Hallissy - The write start: a guide to nurturing writing at every stage, from scribbling to forming letters and writing stories

Im already thinking how I can incorporate many of these ideas into my homeschooling.

Adventures in Mommydom (Blog)

ABOUT THE BOOK

How do you raise children who love to write? Jennifer Hallissy believes that if you give children a solid foundation of writing basics, they will develop a love of writing that lasts a lifetime. In this book, she shares the secrets for supporting young writers, from the smallest of scribblers to middle-schoolers mastering script.

You play an important role in nurturing your childs writing development. You are your childs first writing teacher, and their most important writing role model. From teaching your child how to hold a pencil and form the letters of the alphabet, to creating writing spaces and meaningful writing rituals at home, this book gives you all of the information and inspiration you need to raise a confident writer.

Fifty-two playful activities are presented as ways to invite your child to write. Each activity offers specific suggestions to meet the needs of Scribblers (pre-writers), Spellers (emerging writers), Storytellers (beginner writers), and Scholars (more experienced young writers)providing the just-right combination of fun and functional skill development.

The Write Start is a treasure trove of irresistible ideas that will help you introduce your child to the wonderful world of writing, now, and for years to come.

JENNIFER HALLISSY is a resourceful mom and a pediatric occupational therapist, with over eleven years of experience and a private practice in Port Washington, N.Y. She also works to further parents and professionals awareness of writing readiness through parent and teacher training, curriculum development, therapist mentoring, and consultation. She is a sought-after presenter of parent workshops and staff development trainings. A contributing writer for Family Fun magazine, she chronicles her familys adventures on the road to writing on her blog, www.thewritestart.typepad.com.

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ROOST BOOKS

An imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

roostbooks.com

2010 by Jennifer Hallissy

Template illustration Anatomy of an Efficient Grasp 2010 by Joy Gosney

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hallissy, Jennifer.

The write start: a guide to nurturing writing at every stage, from scribbling to forming letters and writing stories / Jennifer Hallissy.1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2321-1

ISBN 978-1-59030-837-0 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. ChildrenWriting. 2. ChildrenLanguage. 3. Child development. I. Title.

LB1139.W7H35 2010

372.623dc22

2010023070

To Bruce,

who built me the life of my dreams.

and to Jack and Gracie,

my dreams come true.

M Y PROFOUND appreciation goes to my editor, Jennifer Urban-Brown, and everyone at Roost Books, for embracing a little book about learning to write, right from the start.

Thank you to my parents, who started it all.

To my mother, who (among many other things) taught me to write. She also served as a proofreader, consultant, and writing role model. Most of all, returning a favor, her confidence in me shamed me into completing this book.

To my father, who (among many other things) taught me to fish. Although seemingly unrelated, the many hours we spent honing the art of baiting hooks, casting out, waiting patiently, untangling lines, and having faith prepared me for the craft of writing a book (and for life). Though we never caught much, I sure learned plenty.

Thank you to everyone else, who kept me going.

To my sisters, Maria and Megan, who are relentlessly supportive and have never let me down.

To my dear friend Regina Bast, who listens to my chatter and tolerates my quiet with incomparable grace and understanding.

To Elizabeth Eskanasi and Rya Levin, my first readers (and cheerleaders). To Renee Lockhart, whose persistent question, How can we be most effective? has become my touchstone. To Nora Strecker, who shares gentle wisdom on publishing, parenting, and life. To Allison Gillis of Wondertime, for graciously initiating me into the real world of writing. To Christina Katz, who provided pitch-perfect advice. To the online community of bloggers and blog readers, some of the most intelligent and creative people Ive never met. And to all the children Ive worked with, who have been my wisest teachers.

I give thanks and my heart to my children, my reason to be. To my son, Jack, who has been with me every step of the way, learning with me, inspiring me, and harboring unwavering faith in me. And to Gracie, for devoted lap warming and back patting (while also nursing her own editorial aspirations by marking up my manuscript and reorganizing my pages).

Above all, I thank my husband, Bruce, without whom, nothing.

M Y INTEREST IN TEACHING parents about writing-skill development started, like many things do, as a burning desire to solve a problem. As a young, go-getting occupational therapist, I consistently had a full caseload (and ever-growing waiting list) of children ranging in age from preschool to middle school. All of these children qualified for occupational therapy services, meaning that they demonstrated some measurable delay in their ability to perform age-appropriate developmental tasks. As a pediatric occupational therapist, it is my daily job to help kids master the skills they need to be successful at all of their daily jobs. To accomplish this, I do my best to combine everything I know about the science of child development with the art of creating the just-right activity for each childs individual needs.

I was an itinerant therapist, which meant I traveled all around the neighborhood to see kids in their various environments, including home, school, and clinic settings. I had a car full of toys and tools, and lugged a giant tote full of gear into each appointment. The specific issues each child was experiencing varied. Yet one thing remained consistent across the board: every child I saw struggled with writing. Their teachers knew it, their parents knew it, and, most important, they knew it. From preschoolers who struggled to scribble, to middle schoolers who struggled with script, writing problems were plentiful. And although I loved every minute of working with these kids, a nagging question followed me to each stop. Why are there so many reluctant writers?

Every day as I worked, the question resurfaced. When it comes to teaching these kids to write, where have we gone wrong? Slowly but surely answers emerged. They showed up in the trunk of my car, in my tote, and in my treatment activities themselves. From preschoolers to preteens, all of my kids would consistently gravitate to the same stuff. How could that be? Despite my never-ending bag of tricks and all my cleverly conceived activities, reluctant writers of all ages continued to want (and need) to go back to the basics.