I hope you enjoy reading your child’s journal. Each day the children share experiences from their lives or from school events. These experiences are discussed and voted on by the children. One topic is selected as the daily journal entry. Each child draws a picture about the topic and then tells me what he/she wants to write about the topic. I write exactly what the child says whether or not it is grammatically correct. The purpose is to encourage your child to write, not to write everything correctly.

When your child is ready, he/she will begin to write his/her story. This usually occurs when the child has some correspondence between letters, and sounds, or simply the child has made the connection that letters represent what they want to write even if there is no sound-symbol correspondence. The emphasis of shared journal writing is to involve the children in all aspects of language arts – listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Shared journal writing is an excellent way for children to begin seeing the relationship between spoken language and written language. Also, shared journal writing emphasizes the social aspect of the child’s development. Through the sharing, children are able to see similarities between their own experiences and those experiences of their friends.

Children may be included in many learning activities outside of school. Some of these activities that you may do with your child are making a grocery list, following a recipe, following directions for assembling items, reading the newspaper, and reading road signs, billboards, or other print in the environment. Most of all read with your child at home! Reading with your child every day is an activity that will pay off in the future. If you need recommendations for children’s books, I will be glad to help you.

Please allow your child to share his/her journal stories with you and praise his/her work. If a child feels good about what he/she has accomplished, this will help build the confidence necessary for learning. After reading your child’s journal each month, please return it to school. These journals will be kept as part of our reading center. Also, if you return your child’s journals, I will have them bound for you at the end of the school year. This will be a keepsake you will treasure for years!

Thank you,

Laura Meadors