The Write Start (18 page)

Variations

For Scribblers:
Scribblers can surely learn to make tally marks. Make it noncompetitive, though. Your suggestion might be, “Put a line on the board every time you catch the ball,” and then ask them to see if they can beat their own score the next time around.

For Spellers:
Since Spellers are learning to write their numbers, they can keep score numerically, erasing each number or striking it through before writing the next one.

For Storytellers:
Storytellers may add some play-by-play descriptions, running commentary, analysis, or predictions to their score-keeping routine.

For Scholars:
Scholars can begin to calculate more complex stats, such as batting averages, for example. Becoming proficient in writing numbers quickly, neatly, and in straight lines helps Scholars to focus all their attention on the math (without having to struggle to decode their digits).

18

Table Talk

I
T’S A CHALKBOARD.
It’s fabric. No, it’s chalk cloth!

What an amazing new material is chalk cloth. I could dream up finicky little projects to do with this stuff all day long. And if you do a search on the Internet, chalk cloth goodness abounds.

But if you prefer projects of the no-sew, no-fuss variety (as many of us do), have I got a good one for you: a chalk cloth tablecloth. The trickiest part is tracking down the chalk cloth (see the
resources
section at the back of the book). Once you have it, your work is nearly done.

You can toss this tablecloth on the kids’ table at holiday parties or on the kitchen table in preparation for a playdate. But don’t think it’s exclusively for entertaining kids—it’s a great teaching tool too. How useful would it be to have a write-and-wipeable tablecloth on the table when your children are doing homework? They can write their math calculations right on the table instead of using scratch paper, figure out how to spell a problematic word, or have a large-scale brainstorming blitz before writing an essay. In fact, any time inspiration strikes your kids in the general proximity of your tabletop, this tablecloth has them covered.

 

M
ATERIALS

 

∗
measuring tape

∗
chalk cloth

∗
scissors

∗
pinking shears

∗
chalk

∗
sponge

 

H
OW-TO

 

1.  First, measure your table. Add ten to fifteen inches to the length to allow for as much overhang as you desire. (Chalk cloth is forty-eight inches wide; if your table is wider than forty-eight inches, then plan on your tablecloth functioning more like a wide table runner.) Use these measurements to figure out the yardage you will need.

2.  Cut the chalk cloth according to your measurements. After you have cut it to the intended length and width, trim around all the edges carefully with pinking shears to make a simple yet decorative finished edge that won’t fray.

3.  Voilà! There you have it. Your final step is to cure the chalk cloth by rubbing it all over with the side of a piece of chalk, up and down and side to side. Repeat this one more time before you wipe it off.

4.  You can surface clean your chalk cloth between uses with a damp sponge.

 

Variations

For Scribblers:
Pre-writers love to cover the table with scribbles, squiggles, and doodles. Or show them how to draw a long and winding line that can become a “road” for their toy cars or trains.

For Spellers:
Emerging writers will enjoy writing the whole alphabet from
A
to
Z,
signing their names, and writing all their favorite words.

For Storytellers:
Storytellers will love having the space for a mural-sized drawing
and
a narrative too.

For Scholars:
This is the perfect homework helper for Scholars, who will have plenty of room to figure it all out in writing.

19

Scrap Happy

A
WRITER’S SCRAPBOOK
is a place to collect random bits andpieces of writing, and any other art and artifacts that help to tell a young writer’s story. A scrapbook is like a big, bound collage of writing and the memories that go along with it. It’s a playful cut-and-paste collection with serious keepsake potential.

The thing to remember about scrapbooks is that they don’t call them “scrap” for nothing. Keep it fun, not fussy. Forgo fancy layouts in favor of letting the scraps speak for themselves. Like a snapshot of a moment in time, a young writer’s words require very little embellishment.

Make sure you flip through the scrapbook with your children; it’s a perfect opportunity to show them how valued their writing is and how much it has progressed. Looking back inspires young writers to move forward. It inspires them to get working on the next chapter of their life story.

