At BestStart Gillies Avenue, we believe every child is a writer. The journey to becoming a writer begins long before children can write letters or words. It starts with communication, creativity and making meaning through marks, symbols, drawings and stories.
For our younger learners, writing can look like scribbling, drawing lines and circles or exploring a variety of writing tools. Whether they are using crayons, pencils, chalk, paintbrushes or markers, children are developing fine motor skills, hand strength, coordination and confidence.
Most importantly, they are learning that their marks can carry meaning and tell a story.
As children grow, their understanding of writing develops too. They begin to recognise letters, particularly those in their own names, and show curiosity about print in the world around them. We often hear children identifying letter sounds, noticing sounds in words and experimenting with writing letters that are meaningful to them.
Writing opportunities are woven throughout our day. Children create signs for their block structures, write shopping lists during dramatic play, make menus, label artwork and record their ideas during investigations.
Through these meaningful experiences, children learn that writing has a purpose and is a powerful way to communicate with others. These everyday opportunities support children’s early literacy and writing development while allowing them to express their ideas and creativity.
Every scribble, mark, letter and story is an important step on a child’s literacy journey. At Gillies Avenue, we celebrate them all.