Children love to imitate adults and writing is no exception. How many times have you seen a littlie park themselves beside mum or dad at the bank or post office and fill out their deposit/withdrawal form? This is literacy in action in the real world. It becomes meaningful and children can see it has a real purpose.
Ideas
*as you write a shopping list let your child write theirs
*write letters/txts/e-mails to family and friends AND post them! (Grandparents love the letters with drawings and beginning writings)
*supply them with their own calendar to mark special events
*have notepads, paper, old envelopes,cellotape, pens, pencils and rubbers available for them
*help them write their own stories maybe even make them into books to share
*If you have an old key board let them play with that so they can role play on the computer at home or work
*Show them how you use your diary or checklists
*let them see you writing notes to remind yourself or others
*record phone messages so they see the connection between the verbal message and the written ones
