One of the things parents often worry about is how their child will manage at school. We all want to do the best we can to support them. It might surprise you to know that supporting early writing skills often has very little to do with holding a pencil!
Here are some of the steps we can take at home as parents to support our children with early writing skills…
Gross motor skills come first - crawling, playing at the playground, walking on uneven ground…all these things help to develop posture and shoulder stability, both needed for sitting and writing.
Play games that involve ‘crossing the midline’ (the invisible line down the centre of our bodies - this helps with visual tracking and bilateral coordination). Examples include large painting activities, art activities on vertical surfaces, clapping games, wiping a table, dressing yourself, sweeping, dancing and climbing.
Focus on the skills needed for writing rather than writing itself. This means activities involving hand-eye coordination such as puzzles, construction toys, threading, pouring their own drink, and learning to dress themselves.
Focus on oral language. Songs, rhymes, cosy story times and natural conversation are all vital before we even think about writing.
Go at their pace. Just like your child probably didn’t walk at exactly the same time as every other child (the ‘typical’ range is anything from 9 to 18 months - which is a huge variation!), they are unlikely to show an interest in or master the skill of writing at the same time. Some children are ‘ready’ at around 4, for others it is more like 6.
Offer opportunities for role play and early writing: try having a notebook and pencils for shopping lists or next to a toy phone; take a clipboard and pencil outside for nature walks.
Make writing a pleasurable experience. Being made to sit down and trace letters, write a card to someone or do “writing work” might be fun for some children, but for many it is a huge turn off. If we want them to be good at writing, we need to make sure they enjoy it and have a positive attitude to it. This comes from making writing fun and seeing themselves positively when it comes to writing.
Offer to scribe for them if they have a story they want to tell!
Encourage story telling, role play, acting out and dressing up - all of these contribute to having something to write.
Use sticks in mud, a paintbrush with water and fingers in sand to form early letters before introducing a pencil - this takes the pressure off making mistakes.