As parents, caregivers, educators and moreover as literates we all want our little kids to learn and develop the skills which will help them grow up in a proper way. However, most of us donât necessarily think of how to develop those skills or at what age we should start encouraging our children to learn how to write.
As far as we know, 21st centuryâs kids always possess an excitement to learn new things and writing is obviously one of them. So, how are we supposed to teach our toddlers to read and write letters followed by sentences, so that next time, when we take our kids to park, they can see and interpret the words on the welcome board at the entrance, instead of asking âWhat does that say?â.
Tips on how to teach children to write
Loads of factors involve behind how to teach children to write such as, the ease with which they can hold a pencil or crayon, their enthusiasm to draw or write something etc. At the same time, we should keep this in our mind that, not all kids will learn to write in the same manner and it would need a lot of patience as well. But, when taught in an organized manner, teaching how to write could be fun.
As mentioned earlier, teaching your children to write is not an easy task. It entails lot more rather than just placing a pencil or crayon in their hand and keeping some images in front of them. They need to practice a lot and the good thing is charity always begins at home.
Step 1: Building dexterity and muscles
The first thing parents can do to help their children is to develop stronger hand muscle which will help to hold a pencil properly. This can be done by encouraging them to draw and write as much as they can.
Step 2: Encourage a good grip
Parents can help their children to have a better grip by giving small crayons or pencils in their hands as those will be easy to hold. Place the pencil between the index finger and thumb while resting on the middle finger, this will help the posture.
Step 3: Encouraging them to maintain proper posture
Children might face some difficulties while writing especially if they cannot hold the paper and pencil properly at the same time. That is why keeping our children in proper posture is very important so that they can extend their wrist and support the pencil properly while writing.
Once they are comfortable to hold a pencil and paper, we can start giving them directions in order to learn writing. Normally, childrenâs first attempts at writing will be in their preschool years. This is the time when they expand their vocabulary and begin to understand that letters, numbers, and symbols all have meaning. They also start noticing people in their life writing and naturally want to mimic what they see. During this stage, parents will find their young one drawing zigzags and trying to write.
Tips to master the art
During the preschool age, we may find our children as an enthusiastic artist, wanting to draw random figures everywhere. But in order to teach them how to write takes a lot more than just random shapes. Pro tips on How to teach children to write are given below to make our child master the art. Take a look at them:
- Parents shouldnât directly ask them to write alphabets or letters. Initially, we should draw some simple lines and figures and ask them to copy it.
- Provide them a comfortable space that will allow them to draw or write freely.
- Toddlers should be encouraged to write on dry erase boards, Magna doodle or chalkboard which will allow erase and rewrite at the same place several times.
- Allow them to move their pencil or chalks or crayons at their own pace.
- Sometimes usage of letter tiles, fridge magnets or alphabet blocks will help them draw figures or shapes more conveniently.
- We should always bear it in mind that the process of teaching them how to write should be fun and relaxing. Parents shouldnât expect perfection from their kids just at the beginning.
- Writing alphabets could be a difficult task if there is no proper guidance. Getting them to write the alphabets shouldnât be that tough, if, we start with the uppercase letters first and then switch to lowercase letters. Therefore, there wonât be any confusion between, âpâ, âqâ, âlâ, âiâ etc.
- Writing numbers has its own sort of difficulties and confusions. Parents should hold their hands at the preliminary stage and revolve or spin according to different letters with their kids. Letters can be explained using basic shapes such as two half circles in case of letter 3 or two small circles in case of letter 8 etc.
- Climbing, pushing, pulling, digging, hanging, swinging these kinds of activities will also help in developing strength, coordination and self- regulation skills that will help for reading and writing. Moreover, reading books together, going to any public library weekly once if possible, will have a direct impact in their minds to build up the enthusiasm in order to learn new things on a daily basis.
Above all, as long as children are not getting proper time and attention from their parents, the learning process might get delayed or might go in vain as well. Therefore, keeping that one thing in mind, the parents of our generation can decide or at least give a direction to their little toddlers to dream, choose and pursue their own future.
Any skill can be inculcated by a child only when the parent nurtures the kid in the right way. Kids are sensitive, so it is the duty of parents to encourage them in all steps of their learning journey. Each child is different from others, do not compare the progress of your child with others and get disappointed at any stage. Make sure you do your part in teaching your child following the tips mentioned above and you will definitely see the result at the earliest.
There are also numerous websites online that will help the child learn alphabets in an interactive manner. You can also refer to the list of strategies article to understand how to improve the reading ability in kids.
We hope you are satisfied with this article on How to teach children to write and if you have any doubts concerning how to teach children to write, feel free to drop a comment in the comment section below.
