Yesterday I got to help judge a kids' writing contest--grades K-4--a first for me. Of course I see kids' writing all the time while working, in various drafts, but... wow. The writing curriculum at Highland Elementary rocks! It's amazing to me (an old-schooler, who learned how to sit still and raise my hand and color inside the lines in kindergarten) how many words kinders can phonetically spell now. Words like "favorite" and "ballerina". Very impressive, because they did a good enough job we could easily read them!

And for the older kids, we as adults take writing mechanics for granted, but there're so many rules involved in written communication. Spacing, spelling, grammar, capitalizing, punctuation, not to mention all the homonyms so many adults mix up (if that's a vague recollection but you're not sure what it means, think to, too, two). The kids whose work I read have a great handle on the mechanics. Which is an awesome start, let me tell ya. But, man... the voice. The details, flavor and personality the kids put into the project really impressed me. Put me right in my happy place. :) I'd bet my wireless mouse some mommies are going to be putting those pieces in scrapbooks.

Have a great Tuesday.

Autumn Piper

Got romance?