Is Writer’s Workshop an Activity for Parents

Saying there is a lot of buzz around the strengths of Writer’s Workshop is an understatement. And if you are not familiar with it your school has either kept you out of the loop or they are “behind the times” so to speak. This is the next new thing! Writer’s Workshop practically guarantees that if done correctly your child will gain the confidence and skills to become a proficient writer.

What I enjoyed was learning opportunities for parents to become involved in the process. We all intuitively know the benefits of our children writing thank you cards (which we write but I always forget to mail), notes to distant relatives, etc. This incorporates some of the tools and techniques of writer’s workshop. Our Head of School stated the best part is to allow your child with ample opportunity to write outside of the classroom. Luckily, our children only receive limited amounts of homework prior to third grade. Therefore, we have the time to include fun “family worksheets” into the mix.

I found this great website with journal prompts for each day of the month. The Teachers Corner has a great list of prompts for all ages.  The prompts are tied to the day of the month. Today’s prompt stated “March 8th is Working Women’s Day. Do you feel that being a stay at home mom is a full time job. Do you agree or disagree?” Some might question whether this is an age appropriate question for kinders and first graders but I was pleased with their responses.

Most importantly I enjoyed the benefits of working together in a fun and engaging way that helps them to further develop their reading, writing and critical thinking skills.

What does this have to do with my children learning Chinese. Well, being that my children only spend half of their day learning, talking and thinking in their native language I look forward to any opportunities to support their continued growth at a rate that is somewhat comparable to their peers at non-immersion school sites. Also, research indicates that it is easier to learn a second language when a student is proficient in their native language. Moreover, I hear many native Mandarin speaking parents critiquing the number of Chinese words that students are learning. I realize that I know too little to have any direct control over the level of fluency my child will obtain in Chinese. I only know that they both enjoy it. They are scoring well and they continue to say that they love learning Chinese.

The extra time spent using the tools of Writer’s Workshop is similar to that of Math Workshop and Science Workshop, etc. It’s getting out there and doing fun and engaging things with your kids.

Something we all could probably do a little more of.