Writing to Read, Reading to Write

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September 2013 009

Journals, journals, journals. They grace our kitchen table. Sometimes neatly stacked. At times open with markers, highlighters, pens, and more scattered all around them! Other times, coloring books and catalogs hide them but not for long…..”Mommy, can we write in my journal?” One little girl’s question quickly uncovers them with the desire to write.

Everything we do in our lives becomes a habit if we do it long enough. Thus, together Sophia and I write to read and read to write. There’s still power in the words that grace our lives. Thus, we begin each entry with today’s date:

September 2013 004

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Then, we write:

Today I slept in late. I watched Princess Sofia and ate breakfast. Then, I had to get ready for my first soccer game. Mommy, Daddy, and I had lunch together. Next, we left for a special trip to Nashville!

The words are simple. The sentence structure remains similar each day so that we can find patterns in our writing (writing to read). Sophia (age 5) wants to write some of the words herself. Thus, I allow her to do that as we discuss capitals, lowercase letters, sight words, initial sounds, compound words, etc. Next, she is asked to highlight words in yellow that she can read aloud to me prior to highlighting them. We circle the words we are currently working on in a pink highlighter. Last, we draw a picture that illustrates what we have written about in our journal.

September 2013 002

We write seven days a week in mini sessions so that Sophia can retain what she has learned.

Do you write with your children?

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Litsa is a stay at home mom to a beautiful little girl. She is a native of Greece and now resides in Tennessee. As a former teacher, Litsa wears many hats that it takes to make a home a functioning home!

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