The Early Childhood Writing Corner

Remember that feeling you get when you walk into Staples or Office Depot or any specialty stationary store? Hold onto that feeling when you are thinking about preparing a really fun writing area for your classroom. Remember what it is about your shopping experience that makes looking at all the papers and supplies so much fun. You want your writing corner to be that much for your students.

Include:

* many different sizes, shapes, colors and weights of papers

* have a variety of envelopes

* look for different pencils, pens, colored pencils, chalk, erasers

* supply rulers, protractors, and small hand-held pencil sharpeners

* tape, glue, staplers and staple remover, masking tape

* a hole punch - there are many hole punches that make different shapes

* lined paper in a tablet

* scratch pads

* Magic Slates, real slate boards, or erasable marker boards

* ink pads and ink stamps

* scissors

* cardboard stock, oak tag

* real stamps (recycle cancelled stamps from discarded letters)

* pictionary

All these items do not need to be present all the time. In fact, mixing up the variety of papers and envelopes can add excitement to the center as there can always be something new to find.

Next consider creating a very simple portfolio with different written materials. One section might be a sample of menus, simple letters, brochures, job applications, receipts, and addressed envelopes. You may need to enlarge these items so your young learner can easily look at them.

As the children begin to write down their shopping lists or take orders they can (if they want to) look at the general form of these items. Some will try to imitate the form while others may have no interest at all. Having an opportunity to see what “grown-ups” use in their work is very exciting for children.

And remember, while the writing corner may have a designated area in the classroom, it can not be confined to any one physical location in the class. Pencils, papers, rulers, and scratch pads need to be everywhere - a reminder that we can save our thoughts and share information by writing it down.