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Hi friends, today we’re going to discuss how to make your child write. We’ll cover pre writing skills, writing alphabets, words and stories and how to makewriting a lifelong habit. First step (1-2 years old)-Developing the fine motor skills that is essential in writing.
You can start as early as 1 years old to introduce pre writing activities like pinching small beads and putting them into cup,scribbling with crayons and paint, turning easy knobs of doors. Second step (2-3 years old)- (Pre writing activities) Some examples are 1.
making dots 2.finger painting and hand painting 3.scrunching papers 4.playing with blocks 5.Using coloring books 6.Drawing circles, Use your hand to guide in the beginning. Most alphabets use circles in counter clockwise manner, so it’s an useful thing to learn.
Third step( 3-4 years old)- Start pattern writing- first vertical line, then horizontal line, then slanting line, zigzag line and then start making squares. Download these printables from Grey Matterzzz facebook page Cutting with scissors along the line Give Q-tips to draw, paint, write Continue using play dough Introduce Maze books Introduce letters and use different manipulatives like buttons, stick, shells to make letter recognition fun.
Continue making circles. Fourth Step (4-5 years)- ( Writing skills)- You can start teaching letter-writing now to your child depending on child’s interest. Always start teaching with uppercase letters then move to lowercase as it will be easier for child.
But never start with A. Start in the manner shown in this printable. You can download it free from Grey Matterzzz page. Use multi sensory materials like whipped cream, shaving cream, sand tray etc to make writing an interesting activity.
Invest in a doodle board that’s nothing but a new age chalkboard, so kids can scribble, doodle and do whatever they want. Show your child to grasp the pencil with 3 fingers, but don’t force for the correct position, as it takes time.
Encourage to draw inside the line in the coloring books Along with letters start teaching numbers also, preferably in this order. Fifth step (5-6 years)- Practice writing skills Practice all uppercase and lowercase alphabets and numbers.
Make sure that the child is following right way to write those, as she needs this skill throughout her life. Take time to master the correct writing movement. Start writing in the 3 lined or 4 lined papers.
Help her to write her own name with last name and practice phone number. Encourage her to write small sentences by her own about her favorite things. Invest in a writing journal where kid can write her everyday activity and draw a picture about it.
Stop finding mistakes of grammar and spellings in your child’s writing, as encouragement is really important in this stage. Start giving small dictation. Important Tips- Reading and writing goes hand in hand, so read a lot of books if you want your kid to write a lot.
If you want to teach your kids how to read, check this video. Start writing the letter in big size , then slowly decrease the size and finally try to go for 3 line or 4 line approach Be a good model, start writing in front of your child so she see it and get inspired.
b and d, p and q are little confusing for small kids, and it’s perfectly fine if they confuse it until age 7. Practice a lot. Ask your child to do grocery list, write small notes to friends, type on computer, write about a movie she watched recently, thank you note to teacher, her favorite animal anything that catches her fancy.
Help in the beginning to make the sentences Most important tip- all above age related guidelines are really flexible and versatile, change it according to the need of your kid, don’t push for anything, if you can read and write, your child will also learn eventually.
Recommended books to practice early writing- I like Kumon’s My first book of tracing Carson-Dellosa publishing workbooks for early writing Scholastic wipe-clean workbooks If you are in India you can try books like- Dreamland Publication Lines and Curves book Ashlar Kidz Pattern Bus Ladybird book of First Pencil Practice These names are only guidelines, you might consider downloading Free pattern writing worksheets from Grey Matterzzz facebook page or buy books with these kind of patterns from your nearby bookstores.
How to use free apps to help in writing – Though screen times should be controlled, but if the child is showing zero interest in writing whatsoever, then you can introduce these apps to bring interest to your child.
However, invest in a stylus while writing as recent studies have shown that using fingers to swipe touchscreen of phones and tablets can prevent children’s finger muscles from developing sufficiently to enable them hold pencils properly.
But please keep the practice time short if child is using any device .Hope you find this video helpful for your kid. Subscribe to my channel as more Early Learning Videos on Reading and writing are coming soon.
Thanks for watching,keep on learning
