One of my favorite parts of teaching Kindergarten is teaching students how to write. There is nothing like the moment a student brings their paper up to you and it says "mi cat is prte" and you read it to them "oh you wrote--my cat is pretty". Their face lights up and they say "that's what I wrote! How did you know?". For the first time they are able to communicate in writing.
When students begin Kinder they are at a range of different abilities. Some are just making squiggles. Some are able to sound out words. By the end of the year the goal is that they can write a complete sentence. One of the things I personally work on with my students is word choice-using more descriptive language when they write.
Now my district was taken over by the state 2 years ago. Our curriculum is very scripted-we are strictly monitored to teach the required slides and they actually have no lessons at all on writing besides handwriting. So I have to sneak in those lessons. Sneak in the mentor texts. Sneak in the journal writing. I am so proud of the progress these kiddos have made this year. I take pictures of their journals from the beginning and the end of the year to share with parents as well.