can 4-year-olds write?

and i don't mean print their letters, i'm talking about composing a story or a short how-to article (oh heck, even a blog post!). well, i've been introduced to the fact that just since my 4 year-old can't write independently, does NOT mean she can't create and "write" stories.

last week in our language arts time, we looked at a picture. the picture was of a boy and a robot sitting on a porch step, and the boy was reading a card that said "i love you." (also, the robot had a door in his belly-region.) after talking about the details of the picture, i started asking questions. "where did that robot come from?" "where are they?" "what do the boy and the robot like to do together?" "what do you think will happen next?" and what do you think happened? a story was born.

Lucas and the Robot

by Rachel P. Wade

Once upon a time, Lucas made a robot in the kitchen out of wood, so he could have a friend. They would play hide and seek, puppets, the catching game with Swiper, and the watching game with puppy.

One day, there was a birthday party for Lucas. They played a heart card game, they danced, and had a picnic. Rachel, Andie, Chuck, Ebru öğretmenim [translation: my teacher, Ebru], Dora, Logan, and 20 beş yaş [5 year old] friends were there.

After the party the robot made a card for Lucas and hid it in his belly. They went outside and sat on the stairs and the robot gave him the special card.

Lucas grew up to be a king, and wore a special necklace. Robot's picture was in it, and when Lucas would say "why are you in there, robot?" robot would come out to play. Lucas said, "I love you, robot."

Rachel was the knight's daughter. She was wearing a green dress and dancing with Lucas. And they stayed there for a long time and played together. And when it was time to go home, she waved her magic wand and made hot air balloon shoes. She put them on, buckled them up, and went home.

The End.

all i did was ask questions, help her keep the order straight, and act as her scribe. it was a time of lots of giggling, dreaming, and imagination. can you write a story with your child today?

(and who wouldn't want a pair of hot air balloon shoes??)