Guest Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 Hi, our school is having an 'Everbody Writes' day in a fortnight and I am completely out of ideas. The Literacy coordinator has had lots of ideas for higher up the school but very little for Reception - we basically have to get the children so inspired that all they want to do is write all day on any topic that I choose, oh and the parents have to be involved for a session too! Although some of the class love writing and it's hard to peel them away from the writing table, I've got another quite large group who avoid all attempts at mark-making whenever they can (including painting, shaving foam, chalks, brushes on the playground etc....) So does anyone have any really inspiring ways I can start the day in the hope that it really grabs them? Incidentally I know someone is going to say follow what the children are interested in, but they don't seem to have any strong interests in anything at the moment, so I was hoping for some whizzy ideas to inspire them with. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panders Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 For those who do not like to write - are you just suggesting a mark making activity, rather than writing proper words etc? I'm pre-school, but have found that many of our children could not resist long pieces of lining paper taped to the floor or along a wall, outside on the fence in the summer, and good felt tipped pens etc. and they would graffiti away for quite some time. they have also liked putting large objects down on the paper and drawing around them and then filling in some of the details for themselves. The old drawing round each other lying down on the paper has always been popular too. One child last term, who was very able for a pre-schooler, had a walk along story, we stuck down the lining paper and she drew princesses etc. but later we could walk along the paper and tell the story she had drawn - she loved it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 I did something today with my Reception class that really inspired them. I froze some water in a latex glove last night and brought it into the class this morning. I said that I had found the ice hand out in our garden. There was a lot of discussion about where the hand had come from and eventually they all agreed on it being Jack Frost's hand. They went on to suggesting he might come back to find his hand so they spent the whole morning making posters saying 'Jack Frost Keep out' etc and covered a cardboard box in big crosses and hid the hand in it. The range of ability was evident in the writing, yet most of the boys really got into it and were keen to protect our class from Jack Frost! We did have a ew tears though when some of them got scared he was coming into the classroom. They felt reassured when someone said "Don't worry he only comes at night." We also had other mark making activities out such as powder paint ice cubes to mark make with, magnetic letters frozen in ice cubes and paintings of Jack Frost. They were talking about it all day!! Tomorrow's lesson we are leaving notes and letters to Jack and making maps for him to show him where we are leaving his hand for him to find... little does he know the boys are planning a trap to catch him when he finds it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlettangel Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 I love the whole Jack Frost theme there............. brilliantly inspiring!!! One term we found a huge stone (rock) outside and brought it in to nursery It turned out to be a dinosaur egg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This threw up so much wonderful play. There were those looking after the egg, the lost posters, because we didn't know where it had come from, looking at the books to see what type of dinosaur might be in the egg. writing letters to the dinosaur to tell him about what life was like in the nursery. The children made books and wrote about the dinosaur too! It was full on for about a week Then obviously we had to think about how to get around the fact that it was really only a stone. So on the weekend we bought toy dinosaurs and left a note to the children from the dinosaur saying he had left them a present for their excellent care but that he was going to be too big to stay with them so he was off!!!!!!!!! Ah lovely!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Upsy Daisy Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 500ml water bottles filled with sand and a small hole in the top or side. They can write large letters on big peices of paper or a tuff spot with the falling sand. It's nearly as much fun to help collect the sand and tip it back into the bottles - great for fine motor skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Hi After spending 3 hours in the car this morning trying unsuccessfully to get to school in the snow and ice, I have ended up back at home so what better way to spend the day than reading the forum. I just love it (clearly need to get out more!) and always come away feeling completely inspired. We are being inspected on Monday and Tuesday (I work in a primary school) and in the words of our head " EYFS are going to be hammered!" What she meant was that we of course have 1 inspector all to ourselves for 2 days whereas Year 1 to 6 have 2 inspectors between them! Anyway, I just wanted to say that I can't wait to show my class the frozen hand that was left on our classroom step!! Last year to inspire mark making we had a parcel delivered that contained a magnificent star and a letter from the 'story maker' asking us to take care of the star. This led to incredible creative talk about where it had come from, who the story maker might be, why we had been chosen, how the star could be returned to its rightful place. The mark making and creative work produced from this one parcel went on for days and your parcel could contain absolutely anything, all you need is a kind member of office staff, or indeed the head, to appear at an opportune moment to announce the mysterious and special delivery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Thanks everyone those are some great ideas - I think my class would really be inspired by the Jack Frosts hand as we read the Tale of Jack Frost before Christmas and they really loved it. You're all brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmajess Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 500ml water bottles filled with sand and a small hole in the top or side. They can write large letters on big peices of paper or a tuff spot with the falling sand. It's nearly as much fun to help collect the sand and tip it back into the bottles - great for fine motor skills. Or plant sprays filled with very runny paint / coloured water. Especially if there's still snow on the ground! The mess making element is the best way I know to bring in those reluctant writers!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Hi These ideas all sound great - very inspirational. Think I am a little tired though...powder paint ice cubes for mark making sound fab ...but how do you make them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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