Activities for Budding Writers PDF.pdf - Circulation User

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Lizzi Ogle – Tremont District Library 1 Early Literacy Tip Tuesday November 3rd – Activities for Budding Writers Hi everyone and welcome to another week of Early Literacy Tip Tuesdays! Throughout the course of this video series we are discussing the Five Practices of Early Literacy: Talking, Singing, Reading, Writing, and Play, and learning about ways we can incorporate these practices into everyday life so that our children can become better lifelong learners. Last week we discussed ways to help with fine motor skills in toddlers and preschoolers to help with writing and crafting skills later. This week I want to focus on children who are starting to write and starting to learn letters and talk about ways we can help them get excited about writing and get better at it. Just a reminder, while last week’s activities were aimed at children who were still learning how to hold a drawing utensil and scribble, there are no rules against older children enjoying these activities as well. Different fine and gross motor skills are needed for many activities in life, so make a point to continue practicing them at all ages. Working on finger and hand strength and control will only help your child continue to get better using a variety of art utensils. For kids who are actively learning letters, wanting to write those letters, and are curious about writing words or sentences, there are so many great options! Children don’t need to be in a classroom setting to learn about the alphabet, it can be done during playtime at home. Many educators and parents say the first best way to introduce the alphabet to a child is to give them coloring pages of large outlined letters. A child can work on control and coloring inside the lines, or just enjoy scribbling, while being exposed to what letters look like. Many children can sing the ABC’s from a young age and learning what those letters they’re singing about look like, is exciting! A great step up from this activity is giving children smaller outlines of letters to trace. Encourage them to use one crayon line to fill in the letter. Outlines with arrows directing children Lizzi Ogle – Tremont District Library 2 how to draw each letter are great too, but don’t worry if your child isn’t following the arrows to a T. Remember, we’re talking about children who are just learning how to write the alphabet for the first time. If your child goes to preschool they will continue to learn how to write in a more formal manner and Kindergarten is all about learning and perfecting these skills. As parents, our job is just to get them excited about learning new things each day. If you’re looking for fun ways to focus more on the alphabet side of writing, try out messy alphabet writing. Cover a flat surface in shaving cream or rice and let your child draw letters with their fingers. Another great way to work on the shape of letters and numbers is to use fingertrail or textured books that children can touch and feel. As young children start to learn a few letters, they will be ecstatic to point them out and then learn more. If your child is persistent about learning how to write words, one of the best places to start is with their name. Their name is unique to them (even if other children share their name, they still associate it with themselves), and this is something they will read and write for the rest of their lives. Like with individual letter practice, write their name as an outline and let them trace it. If you write their name in big, bold letters on a regular sheet of paper and if you slip it into a sheet protector, it can be used as a make-shift dry erase board and be used again and again. Playing connect the dots in the shape of letters in their name is a great way to show how letters connected make words. With writing, patience and practice are key. If your child comes to you and asks you to spell out words while they write, bear with them and help them express their thoughts on paper, no matter how many times they ask you how to write the letter “h” or what a “m” looks like. Encouraging children to write letters or their name over and over again helps them cement the motions and skills needed for perfecting their writing skills. Lizzi Ogle – Tremont District Library 3 Checkout the links in the description for more activities to do that will help your budding writer grow into a voracious learner. Next week, we’ll start our discussion on the last of the five practices: Play. Thank you all so much for joining me for another Early Literacy Tip Tuesday, see you soon! Sources:  https://www.verywellfamily.com/teaching-preschoolers-to-write-fun-activities- 3128860  https://preschoolinspirations.com/best-ways-teach-kids-to-write/  https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/learning-at-home/encouraging- reading-writing/6-tips-for-helping-young-kids-learn-to-write