• Help your kindergarteners begin their exploration of the written word.kindergarten boy image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
  
  Young learners acquire many basic skills during kindergarten. Much of the time in this first year of school is spent learning the basics of writing. By starting simple and gradually increasing activity complexity, you can help your kindergarten students develop their basic writing skills and create a strong foundation upon which to place their future learning.
  
  

Alphabet Book

• Begin your kindergarten writing instruction by teaching your students the basics of letter creation. To begin the activity, select a coloring page of an animal or object beginning with an A. Write "Aa" on the coloring page in bold marker, then create copies of the page for your students. When you present the page to your students, ask them to first color the picture, then re-copy the letters that you have written next to the letters. Collect and retain this page. Continue moving through the letters, one at a time, giving students a page for each. Once you have covered all of the letters, combine each student's coloring pages into a book. Staple or spiral bind the book and present it to the student's parent at a parent teacher conference so they can see all the hard work that their student has done.
  
  

Name Plate

• Turn name writing practice into an art activity by allowing students to create name plates to decorate their desks. After students have learned to write their names, as they commonly do in the first weeks of kindergarten, give each student a sentence strip on which to create a name plate. Help the students write their names onto these strips using a bold marker, then allow the students to decorate the strip with colors and images that appeal to them. Tape the student-created name plates to their desks so that they can admire their work daily.
  
  

Animal Labels

• Create a fun animal labeling activity by pairing animal names with images. To create this writing practice activity, gather pictures of animals with which the students are likely familiar. Tape these animal images on your chalk board, leaving room between each. Write the names of the animals in a list down one side of the chalk board.
  
  When students arrive in class, tell them that they are going to match the animal picture to the animal name. Start at the top of the list of names, and read the first name. Allow a student volunteer to come up and pair that name with the appropriate picture. Ask the student to write the name under the appropriate picture. Help the student as he works to copy the word properly, gently correcting him if he makes an error as he copies the name from the list. Once properly paired, cross the name off the list, and continue down the list in the same fashion.
  
  Continue this activity until all of the names and pictures are paired.