One boy asked for a pencil. "There are pencils in the writing box," I reminded him and pointed toward the center. "Can I get one?" he said. Of course I said yes.
He carefully printed his name on the small lines of the notepad. "Mr. Scott," he said. I turned and he held up the pad, beaming, as I read his name. Another boy said, "Here's my name." He printed his underneath.
Soon another pencil found its way to the table. Then someone asked, "Can I take a marker over there?"
At one point, the table was covered only with pieces of paper and sticky notes with marks all over them. (Sorry. I didn't get a photo of it.)
I think next week I am going to put pencils and notepads on a table with nothing else. They seem to want to use them. We always have our writing box/center with a variety of paper, markers, and crayons. But I think the notepads and sticky notes are very attractive. Maybe because the kids see teachers and parents using them. Maybe just because they like writing. I don't know. But I do think I need to make a trip to the dollar store and stock up.