Writing Development
Common Misunderstandings
It is sometimes difficult to understand child development when we just compare our children to their siblings or their friends. However, we need to remember that no child can be compared to another! This comparison often causes us to have some misconceptions about what our child should be doing and when.
Children will just naturally learn how to write: Children need a model to help them to understand how letters are written, why we write at all, and what these symbols mean! Through play and planned activities you can foster your child's natural curiosity regarding writing.
My child has to spell words correctly all the time: English is very complicated! There are a lot of words that do not look as they sound. However, it is very important that children experience the stage of "inventive spelling". As demonstrated in Stage 5, children use the sounds of the letters in the word to spell the word instead of memorizing the word. Children will learn the correct spelling of words the more they are exposed to print. That is why it is so important to point to words while you read them.
Ideas to Encourage Writing at Home
Although many of us remember tracing letters on worksheets and writing spelling words out until the page was filled, these are not the best ways to teach or learn writing skills. The goal is to make writing fun and useful! Think about what we use writing for: to remember things(lists, daily journals), to share thoughts/feelings ("I love you" notes, notepad of ideas), to tell someone something (letters, signs, labels, menus), and to tell stories (books, magazines). Use these everyday experiences to guide your at home writing instruction.
Here are some ideas to have your child do:
Write letters to friends/family
Keep a journal
Write thank you notes
Make a book
Draw a picture then write about it
Help write down grocery lists
Walk around your house and write the words you find
Write letters/words in sand/sprinkles/whip cream/ etc.
Use objects (like rocks, sticks, bocks, play dough, etc.) to write letters/words
Label things around the house
Some important tips:
-Talk about letters and their sounds: "Oh you drew the sun! Let's label your drawing... hmmm /s/un. /s/ what letter do you think sun starts with? Let's listen to the sound."
-It's important to have your child write but you also should be modeling writing. So you may start writing out some words or letters for them and then have them move to filling in letters and words.
-Always encourage writing. When I child says "Look mommy! I wrote a story!" and it is scribbles or letter strands try to respond with something like, "Wow, please tell me more about your story, it looks like a very interesting story!"