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Pre School
I remember being very interested in drawing and writing about my drawings, even in pre-school! Of course, my writing at that time was just letter strings (or many waving lines if I was writing in "cursive"). However, I had the interest to express myself in writing by the age of four. -
1st Grade
By first grade I knew how to sound out words, so I often drew pictures and wrote simple stories to go with them. I loved to draw and write complete stories and have my mom or teacher staple them together for me so I could feel like a real author! -
3rd Grade
In third grade I began journaling in school every morning as an entry task. I still remember that it was a wonderful way to start the day. My teacher always had prompts to get us started written on the board, and I remember that it came very naturally to me to fill up several pages on the prompt. I also loved to share what I had written. -
4th Grade
When we were 9, my sister and I wrote a newsletter for our parents to hand out to friends and family. It included fiction stories, "news" about what was going on with various family members, and comics! Our dad helped us format it, and I remember feeling so proud. It felt like quite an accomplishment when it was ready to give out! -
6th Grade
In 6th grade, we were asked to write descriptive personal experience essays. I spent a lot of time on mine, writing about a very scary experience my family and I had had one night while staying in a motel during a road trip. I did not get the grade I was hoping for on that assignment, but I took in my teacher's constructive criticism and used it to make me better going forward. -
9th Grade
In 9th grade I took an honors writing course with a wonderful teacher who challenged us with each assignment. I wrote fiction short stories, non fiction, descriptive, and poetry. I remember one particular lesson where we had to write paragraphs and revise them to be as concise as possible while still holding the main idea. That class was a wonderful experience for me. -
10th Grade
When I was a sophomore I had the privilege of taking another writing class from yet another passionate teacher. It was in this class that I began to master the art of writing an essay. I remember comparing it to my algebra class in the way that I realized I could follow a specific formula each time, even if the genre of essay was changed. -
12th Grade
In my senior year of high school I got to put all of that essay writing to good use with the SAT and ACT. I don't remember what the prompts were, but I remember feeing the most confident about the writing portion of both of those tests. -
12th Grade
Also in my senior year, I was able to take a creative writing class online at my high school. We met once a week in person, but other than that we were responsible for staying on top of our assignments. I loved this experience. I remember really enjoying writing the pieces I was asked to write, and also being very challenged by them! Making my own schedule in order to be sure that they were done in time made me feel like a real author. -
College
I wrote all the time in my college courses. I wrote essays about books, history, and of course binders of lesson plans. I really missed writing for fun and in a creative way in college, so I started writing short stories for myself when I had some time. -
Present
These days I teach Kindergarten, so I feel in many ways that my writing has come full circle! I now have the great joy of teaching writing to a wonderful group of five and six year olds. I model writing every day, and try to find authentic ways for the to practice throughout the day. They are so excited about everything they write, and it is so great to watch the grow in expressing themselves through written words.
