LET'S WRITE!

Some of us absolutely love to write! We can't wait to get home after work so we can pull up the word processor and start clicking away at the keys. Our brains fill with words all struggling to get out of our head. Only a lucky few make it out of our head, down to our hand, and onto paper or keyboard. Don't you wish all your students were that enthusiastic about writing? Well they can be.

It all starts from the very beginning. You normally don't think of kindergartners as writers, but believe me, they can be. In order for your students to get excited about writing, they need to be motivated to want to use the materials provided for them for writing. They also need to feel like writing is the most wonderful thing that they could possibly do. How do you do this with little people? Here are a few suggestions.

MODEL YOUR LOVE OF WRITING
I would suggest writing a short story and then presenting it to your class. Build the excitement leading up to it by telling them that you are working on a great story and you cannot wait to share it with them. On the day in which you will present your story, read the title to them and then state yourself as the author. Be excited! Read it with great emotion and drama. At the end of your story, restate the fact that you love to write! If students see you being excited about creating, they too will want to share in that excitement.

PROVIDE A VARIETY OF WRITING UTENSILS
Who says writing needs to be done with a plain old number 2 pencil? Heck no! If you are trying to encourage your students to write creatively, then you should provide them with choices. Some good examples are seasonal pencils like Halloween, Valentine, and Christmas-themed ones. Find pencils with feathery tops or boing-boing things on top. Grab a cheap fake flower and some floral tape and turn a plain pencil into a writing daisy or rose! Allow your students to use pens with different colored ink and smelly markers for writing. Anything but a plain number 2 pencil goes!

PROVIDE DIFFERENT WRITING MEDIUMS
Who wants to write on plain, boring, white paper? Actually a lot of students do. They just love paper! However, you should get creative with this white paper. For example, make little booklets for them to write in. Simply take a couple of sheets, fold them in fourths, cut, and staple. Instant booklet. You can also use lined paper that has been cut into strips and then attached to a mini clipboard. Seasonal notepads work well too. The kids

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