The Write Start: A Guide to Nurturing Writing at Every Stage, from Scribbling to Forming Letters and Writing Stories [Paperback]

Jennifer Hallissy (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 28, 2010

How do you raise children who love to write? Jennifer Hallissy believes that if you give children a solid foundation of writing basics, they will develop a love of writing that lasts a lifetime. In this book, she shares the secrets for supporting young writers, from the smallest of scribblers to middle-schoolers mastering script.

You play an important role in nurturing your child's writing development. You are your child's first writing teacher, and their most important writing role model. From teaching your child how to hold a pencil and form the letters of the alphabet, to creating writing spaces and meaningful writing rituals at home, this book gives you all of the information and inspiration you need to raise a confident writer.

Fifty-two playful activities are presented as ways to invite your child to write. Each activity offers specific suggestions to meet the needs of Scribblers (pre-writers), Spellers (emerging writers), Storytellers (beginner writers), and Scholars (more experienced young writers)—providing the just-right combination of fun and functional skill development.

The Write Start is a treasure trove of irresistible ideas that will help you introduce your child to the wonderful world of writing, now, and for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“I’m already thinking how I can incorporate many of these ideas into my homeschooling.”—Adventures in Mommydom (Blog)

About the Author

Jennifer Hallissy is a resourceful mom and a pediatric occupational therapist, with over eleven years of experience and a private practice in Port Washington, N.Y. She also works to further parents’ and professionals’ awareness of writing readiness through parent and teacher training, curriculum development, therapist mentoring, and consultation. She is a sought-after presenter of parent workshops and staff development trainings. A contributing writer for Family Fun magazine, she chronicles her family’s adventures on the road to writing on her blog, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thewritestart.typepad.com/">www.thewritestart.typepad.com</a>.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Roost Books; 1 edition (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590308379
• ISBN-13: 978-1590308370
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 0.6 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #237,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Hallissy is a mom and a pediatric occupational therapist who has a happy preoccupation with the art and science of child development. Having earned both her bachelor's degree in English and her master's degree in occupational therapy from New York University, she now presents workshops for parents and professionals. Also a freelance writer, Jennifer contributes to national parenting magazines. She lives in Port Washington with her husband, Bruce, and her two children, Jack (a Speller) and Gracie (a Scribbler). Read along as she explores all things writing-related on her blog, thewritestart.typepad.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Write Start January 10, 2011

By stacypro

Format:Paperback

I wanted to review this book as soon as I found out that it was written by an OT, and it didn't disappoint.

Honestly, one of the first things that I liked about this book was that it wasn't too long. I know full well that parents don't have time to sit down and read a 300+ page textbook about early writing skills. Most of the parents that I work with are looking for solid facts and activities that are easy and can fit into their daily lives, and The Write Start manages to do both well. The author identifies and explains the four basic stages of writing development- she refers to children as scribblers, spellers, storytellers, and scholars. Even better, all of her activities feature modifications for each stage of writing proficiency.

This book is set up so that the first section is dedicated to explaining each stage of writing development and talking about how to encourage children to write or scribble. The second half of the book consists of activities designed to encourage writing. Most of the activities are relatively easy and do not require any elaborate materials. If I had one complaint it would be that the first section of the book was a bit simplistic for me, however it would be perfect for most people who don't have the background in education that I have. Overall, this is a book that will be a great resource for parents, teachers and therapists looking to encourage writing development.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for parents and teachers December 31, 2010

By Jean Van't Hul

Format:Paperback

I just received my copy of The Write Start and read it cover to cover. What a wonderful resource! There are so many ideas here for encouraging our kids to love (and be proficient at) writing.

The author, Jennifer Hallissy, has a blog by the same name ([...]) where she writes about encouraging children as writers. The blog is illustrated with beautiful photos (one thing I wish the book had). I've followed Jennifer's blog for a couple of years now and was very excited to read her book when it came out.
Jennifer puts children into four categories based on where they are developmentally as writers - scribblers, spellers, storytellers, and scholars (I have a scribbler and a storyteller at home). She also talks about ways to set up writing spaces and what writing materials are good for kids. I kept finding myself taking notes and I plan to revamp my five year old's writing desk using the ideas in the book - I'll put an alphabet poster above the table, add more writing tools, and find a rolodex that she can use for her words (I love this idea!).

The Write Start is primarily an activity book. There's plenty of good background material, but the bulk of the book is made up of the "52 playful writing activities." So many ideas! I can't wait to try them with my kids. Some of my favorites are: writing big on butcher paper, playing around with thought bubbles, "eat your words", and her treasure hunt idea. For each activity she includes variations to use at each of the different developmental stages (scribblers, spellers, etc) so you can adapt the activity to the child.

All in all, I think this is a great resource and would be perfect for parents who want to help their kids become confident writers.... And most of the ideas would probably work just as well in classrooms as at home. Some even more so. Read more ›

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent & Useful Content, Lack of Visual Appeal January 18, 2011

By Gina L Shatney

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Write Start is a wonderful guide to inspire parents/teachers to make their homes/classrooms environments that encourage children to be writers. Some of the activities suggested are ones that I already do, but I'm sure my children will benefit from a broadening of my bag of tricks! A section in the back with reproducible writing fun will be a joy to my little ones - pretend doctor records, receipts, coupons, etc.

As another reviewer stated, my only disappointment is that the author was not able to include photographs, as her blog, also called The Write Start, is packed full of gorgeous ones. I guess I am a visually inspired person... I don't like recipe books without photos, either. I'd be willing to pay more for an edition with color photography!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST HAVE FOR TEACHERS AND PARENTS January 2, 2011

By R. Levin

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I received my copy of this wonderful book today. As an elementary special education teacher, I am always looking for new ways to inspire my students to get writing. With the variety of activities in this book, it is easy to cater to the individual needs of my students. This book is going to be the first resource I go to when lesson planning for my little ones.

Jennifer's writing is common sense put into words.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A goldmine of great ideas, even for little kids! March 13, 2011

By jsbloggs

Format:Paperback

The first few chapters of this book cover things like how to choose writing tools that will be easiest for your child to use, how to teach them a good grip, how to encourage good posture (that will make the writing itself easier), etc. This bit was clear and well-written, but it wasn't all that relevant for us since my daughter is already very comfortable drawing with any tool, on any surface, using the correct grip. But the second part of the book - the fifty-two different ideas for activities that encourage love of writing and lots of fun writing practice - was even better than I had expected. Usually, books that cover a wide range of age-groups tend to have a section for each age-group, so even if the whole book has lots of suggestions, only a handful of them will be appropriate for the age your child is currently. But in this book, all fifty-two ideas have variations for all four age-groups. All four variations are engaging and valuable, rather than being watered-down or dressed-up versions of an activity that is really only going to be fun for kids at one of the four stages.

One other thing about this book made it really stand out as a must-have for me. In her introduction, the author says, "becoming a parent afforded me the additional insight that if something isn't easy to incorporate into the daily routine, it won't get done. So I learned how to serve up some writing readiness at mealtimes, pack it into car trips, tuck it into the bedtime routine, and wrap it up in holiday rituals." She has totally succeeded in this goal, in my opinion, and her ideas are so fun and low-key that it doesn't at all mean turning your whole day into a boring, drawn-out writing lesson.... On the contrary, her suggestions are zero-preparation, no-stress activities that make the day *more* fun, not less.

Totally loved this book :) Read more ›