Our district uses the "Write from the beginning and beyond" writing model.  For Kindergarten, that means that we will be writing every day.  I model writing and illustrating regarding a given topic to the entire class, having them assist me in the process.  Then, they go back to their seats and write in their journal. When they go back to write, they are not copying my sentence from the board, but rather creating their own sentence, with their own voice.  Each day I will work with a specific group to help guide them in the right direction, encouraging them to reflect on their illustration, making sure they are using a variety of colors and details that make sense and match their sentence.  I will also be teaching them about foundational skills such as capitals, spacing, sounding words out, end punctuation and so on.  When the students write, I want them to add details and not be afraid of trying new words out.  I ask them to think about the sounds they hear in the word, reminding them of our alphafriends and the sounds that the letters make.  I am not asking for perfect spelling, but rather an attempt at each word in the sentence that will progress from a simple line to a fully spelled word.  I want writing to be something they enjoy, not something that overwhelms them.  When you help them at home, please resist the urge to spell words out for them.  Have them say the word slowly and listen for the sounds they recognize.  When writing a sentence, have them count out how many words are in the sentence and then have them write that number of lines.  If you have questions, please feel free to stop by and I can explain by showing you some samples.