Teaching children to write can seem like a daunting, but necessary task. It can seem stressful and frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be. All you really need is patience, anything else is an added bonus.
To find out our top tips for teaching your children how to write, keep on reading.
1. Large Arm Movements
Starting out with large arm movements might seem like a confusing step to begin with, but we promise it’s essential. Encouraging your kids to make large arm movements (through drawing or painting, for example), will help strengthen their arm and core muscles.
These muscles are vital for writing, and you can’t expect your kids to learn to write without the basics down first.
2. Grip and Posture
Next, you can start introducing them to the actual motions of writing. Teach them how to properly hold a pen or pencil. Holding your pen wrong, pressing down too hard, or gripping too tightly can all lead to sore hands, something you’re definitely looking to avoid!
Another way to encourage good grip could be through teaching them to cut shapes. Basically, you’re looking for any kind of activity that will help with fine motor neuron skills.
3. Go Over Letters
Once you get down to the actual writing, you need to make sure your child is completely familiar with the alphabet. This could be done through playing with plastic letters or magnets (to put on the fridge). You could also spell out their names or different animals with the letters to get them familiar with each letter.
You could also point to different letters and ask them to repeat the letter back to you. Making a game out of learning to write will ensure the whole thing goes more smoothly.
4. Teaching Children to Write With Lesson Plans
Of course, you can always rely on ready-made lesson plans to help you, such as https://studentreasures.com/teachers-lounge/lesson-plans/kindergarten/. There are a ton of resources out there that you can take advantage of, helping both you and your child.
You don’t have to do everything alone, so dive through the Internet to find activities and exercises that your child will love.
5. Fun Activities
Once your child is able to write words, for example, their names, be sure to turn this into fun writing activities. Get them to write their names on rocks or cards, and start to introduce writing simple phrases.
Make everything fun in whatever way you can. This way, learning to write will feel less like a task and more like an enjoyable activity, for both you and your child.
The Verdict
Teaching children to write doesn’t happen overnight, and requires time and patience. You also must make sure to work on basic skills and muscle strengthening first, to ensure that your child successfully learns to write in an effective manner.
We hope you’ve found our tips useful. Remember, always make use of what you can, in this instance, the Internet is your friend – see what other resources you can find here on our blog!