Rachel McClary is a British early education consultant and mum to three young daughters living in the Pacific Northwest. She is currently home preschooling the two youngest, much of which is documented in her early education, play and parenting blog,Right From the Start.
"Mum, how do you spell my name?"
"Is that circle with a tail?"
"No, up — down — up — down."
Thus, begins a regular conversation I have with my three-year-old daughter.
She is more than likely interested in writing because she has two older sisters, but I remember my eldest daughter going through a similar phase.
I always encourage the children to pick up a pencil and paper and write. They see me writing notes, shopping lists, and reminders, as well as my eldest daughter doing homework and writing stories or letters.
The children know where to go to find paper and pens; I keep a stack in a kitchen cupboard and they have a writing table in their playroom. We have a magnetic white board on the dishwasher door purposely placed at their height and a chalkboard in their bedroom (that they often use to play school). Here are some other ways I help them fall in love with writing:
Recognize when they are physically ready to write.
Most parents agree that children need to develop fine motor skills to be able to write. But first, to get to this stage, there are many gross motor skills to master. You would never expect a baby to stand before he could sit; neither should you expect a child to make marks on a small piece of paper before they have mastered those skills on a much larger scale.
A child's physical skills develop from the top down. First they lift their head, then push with their arms, sit, stand, and finally walk. The same muscle development follows with writing — first the child is able to master movements from the shoulder swinging their arms in a big motion or making lines by dragging a stick along the ground. Next, they can master smaller movements from the elbow — make shapes in shaving foam, paint on a large sheet of paper, or manipulate large pieces of clay or dough.
It is only when they have mastered these skills that they will have the necessary control for fine motor skills. A good indication that a child is ready to begin writing some letters is that they spontaneously draw people with a body and a head rather than a face with arms and legs.
Urge your child to spell simple words — even if they're wrong.
One of the dangers of using worksheets is that children begin to worry about whether they are doing it correctly and stop writing spontaneously in their play. I remember my eldest daughter going through the "can't" phase. I used to tell her she just hadn't learned it yet and to give it a try.
Writing for the first time is tiring, and sometimes I would relent and write some of it for her. Once my children have mastered basic phonics, I encourage them to spell simple words themselves even if they get it wrong as it is good practice and there is nothing cuter than those early literal phonic spellings.
Provide children with plenty of narratives.
All children will at some point master the physical skill of writing but not all will become proficient writers. It is important to remember that writing isn't just about formation of letters but also about understanding conventional story language, developing a rich vocabulary, and encouraging children to be imaginative so that they will not be short of ideas to write about.
Reading to children is as important for learning to write as it is for fostering a love of reading. We often talk about what we have been doing that day at the dinner table or we tell our family on the other side of the world what we have been up to. We look back over photographs and they tell me what is happening in each one.
Encourage children to write in their play.
A lot of girls instinctively write during imaginative play, taking orders at the cafe or making signs for a show. For boys, you need to be little more creative — perhaps giving builders a checklist for the building standards, encouraging superheroes to send secret coded messages, or pirates to make a treasure map.