The Write Start (25 page)

(Note: this activity is suited for the over-three crowd only, as magnets and paper clips pose a choking hazard.)

 

H
OW-TO

 

1.  Cut a length of string about eighteen inches long. Tie a ring magnet securely to one end. Wrap the other end of the string around one end of a dowel several times and tie a knot. Secure it with tape.

2.  Cut fish shapes, about four inches long, out of the card stock.

3.  Punch a hole near the fish’s head with a hole punch. Insert a paper clip into each hole.

4.  Label each fish with a letter of the alphabet or a word.

5.  Place the fish on the floor. Then, have your child hold the dowel fishing pole, with the magnet end of the string hanging down, and try to “catch” a fish.

 

Variations

For Scribblers:
This is an amazing game to play with pre-writers who are just learning letter identification. When they have mastered the whole alphabet, they can fish for the letters in their name.

For Spellers:
Spellers can fish for alphabet letters to spell out the words that they know.

For Storytellers:
Storytellers are ready to fish for words, and then they can combine their catches to make silly sentences.

For Scholars:
Scholars can use this game to fish for letters to spell out spelling words, or they can fish for vocabulary words and define them as they reel them in.

39

Invisible Ink

L
EARNING HOW TO SEND
secret messages is one of those activities that has a real wow factor for kids. They feel all stealthy when they deliver a blank page to the only confidante who knows the trick to revealing its hidden words. Kids can extend the fun by stashing a message in an envelope marked “Classified,” “Top Secret,” or “Confidential.” They can also deliver a message in a furtive, cloak-and-dagger fashion to heighten the suspense. Just like real secret agents do. (Only without the “This message will self-destruct in ten seconds” warning. That may be somewhat excessive.)

 

M
ATERIALS

 

∗
water

∗
baking soda

∗
small cup

∗
cotton swabs

∗
paper

∗
paintbrush

∗
purple grape juice (juice from concentrate works best)

∗
white crayon

∗
watercolor paint

 

H
OW-TO

 

1.  Make “ink” by mixing one part water and one part baking soda in a small cup.

2.  Dip a cotton swab in the mixture and use it to write a secret message on the paper. Let it dry.

3.  When you’re ready for the message to be revealed, “paint” over it with the grape juice.

 

Variations

For Scribblers:
A nice intro-to-invisible-ink activity for pre-writers is referred to as “crayon resist.” Have your little ones scribble all over a piece of white paper with a white crayon. Then they can paint the paper with watercolors and watch their invisible lines appear.

For Spellers:
Spellers can stick to writing one or two simple (yet secret) words.

For Storytellers and Scholars:
Storytellers and Scholars can write more involved messages.

40

Secret Codes

N
OW YOU KNOW
your ABCs, but how about your Alpha, Bravo, Charlies?

Secret codes have been used for centuries to relay privileged information. The premise is simple: A symbol, sound, or gesture is used to represent a letter of the alphabet. A key, showing which symbol stands for which letter, is often used to decipher the message.

You can encourage young writers to have fun “writing” messages with alternative alphabets such as the military alphabet, Morse code, nautical flags, or sign language.

Or they can create a secret code of their own by using the secret code worksheet included in the templates section at the back of the book (which becomes the key to figuring out what’s what).

 

M
ATERIALS

 

∗
paper

∗
pencil

∗
crayons

∗
military alphabet
,
Morse code
, or
secret code worksheet

 

H
OW-TO

 

1.  Kids can choose a ready-made code and “spell” out a secret message using symbols in place of letters.

2.  Or kids can create their own code, by putting a symbol, shape, picture, number, or different letter in each box of the secret code worksheet. When they have filled in the boxes, they can refer to this key when they are writing their messages.

3.  Remind kids to give a copy of the key to the message recipients, so their pals can use it to crack the code.

 

Variations

For Scribblers:
Pre-writers can create a pretend code of dots and dashes or
X
s and
O
s arranged in a pattern. Pattern recognition is an important precursor to learning how to spell.

For Spellers:
Spellers love to figure out how to write their names using a secret code. Once they master doing this using one code, they can try other codes, or they can encrypt the names of friends and family members.

For Storytellers:
Storytellers are ready to write short messages using a code. They will also enjoy decoding messages you (or their secret spy friends) send them in return.

For Scholars:
Scholars are ready to make a complex code substituting one letter for another, using numbers to stand for letters, or inventing their own creative glyphs to represent each letter.

41

Fortune-Tellers

W
HEN CURIOUS KIDS
want to know what fate has in store for them, they let their fingers do the talking. Cheaper than a psychic, handier than a crystal ball, less cryptic than a horoscope, a classic paper fortune-teller tells all. The best part? It’s customizable at a whim. Are your kids itching to know if they’ll win a million dollars, if their teacher will give a pop quiz, or who will sit next to them on the bus? Tell them to ask the fortune-teller, and they can let their future unfold before their eyes.

(Oh, and by the way, I predict that kids’ fine-motor skills will get a workout as well with this one.)

 

M
ATERIALS

 

∗
paper

∗
scissors

∗
pencil

∗
crayons or colored pencils

 

H
OW-TO
M
AKE

 

1.  Start with a standard piece of paper. Take the top right corner and fold it down so that the top edge of the paper lines up exactly with the left-hand side of the paper.

2.  Cut off the extra flap of paper on the bottom with scissors to make a square.

3.  Unfold the paper and make a crease along the other diagonal. Unfold the paper again (your creases should make an X on the page).

4.  Fold each corner of the square down so that they meet in the center of the X. You now have a smaller square.

5.  Turn your smaller square over. Fold each corner of the square down, like you did before, so that they meet in the middle again.

6.  Write any eight letters of the alphabet on the small triangles you have created around the square. Then lift the triangles up and write eight fortunes, one on each small triangle.

7.  After writing the fortunes, fold the flaps back down and crease the square vertically and horizontally.

8.  Turn the paper over and write the name of a color on each square (or color each square with a different color crayon).

9.  When you’re done, slip the thumb and index finger of one hand under two colored squares, and the thumb and index finger of your other hand under the other two. Gently pinch and press all four corners inward, so they meet in the middle.

 

H
OW-TO
P
LAY

 

1.  Two players are required: a fortune seeker and a fortune-teller.

2.  The fortune seeker chooses a color. The child holding the paper fortune-teller spells out the color while alternately opening and closing the paper fortune-teller in vertical and horizontal directions.

3.  Next the fortune seeker chooses a letter. The fortune-teller opens and closes the paper fortune-teller as they both say all the alphabet letters up to the chosen letter (for, example, if you choose the letter
G,
the fortune-teller would open and close the paper fortune-teller while saying, “
A, B, C, D, E, F, G
”).

4.  The fortune seeker chooses a final letter. The child holding the paper fortune-teller lifts the flap corresponding to the chosen letter, and then reads the fortune out loud.

5.  Good luck!