Writing Center

As Isabel & Elijah become more confident in their letter recognition, they have also become more interested in trying to write and read letters. Inspired by this post, these posts, and this post, I decided to create a little writing center in a corner of our dining room.

We started by clearing out the space, and then took a small ikea table and chair set that had been (largely unused) in the basement playroom. We spent an afternoon colouring on the tabletop, and then I set it in the corner with a few supplies. Immediately they loved it, sat right down and began "writing".

Over the weekend, we added some storage cubbies that contain things like paper and envelopes in various sizes, crayons, coloured pencils, letter stencils, stickers, letters, mini chalkboards, scissors and glue. Nearby on an kid-accessible shelf, there are workbooks, colouring books, cookie sheets with magnet letters, letter puzzles, and even more paper.

It's so, so easy to create a space dedicated to early literacy (most of the supplies we've got are either repurposed, or purchased from the dollar store, local thrift shop, or ikea), and the kids are totally interested in all the "new" activities (note: none of these activities are actually new to them. They're just "repackaged" in a super kid-friendly way!) It's still a work in progress, but I'm loving how it's turning out!

Have I gone overboard? Perhaps. I blame it on the ex-preschool teacher in me. However, Izzie did inform her teacher that "everything we have at school I have at home too"... Oy vey!