My kids have been doing a lot of journaling lately either using these math-inspired journal writing prompts or with this fine motor sticker method that I'm going to show you. The sticker method of journaling works great for both preschoolers and kindergarten aged kids who are learning to write, not only letters and words, but complete sentences. It is also a great method to try with kids who have hyperlexia as it gives them something concrete to write about.
My son struggles to describe and answer questions verbally due to his hyperlexia, especially the "wh" questions. So phrasing questions for him to respond to in a journal won't work great either, unless, of course, it is tailored to his interests like my math journal prompts. But we want (and need) him to start expressing himself about other things. And besides, his ability to write and spell is an asset that we need to tap into while his speech continues to develop. So our starting point is to give him a visual stimulus to write about. In this case, stickers.
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We have been using stickers from this Melissa & Doug Sticker Collection for this sticker journal writing. Both boys received their own sticker pad for Christmas from their Mee-Maw (aka grandma). Peeling stickers is a great way to practice fine motor skills! So the boys simply pick a few stickers and then write a story or words to describe what they see.
Five year old J wrote the following stories (pictured above):
- It is dark. That is sleep time. There are 2 planets. There are 7 big stars. The planets are Earth and Saturn. (about the planet stickers)
- How Many bricks do you think there are? Let count them. Let count by 10. There are 104 bricks. (enter our friend hypernumeracy or what?!)
The following two stories below are also by five year old J.
- Firetruck - Firefrighters drive big red fire trucks. I don't drive fire trucks. (Look he even put a title!)
- Smitty the pirate found a golden treasure chest and diamonds. (He had some help naming his pirate, but otherwise his own ideas.)
Three year old K also loved to do some journaling, which was more about writing a word or two. He's been writing independently for some time now. He too can read quite a few words and has been for awhile, so he can even spell a few words by himself. Here are his stories:
- Purple volcano (about the dinosaur and volcano)
- Van black 29 (about the van)
This post is part of an ongoing weekly Fine Motor Fridays series. Here's some other great fine motor ideas:
Fine Motor Space Alien from Stir the Wonder
Valentine's Sewing Craft from Craftulate
Play Dough Search & Count from School Time Snippets
Fizzing Hearts by Powerful Mothering
Hearts Math Game from Little Bins for Little Hands
Elsa's Gloves for Frozen Inspired Pretend Play from Still Playing School
12 Kids' Valentine's Day Cards for Fine Motor Skills from Lalymom
