Sound It Out

Along with her background as a researcher, writer, and teacher, Joanne Meier is a mom. Join Joanne every week as she shares her experiences raising her own young readers, and guides parents and teachers on the best practices in reading.

Publishing house for kids

May 30, 2008

We have a "publishing house" at our elementary school. It's a volunteer-run effort, and every child in the school publishes one special hard back book a year.

Stories are written using the writing process. The older kids (grades 3-5) type their stories in the computer lab; parent volunteers type in the text for the younger ones.

Final typed pages are stitched together along the seam with needle and thread (even our kindergartners do this!) and then glued to a hard-bound cover. Finished products are small works of art!

I know what it has taken for some of the kids to get to their final product. Writing is HARD work for new readers and writers. I remember when Anna found her voice as a writer; it was a long time coming but well worth the wait.

Last week, the kindergarteners at our school shared their books during an Author Share celebration. Complete with programs and refreshments, every student sat up front and read his or her book. We laughed, we cried, we celebrated their HARD WORK.

Running our publishing house is an enormous effort. We've got worn out equipment and outdated software. It's difficult to find parents willing to help out, and teachers are crunched for time.

But judging from the smiles and first books tucked away in special places, it's definitely worth it.

Are you interested in writing? We've got some good writing resources:

See our Writing 101 section and our Writing Webcast, featuring Steven Graham, Louisa Moats, and Susan Neuman.

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