And Our Lists Goes On!

A great way to get your Little Learner excited about writing is to start with List Making.  We have been on a list making kick for a good month or two around here.  And I have been so excited to share one of J's list with you.

But first let me share with you how this list came to be...

J's obsessed with Super Mario Bro. these days.  He drew out each of the Mario Worlds/levels and labeled the characters (beginning sound only) and other important things.  ALL HIS IDEA!  I didn't "tell him what to do", I just made suggestions only when asked.  I was in the kitchen through the whole process, just washing dishes and doing what Moms do...

Title page - he wanted to laminate Mario and Luigi.
We added velcro so he could take them off and play with them.

 It was hard for me not start teaching using his idea, but I knew eventually keeping my mouth shut would help out later!  I have big plans for this book, you know!  But I needed to honor his idea so he could have that sense of ownership.

About a week later, he came to me with his idea.  He wanted to make a list of ALL the powers that Mario gets in the game.  Once again, this list was COMPLETELY his own idea...which made my heart BURST with excitement!

(Top) SpinyHat, Freeze Power, Mushroom Power, Fire Power, (blue) Penguin Power, (bottom) little power

It's not perfect (and sometimes that's hard for me to handle that) but it's hard work of MY favorite 5 year old!  He has the idea of making a list and showed me that without me asking him to do it.

When we finish any type of writing project or lesson, I also end with a few compliments and 1-2 suggestions.

Compliment:  "J, I love the way you wrote your list down the page!"

Compliment:  "J, I really enjoyed your illustrations...they helped me read your words!"

Suggestion:  "When you write a new list, maybe you could work on spacing (showing him his last 2 powers all jumbled)."



Even if it's scribbles that resemble "a List", that's a start.  And remember that YOU are their best teacher!  If you "model" this simple task, they will mimic you and surprise you when they do!  Invite your little learner to watch you make your grocery lists.  Create Birthday party guest list or gift lists together.  So many ways to get them writing and have fun doing it.

Happy Learning with your Little Ones!