As an adult, I think we sometimes take for granted the things we know. Do you actually remember when you learned to read, write or count? Sometimes I think I just always knew how to do these things. One of the joys of working with young children is watching the learning and discovery process. Each week I will focus on a particular area of development and provide information, tips and activities relative to your children. Our first series will be writing.
You may find your toddler or preschooler mimicking you from speech and mannerisms to daily activities. This is how they learn and make sense of things. They may pick up a stick or pen and imitate writing by making marks on paper (or walls;). This eventually turns into handwriting. We need to nurture and guide this exploration as well as prepare children to be confident in their writing abilities. The importance of the pincer grip (picking things up between thumb and index finger) and its role in writing becomes evident. Picking up cheerios at 9-10 months is laying a foundation and strengthening the muscles necessary for holding a pencil.
The rate of growth and development in all areas varies among children. It is important to offer activities at their level and progress from there.
The developing stages of pre-writing:
- Lines and dots. Often at this stage the child has no predetermined hand.
- Ability to imitate directional marks made by others.
- Curves and enclosures.
- Ability to copy straights and curves made by others.
- Ability to link straights and curves to form a symbol.
Over the next few weeks will be discussing the importance of each step and what you can do to promote growth and development in each area.