritz for uploads today. Oh well...maybe it's a sign I should get back to playing with the kiddos!

Cut Up Sentences

Doing "Cut Up Sentence" activities are common in kindergarten and first grade instruction. Its a wonderful way to work on directionality of text, building sight word fluency, and learning how to construct a simple sentence. It's helpful for children to apply their sight words in the context of a sentence instead of just in isolation on flash cards.

My motivation for doing this activity is to encourage my reluctant kindergartner to WRITE. I am hoping as he becomes comfortable with this type of sentence writing that his own writing will blossom. He has the sounds he needs to write, but if he knows a word isn't spelled correctly he gets quite upset!


The way I am using Cut Up Sentences with my son:

1. Let him choose a sentence from a book that we have read.
2. Write the sentence onto a firm piece of paper such as card stock or the back of a cereal box. (For now I am doing this step but soon this will be his job as well!)
3. Read the sentence together.
4. Let him cut the sentence into individual words.
5. Have him rebuild the sentence, and laugh at all the silly ways the sentence could be arranged.
6. If it's a tough sentence, I keep the book open so that he can refer back to the original sentence for support.
7. Once the sentence is reconstructed, I have him read the sentence aloud to check it.
8. I point out how the beginning of the sentence is always capitalized and the final word has the punctuation. I often ask him to count the number of words in the sentence.
9. The final step is for him to write the sentence into his journal or onto a sheet of paper. (Of course this is the step he grumbles about!)

Several sites have printable versions of cut up sentences (CUS). I prefer 'harvesting' one sentence from a book we've just read, since it has more meaning for him. But today I printed off a few sheets for him to practice on his own.

The website that I like the most for CUS is -- www.kinderblogger.org  Click on the "Cut Up Sentences" tab below the title. This site has a bunch of free printables. I think my son will enjoy drawing a picture to go with his sentence since he hasn't done that before!