Software used: Prompt Writer, a child-based wordprocessor.

Exhibition
Work on this project began in January 1992. At the outset, I told my infant pupils that a few of them would be selected to show off their work at a computer exhibition in Dublin in March (the CESI Dublin Branch Student Computer Fair). Pupils were also offered the further inducement of a trip to MacDonalds after the exhibition. One of the most extrovert boys responded by saying he didn't want to go: he would miss his family and be lonely. He must have thought we'd be away for quite a whilel

English Reader
The program we used was based on the vocabulary in pupils' English Reader Fun On The Farm. Approximately half of the pupils live on a farm, so words like farm, tractor, and cowhouse were part of their everyday vocablulary. As television is a big influence in their lives, I introduced it as a new word. This meant that pupils could make five sentences from the given sheet, including one where they used the OWERTY keyboard to spell out their own names. The weakest pupil was able to construct five sentences.
Pupils became acquainted with the given words very quickly, and were anxious to add to their sentences. It was interesting to see how those who were good at spelling did this. The good spellers helped those weaker than themselves, but it wasn't always the brightest pupils who came up with the best sentences. Pupils' ability to combine the words on their prepared sheet with their own words was intriguing.

Printing
Through use, pupils became familiar with the OWERTY keyboard
- where the letters are, using the full stop, pressing delete and return. Each pupil had a turn to produce his/her own page. This was then printed, while the child watched with an expression of wonderment, excitement, and delight. Misspelt words were left uncorrected, so words like Dabbyor farmforfarmer are sprinkled
throughout the 'book'. Finally, photographs were collected to make up the individual pages and the 'book' was completed.

Display
As selection day (for pupils going to Dublin) approached, competition grew keener. Complaints of misbehaviour (he sticked out his tongue or she said bold words etc) were reported to me by the pupils. Those hopeful of a seat on the bus tried very hard to be good. Eventually the great day came and pupils were proud to display their work at the Student Computer Fair.
Rewarding
Overall, the project was a most rewarding one. At the start, I had been assigned an assistant from sixth class, but he soon became redundant (thank you Finbarrl). Pupils and teacher learned a lot from the work. As one who repected computers, but who knew very little about them, I soon overcame my fears. Computing isn't difficult at all. In fact it's most enjoyable. It adds a sense of purpose and excitement to schoolwork, and enhances the relationship between pupils and their teacher.