Learning to write is an important skill that takes lots of practice. Developing the dexterity to hold and utilize a pencil begins at birth as a child progresses through each motor milestone. With practice and support, young kids begin to hold crayons and pencils. Using a pencil to write requires hand strength and fine motor coordination. Learning to form letters correctly requires visual perception, motor control, and hand eye coordination among many others.
Here are a few activities that can help develop these skills:
Give your child lots of practice with toys like Silly Putty and Play Doh that allow him to sculpt and mold. This will strengthen the muscles in his hands and fingers to make holding a writing utensil easier.
Building toys like Legos and Tinker Toys are great for teaching fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. If your child is too young for Legos, try the larger kinds, and then slowly build up to Legos.
To further improve fine motor skills, play games involving using tweezers or two popsicle sticks to move small objects such as pony beads or small pieces of uncooked pasta or rice. Make it a game by filling a plastic tub with the beads or pasta. Then challenge them to hunt for objects such as letter magnets or small toys.
Spend time playing outdoors, especially on the playground! Climbing, crawling, and pulling oneself up all build upper body strength, and helps children have more control when writing.
Practice drawing and writing on a vertical surface such as an easel or even a piece of paper taped to the wall. This promotes strength and stability of the wrists and shoulders, which in turn helps improve fine motor skills. Make it fun by attaching a large piece of butcher paper to the wall and allowing your child to practice writing his name in big letters or draw a larger than life picture!
Improve hand eye coordination with games that involve throwing and catching. Try having your child throw beanbags or balls into a basket. A child-size basketball net or t-ball set are also fun ways to practice. Throwing and catching water balloons on a hot summer’s day is an especially fun way to practice hand-eye coordination!
Magnetic mazes or activity boards where your child manipulates magnets through a plexiglass base help improve fine motor skills. Try a Magnatab activity, where children fill in letters and numbers with beads using a magnetic stylus.
Coloring is an excellent pre-writing activity. On a blank sheet of paper, draw large shapes with a dark marker and challenge your child to color within the lines. Gradually give them smaller shapes and a wider variety of shapes to color. Coloring books are also a good introduction to coloring inside the lines.
For youngsters who are just beginning to learn how to hold writing utensils, consider starting with shorter crayons and pre-school size pencils. These help them get comfortable holding a pencil or crayon. As they master the use of these, you can transition to traditional writing utensils. Using shorter crayons and pencils initially teaches a child to use a mature grasp pattern as it automatically positions the fingers into a tripod grasp.
To help him learn and remember the letters in his name, write her name on an index card. Then cut the letters apart, scramble them up, and have her put them back in the correct order. You can do this for both her first and last name.
Provide lots of opportunities for him to practice writing his first and last name. He may enjoy scrawling it on the driveway in sidewalk chalk or “painting” with water and a paintbrush on the patio or fence.
Coloring is an excellent pre-writing activity. On a blank sheet of paper, draw large shapes with a dark marker and challenge your child to color within the lines. Gradually give them smaller shapes and a wider variety of shapes to color. Coloring books are also a good introduction to coloring inside the lines.
Using sensory materials such as kinetic sand or play foam is an excellent way for your child to practice building the letters in his name while also improving dexterity and hand strength.
Also check out 9 Toy Ideas to Help Develop Pre-Writing Skills and Tips and Tricks to Improve Handwriting.