Free Writing

I've blogged about our writing center before - it's one of my favorite places in the room. It seems to be a place where kids can feel relaxed. They choose what to do, write, draw, create. (I encourage that in all areas of the room, but the writing center is the most open-ended.)

This week this happened in the writing center.

I love this map. Totally on his own, B created it. I think it sums up why I love the writing center so much. Kids can express their thoughts in meaningful ways - through drawing, writing, and so forth. They can share those thoughts with others. They learn that marks on a page communicate ideas. They can practice literacy in all forms.

You never know what will come from the writing table. I've seen checklists and calendars. Reports and reflections of something done elsewhere in the room. Letters and notes. Drawings that are mysteries even to the person creating them. Rainbows and hearts. Pac-man with legs. And lots and lots of great ideas committed to paper. No wonder this is one of my favorite things.

(Pre-K Pages, the latest stop on the book study blog party, is blogging about frameworks for language and literacy.)