Pencils, crayons, or markers
Yarn or ribbon
Writing paper or notebook
Cardboard or heavy paper
Construction paper
Safety scissors
What To Do
The first activities in the list below work well with younger children. As your child
grows older, the later activities let her do more. But keep doing the first ones as long
as she enjoys them.
Write with your child. From the time she is
almost a preschooler, she will learn a lot about writing by watching you write. Talk about
your writing with her so she begins to understand that writing means something and has
many uses.
Have your young preschooler use her way of
writing perhaps just a scribble to sign birthday cards or make lists.
Hang a family message board in the kitchen.
Offer to write notes there for your child. Be sure she finds notes left for her there.
Ask your preschooler to tell you simple
stories while you write them down. Question her if you don't understand something.
Encourage your preschooler to write her name
and practice writing it with her. Remember, at first she may use only the first letter or
two of her name.
Help your child write notes to relatives and
friends to thank them for gifts or share her thoughts. Encourage them to answer your child
with a note.
When she is in kindergarten, she will begin
to write words the way she hears them. For example, she might write "haf" for
have, "frn" for friend, "Frd" for Fred. Ask her to read her
"writing" to you. Don't be concerned with correct spelling. She will learn that
later.
As your child gets older, she can begin to
write or tell you longer stories. Ask questions that will help her organize the stories.
Answer questions about letters and spelling.
Turn your child's writing into books. Paste
her drawings and writings on pieces of construction paper. Make a cover out of heavier
paper or cardboard; add special art, a title, and her name as author. Punch holes in the
pages and cover, and bind the book together with yarn or ribbon.
Parent Pointer:
When a child is just beginning, he tries different ways to write and spell. Our job as
parents is to encourage our children's writing so they will enjoy putting what they think
on paper.
