Trust the Process

A Backstory

Something I’m very aware of as I plan lessons and assess students is the importance of each child’s unique writing progression throughout the course of a school year. While I can sometimes predict the strengths a child will possess as a writer or the challenges they will encounter from one unit to the next, I am oftentimes surprised.

For example, I once taught a child who came to kindergarten knowing only a handful of letters and even fewer sounds. He struggled to express himself verbally, and it was nearly impossible for him to tell a sequential story. This child happened to be a talented artist. He could draw and illustrate stories that far exceeded his ability to write and tell about them. It took many months before he even attempted to write a single letter on the page or explain his ideas verbally to a classmate or teacher. He saw me model storytelling, labeling, and sentence writing countless times, but for the majority of the school year, he simply was not ready (yet).

Then finally, as if by magic, something clicked! He began to write initial letter sounds for his labels. He began to share his stories with a partner. And he began to write simple sentences with words that contained initial and final ending sounds as well as high frequency words that he memorized or could find on the word wall. He needed more time, and while his writing never reached the complexity of some of his classmates, it was where he, a six year old child, needed it to be.

The Big Picture

One of the most important things I’ve learned as a teacher of writing in kindergarten is to trust the process no matter how messy it gets. It requires a tremendous about of patience but above all it requires me to withhold judgement in terms of where a student begins and where I hope or expect they’ll wind up. Writing is so new for many children, especially in early childhood. Learning to communicate one’s thoughts and ideas using pictures and then phonemes, graphemes, words, and sentences is a complicated and multi sensory process. My expectations for them as a teacher may not align with where they are developmentally. While this can feel frustrating, I keep in mind that every student’s writing will grow and change no matter where they begin. It is my job to tap into what that child is able to do in that moment and continue to push them to the next level.

One Final Thing

As I’ve written before on this blog, the writing process is bumpy and often far from linear. My personal belief is that each child’s writing journey should be honored and celebrated just as much as the “finished” products they produce. Sometimes it means leaning into my own discomfort when it feels like a student’s writing isn’t growing at the same pace as their peers. I start to panic and worry that they will never get to where they need to be at the end of the school year. I tend to reflect upon my teaching and ask myself, “What else could I be doing to support them?” Sometimes it means seeking advice from colleagues or coaches and coming up with an actionable plan. Other times it means sitting quietly with that child and just making space for wondering and noticing.