Early Writing

The Second R: (W)riting

Nurturing Writers – A Whole Child Approach

Wonderful World of Writing – Children are born with a desire to communicate, but their ability develops over time.

Review of World of Academic Development

• We cannot rush developmental stages.
  • Age of Reason – around 7 years of age. Huge brain maturation that allows for more complex reasoning.
  • BONE structure – the bones in the hand are still developing. We cannot expect young hands to do something, they simply aren’t mechanically built to do yet. WAIT! This is developmental and has nothing to do with desire. Many littles will want to imitate us. We want to provide age-appropriate outlets.

Laying down the foundation and nurturing future writers is AS EASY AS 1-2-3

TO DEVELOP WRITERS:

1. Feed the imagination, feed the mind.

•          Read Aloud – Don’t neglect this vitally important aspect of your child’s education. It builds strong bonds, and lays important foundations for reading and writing!
• Read a wide variety of genres. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry

2. Draw out the imagination

 

• Invite your children to invent stories and dictate letters! They can begin with the creative aspects of writing long before they are ready for the physical demands of writing. Let them CREATE!
• Create booklets, write letters, make posters!

3. Mechanics

• Building hand and arm strength is vitally important!
• Learning through play and moving their bodies is the best way to accomplish that. Check out my free printable for Reading (and Writing) Readiness.
• Be sure to also check out the Preschool Skills and Kindergarten Skills check sheet!

Seek opportunities for your kids to play with and manipulate things with their hands.

Now some developmentally appropriate places to start.

1. Penmanship: Look for a program that teaches the HOW of proper letter formation that reduces stress on the hand.

• • Orton-Gillingham approach to writing: This instructional approach encourages students by seeing, saying, sounding, and writing letters to master decoding and encoding of words. Here are a few of my favorites:
    • Logic of English
    • Spell to Write and Read
    • All About Spelling
  • Another good handwriting program that takes a gross-motor approach: Handwriting Without Tears

2. Consider Cursive First

• • Cursive uses just a few simple strokes. It is easier on young hands and promotes a flow to writing and thought rather than drawing sticks and balls.

3. Look for hand-grip help.

• Giving your children a strong foundation of knowledge and skill on how to properly hold a pencil will pay dividends down the road. This will help prevent hand fatigue.
  • Triangular Grip Colored Pencils and regular pencils
  • Thick Sidewalk Chalk, thick dry erase markers
  • Paint sticks
  • Pencil Grips: This 3 pack that helps with the transitioning
  • REVISIT exercises to strengthen grip and finger strength, specifically looking at pincher grasp.

4. Posture and appropriate seating.

• • Key is having feet flat on ground. Back and femur at 90-degree angles. If feet don’t touch the floor, get a stool or box to put under feet.

 

5. Gross motor letter formation first.

Look for ways to practice letter formation in big ways before moving to tiny work. Be mindful of hand development and don’t rush the process.

• Salt Box writing
• Shaving Cream writing
• Air writing
• Back-trace writing
• Dry-Erase – write on, use pointer finger to write-off (using correct strokes)
• Ice-cube writing
• Chalk writing

 

Remember: Your children WANT to communicate. Let’s give them the tools, skills, and strength to embrace this written component to communication!

Encourage your kids. Be cheerful and patient with the process.