 

M
ATERIALS

 

∗
blank scrapbook

∗
writing “scraps”

∗
photos, drawings, and other memorabilia

∗
tape

∗
glue stick

 

H
OW-TO

 

Together, you and your children can cut, tape, and paste pieces of their writing into a large scrapbook. Include any relevant associated objects, such as photos, drawings, play programs, ticket stubs, or pieces of nature.

 

Variations

For Scribblers:
Put Scribblers’ messy masterpieces in the scrapbook in chronological order, and you’ll not only have a keepsake, you’ll also have a chronicle of an emerging writer.

For Spellers:
Save the pages where your Spellers wrote their names for the first time, of course. Tell them how valuable their first signature will be when they’re rich and famous one day!

For Storytellers:
Oh, the stories. Save as many as you can. You’ll be so glad you did!

For Scholars
:
To document the development of your growing child, include some of the everyday stuff in their writer’s scrapbook: a spelling test, a book report, a note to Mom, an IOU to Dad, a letter to Santa, a toy-store shopping list. It’s all part of the history of a young writer.

20

Family Tree

A
S WE WERE PREPARING
to host a big family Thanksgiving dinner, the subject of relatives came up. In an effort to explain all the branches of our family to my son, I drew a family tree. And although he seemed interested enough, to me the lesson seemed a little, well, flat.

It dawned on me that a family tree should be just that. A family
tree
. From that seed of an idea grew a very meaningful (and beautiful!) activity. We took a break from the busyness to whip up this craft, and boy was I ever glad we did. Our family tree helped us answer some important questions: Are my aunties your sisters? Is my uncle my cousins’ father? Is Nanny Daddy’s mommy? But more than that, it reminded all of us exactly why we really gather together. (Everything else is just gravy.)

 

M
ATERIALS

 

∗
a leaf from nature

∗
piece of lightweight cardboard or card stock

∗
black marker

∗
scissors

∗
one box of natural-colored coffee filters (choose a size slightly

∗
larger than the size of your leaf)

∗
red, yellow, and green liquid food coloring

∗
small paper cups

∗
brown paper grocery bags

∗
paintbrush

∗
marker

∗
alphabet stampers (optional)

∗
white glue

∗
clothespins

∗
medium-sized bucket or flowerpot

 

H
OW-TO

 

1.  Place a leaf on the cardboard and trace around it with a marker.

2.  Cut along the marker line with scissors. This will be your leaf stencil.

3.  Trace the leaf shape onto coffee filters using the stencil. Cut out coffee-filter leaves with scissors.

4.  Completely cover your work area, as food coloring may stain some fabrics or surfaces. Make homemade watercolor paints by adding eight to ten drops of red food coloring to about one-fourth cup of water in a small cup. Repeat for the yellow and green food coloring, each color in its own separate cup.

5.  Spread out the coffee-filter leaves on brown paper grocery bags (or newspaper).

6.  Dip your brush in the watercolors and dab paint onto the leaves. You will not need very much paint, as the coffee-filter paper diffuses the liquid throughout the leaf. Continue until all the leaves are colored.

7.  Let the leaves dry thoroughly, about thirty to sixty minutes, depending on how much liquid they absorbed.

8.  When the leaves are dry, label each with a family member’s name, using alphabet stampers or a marker.

9.  Crease each leaf vertically down the center. Apply a thin line of glue along the crease and attach the leaf to a clothespin. Let the glue dry.

10.  While the leaves are drying, position your tree branch in your flowerpot or bucket. If the tree branch needs to be stabilized in the container, crumple up some brown paper grocery bags and stuff them in around the base of the branch.

11.  When the leaves are dry, your kids can pin them onto the tree. They can take them down, move them around, and arrange them over and over again as often as they wish. Remember, if there is a marriage or a birth in the family, add a new leaf.

12.  Keep it up year-round, use it as a seasonal decoration, or bring it out for special family occasions.