Thanks for taking the time to tell me how it went.

I think dictation is a way for kids to develop their writing voices as they’re developing their written fluency. If we leave all the writing to them, then for a few years they’re mostly working on just mechanics, and not able to develop their voices on the page. But if we take dictation from them occasionally, and they do simple writing on their own, by the time they’re fluent writers, they’ll already have developed strong, more sophisticated written voices.

I think it’s helpful for beginning writers to do the physical practice of writing with tasks that don’t require a lot of thought–so they can concentrate on the mechanics without being frustrated that they can’t express themselves. I like to notice the types of writing they’re already doing, and encourage that: signs for games they’re playing, labeling pictures, making lists. (Mr. T just started a notebook of lists, which I’ll encourage him to add to. He wrote a list of things he wanted for his birthday, some sort of Pokemon list…) Simple instructions (with pictures if they like to draw): how to do a science experiment, how to make a recipe–real or invented. Making labels for “museums” of something they’re learning about is something my kids have liked to do. When I take dictation from T, he often does some of the writing: chapter titles, dialogue bubbles to go with his illustrations, etc.

Some young kids like to do “copywork”, which can simply be copying lines from a favorite book. It gives them a chance to copy correct spelling and punctuation, and to practice their penmanship, without worrying about content. I’ve never done this with my kids though, because it seems that they find plenty of opportunities to practice writing, based on what they’re playing and doing.

I’m not sure this is helpful–I have more thoughts on this, but maybe that’s for another blog post! I guess my main thought is that I try to look at the opportunities that arise based on my kids’ interests and motivation, because I don’t want writing to become drudgery. Activities like your fortune one–where parent and child are writing back and forth to each other–sound fun. Fun, to me, is key!

I’m so excited for M! Some kids aren’t willing to go along with invented spelling–they don’t like knowing that they’re doing something “wrong”. But when they’re willing to take that in stride, it really can free them!

I think that writing can shackle kids when they feel like it’s something they *have* to do. But when it’s just a fun option for them, they often latch onto it, as M. has, which is fabulous. (My kids often took on similar projects when they got tired of waiting for me to take dictation!) Even when they’re willing to write themselves, I still like the idea of offering dictation, because I think they’re able to “write” at a more sophisticated level when they don’t have to do the physical writing. And it’s good for them to experience that. But if they can also develop fluency through their own self-guided projects? Fantastic!

That is a sure way for parents to realize what’s it’s like for kids to write.

I’m all for dictation, but I also think children need to practice the mechanics of writing regularly, in order to get better at it. I encourage invented spelling.

Today we alternated writing fortunes before we make fortune cookies. All we wrote were short simple descriptions. It gave Cecil the chance to write something meaningful that was also brief.

Would you share writing activities that are short and sweet which you’ve found to be successful for beginning writers. I know there are a lot of ideas out there, but I’d like to know which ones you’ve used and enjoyed.

And I’m so glad you were able to make that leap into math too! Our kids are so smart, and the act of physical writing can sure slow them down, can’t it? Kudos to you for recognizing that. And that does sound like a good analogy to share with M. I like to tell parents not to worry about writing for their kids–I promise that they’ll grow out of it. By the time they have Facebook accounts, they won’t want us writing for them. Really!

Sorry to keep rambling…I love talking writing!

Another thing this reminded me of…at one point, I realized that dictation was just as helpful in MATH as in writing. In the same way that the mechanics of writing can’t keep up with her language, the physical act of writing numbers was so much slower than the rate at which her mind could work the problems. When I sat down and acted as her scribe, she whizzed through equation after equation. And, interestingly–unlike writing–she in no way thought that I was doing the math for her. Maybe that’s an analogy that would make sense?