Here are 5 simple ideas (that you could do at home) to encourage a love of writing, drawing and creating for your Preschooler.
1. ALLOW EASY ACCESS
I have tried lots of different methods for having books and papers kept organised and tidy yet available for use whenever she gets the urge with not a great deal of success, but this idea (below) has been the most successful.
If your child has to stop and ask for something to write/draw on there's a chance that they just might not bother. PLUS- when it's something special for them, they are much more inclined to want to use it.
This is an old file folder that I've turned into a way for Maddie to easily access all her writing, drawing and creating papers/books. It has press studs (which even I find hard to close) so I stuck velcro tape along the underside of the flap so that she can easily open and close it herself.
In each file space there is something different.
- Plain white paper -Coloured paper
-Black paper -Coloured circles
-Coloured squares -Lined paper
-Newspaper -Scrapbooking paper
-Lined notebook -Sticker book
-Drawing book & -Adventure writing book. etc
You could add whatever materials your child needs or regularly uses.
2. PERSONALISE & RECORD
Personalising books yourself is not hard. It makes it much more special and exciting for children, therefore, they are more likely to use it.
Show interest in your child and record details about them in a written format that they can see and "read" over. This gives you something to talk about, personalises it even further and makes a wonderful keepsake.
Make a drawing book for each year and give to them on their birthday.
(Print out a picture/design/photo and stick to the front of a good quality drawing pad. Cover with contact paper to make it last.)
You could do something like this inside the front cover of the drawing book.
At the start of each year, fill out a profile of your child and see how the answers differ from year to year. This was done on her 3rd birthday in Jan. We love reading over it as even now (3 months later), her answers have changed. We also trace her hands and date it.
3. WRITE TOGETHER
Your preschooler (most likely) can't write by themselves (and if they can it's probably fairly limited), so if you don't write with them they'll never get the chance or experience.
Try collaborative writing experiences like the one shown below and have other family members, relatives and friends help out too. If asked, they should be more than willing to sit down and let your child dictate their story to them.
Make a personalised writing book where you can record stories and adventures as made up by your child.
This is just a blank notepad that we drew a cover for together. It doesn't look professional but it doesn't need to.
All the stories in here are recorded exactly as dictated by Madeline.
Sometimes she uses stickers as inspiration and for pictures and other times she illustrates her stories herself.
Once again, it's not fancy but that's not the aim. We LOVE reading over what is written and continuing or adding more adventures whenever she gets the urge.
4. MAKE IT SPECIAL AND APPEALING
When I was teaching in a classroom, I loved the uniformity and organisation of matching pencil, texta, crayon pots/tubs etc. It helped reduce fights and was easy and practical. At home however, this isn't needed and I've found that the more creative I am with housing her writing and drawing implements, the more keen she is to use them.
Try storing fancy or special textas, pens etc in different tins/containers.
The more special the implement, the more special the container. :)
This was an old biscuit tin (she added a sticker). Things like chocolate boxes, recycled containers, old lunchboxes etc are all great to use. If they are plain, let your child decorate them.
Standard textas in a recycled plastic tub with a ribbon tied around it
For birthdays/Christmas' etc, you could ask relatives for different and exciting writing tools.
These animal, finger puppet crayons came from her Grandma and are used not only for writing and drawing, but also to ride in toy trains, live in Duplo built houses, stack together, have conversations and SO much more.
5. CREATE INVITATIONS TO WRITE/DRAW
While your child is sleeping or otherwise occupied, create an invitation for them to get creative by setting up an area with everything they need, all laid out. Once again, the more appealing you make it look, the more likely they will get excited and be inspired to create.
Here I set up an invitation for some creative story writing.
(In the box to the left are a whole lot of different stickers and cut out pictures from magazines.. it used to be a chocolate box)
Most important of all... HAVE FUN!
What tips and tricks have worked for YOU to encourage your preschooler to write? Please share them with us.
Happy playing,
Debs :)
Look where else we are. Are you following along? :)
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