Early Mark Making
While in Kindergarten children will be involved in many activities that support their early writing skills. However these activities may look very different to how you would imagine writing being taught as they don't always involve holding a pencil! Strange, but true, there are many steps involved in your child being able to hold their pencil correctly and form letters.
Gross Motor Skills
Many young children get very excited about learning to write their names. They can gain a great deal of knowledge from this process, including about the strange shapes that adults and older children scratch on paper with pens and call ‘writing’. However, many children can make very little sense of the writing process and may become put off or even fearful of making marks on paper. Part of the problem is that children can be introduced to the physical aspects of writing far too early, it is essential to make sure that children have developed all the foundations they need before adults set out to teach them how to write. These foundations include language and fine motor control. But one key element that is often overlooked is the need for children to have well-developed and coordinated ‘gross motor’ (large physical) movements.
On the right are some examples of simple activities you can do at home. Trips to the park to encourage climbing, balancing and running are also great fun ways to strengthen your child's upper body.
Funky Fingers!
In Kindergarten children love Funky Finger time! They carry out simple activities designed to develop their fine motor control and are carried out while listening to music. On the left are some examples of the activities we do which you could even try at home!
Dough Disco
Another fun way that helps children to develop their fine/gross motor skills is dough disco! Take a look at this video to give you an idea of how it works but remember you can use any music.
The above activities are all a part of your child's journey to becoming a successful writer. We will have lots fun along the way which is what childhood is all about!
