Message Basket
Your child will begin using a message basket to write short messages to family members.
Learning Area(s): Reading and Writing
MATERIALS
- sheets of paper
- something to write with
- basket or box
LET'S PLAY
To prepare for this activity, find a space in your home to place a small basket or box. Put some sheets of paper and a pencil near the basket.
Explain to your child how the message basket will work by saying, “Sometimes I need to tell someone in the family about something or ask them a question, but that person is busy or not at home. When that happens, I can write a short message or note and leave it in the message basket. Our family can put notes to each other in this basket so that they don’t get lost. We can check the basket each day to see if there is a note with our name on it.”
Discuss the kinds of things your child and family members might write in a note. The messages might be a question, a reminder, a thank-you note, or just something the writer wants to share. See Tips for sentence starters and punctuation suggestions.
Take turns writing notes to a member of the family. You can go first and explain the steps by saying, “First we write ‘To’ and the name of the person the note is for. Next, we write the message. Then we write ‘From’ and our name so the person knows who wrote the message. Last, we fold the note in half and write the name of the person the note is for on the front.”
Write notes to your child often to encourage the use of the basket. Have your child explain the message basket to their family members so that they can use it on an ongoing basis, too!
TIPS
- You might like to begin this routine with a note you have already written to your child placed in the basket. Be sure to write your child’s name on the front of the folded message.
- You might like to have a few example sentence starters for your child to use as they get used to writing messages. You can place them inside the basket unfolded and remind your child to use them to get started.
- Thank you for _____________!
- I want to _____________.
- Can you please ___________?
- Have you ______________?
- You might also invite your to child write a text message to a family member who is not home.
- As your child begins to write messages, stay positive about spelling. It’s okay for your child to use invented spelling as they write their messages. If you are concerned with your child’s spelling, talk with their teacher or a reading specialist.
