The ability to write is a fundamental learning skill we teach at Kid’s Corner (along with reading and math). Our goal is to prepare your child for a successful transition into kindergarten. Developing the cognitive and motor skills required for writing is essential for that next step. Using The Creative Curriculum®, we ensure that your child will be ready. How? Let’s explore.
Also: How to Teach a Child to Read and How to Teach a Child Math
How Do Children Learn to Write
Learning to write involves the integration of many functions for kids. The ability to write requires hand-eye coordination, including motor function in the hands and the development of “pencil fingers.” As your child begins to learn writing skills, it’s important to understand that these functions need to be learned from a large-to-small progression. That means the muscles develop from more crude movement to fine movement over the learning process.
Encourage a child just beginning to write to use very large surfaces, as well as large writing utensils, like crayons. Also, using scissors, paste and stickers on construction paper will develop those muscles.
Learning to write goes hand in hand with learning to read. Encourage your child to observe the written text as you read it to them. Writing the alphabet should also be part of the alphabetic learning process.
What Age Should a Child Learn to Write
Kids will start learning to write beginning around 15 months and develop that skill up through the first three years. Here’s what you can expect (with patience and understanding that they all learn at different paces) at each age level (source):
- Toddler: Learn to grasp a pencil. Learning that writing is done left to right, and make first attempts at writing letters.
- Preschoolers: Begin to write very specific doodles that represent specific concepts. Draw lines across a page that look to represent sentences. Make attempts at letters.
During the toddler and preschool years, you will see your child progress from random scribbling to controlled scribbling to drawing lines, patterns, and objects. Heading into Kindergarten, they will be prepared to begin learning and writing the alphabet.
Writing Activities for Preschoolers
When it comes to writing activities for toddlers and preschoolers, we are really talking about pre-writing activities. You want activities that develop those motor skills, hand-eye-coordination, and understanding of what writing represents. Here are a few activities you can do with your kids to help them learn how to write:
- Let them play with Playdough. It develops those hand muscles. You can have them mold the playdough into letters as well.
- Read to your child, and use your finger to underline the words as you read them.
- Do other crafts on large paper, such as cut-and-paste, painting, and drawing with large crayons. Have them cut out letters.
- Play with blocks, even having them make letters out of their creations.
- Use pipe cleaners to have them form letters and other crafty things like bracelets. Add beads to make it more fun and to work those muscles.
Learning to Write at Kid’s Corner
At Kid’s Corner, we use the The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool and Toddlers. This proven curriculum has evolved since 1978 and sets milestones for both our students and our wonderful teachers, to make sure that your kid is learning to write and be well prepared to enter kindergarten. We make sure that literacy becomes a source of enjoyment for your child.
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