Handwriting is something that takes children a while to master. 

It is a skill to coordinate a pen/pencil in a controlled manner to produce an exact result and one that develops over time and experience. 

To develop good handwriting, you require good fine-motor skills, hand/finger muscle strength and a good pen-grip/hold.

Being a trained teacher, since my children started holding and drawing with writing tools (pens, pencils, markers, crayons, paintbrushes), I have been encouraging them to adjust their grip to hold their writing implements with the three correct fingers that allow for good handwriting down the track.

Many children don't practice holding a pen using the correct 3 fingers until they get to school and then it's often a matter of trying to correct the natural hold that they have developed. 

Whilst children (and adults) are able to write using other various holds, the time-tested method below, once mastered, is the most comfortable way to write, allows for ease of movement and is the least likely to cause muscle strain or discomfort, especially when writing for lengthy periods of time.

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My 3 (almost 4) year-old is really into letters at the moment. 

He's asking questions about them, pointing them out, recognising/naming them, making them and just generally showing that now is the time to follow his interest and provide him with opportunities to practice and learn more about letters and his name.

I don't have time for fancy set-ups or anything that takes a long time to prepare these days (3 year-olds really keep you busy!) and it's almost always the simple activities that are most enjoyed and get the most use. 

This wax-resist activity is a classic that doesn't go out of style. You only need a candle, paper and some watercolour paint to have fun practicing name recognition, letter learning, number learning and just having fun.

Ages: 2+

See the bottom for handy tips to simplify or extend to suit your child's age & level of development.

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Whilst in Dubai, I was fortunate to experience a really incredible Heritage Desert Safari and Dinner with Platinum Heritage. It was definitely one of the highlights of my trip and an absolute must-do if you visit Dubai.

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One of the things that children in Victoria, Australia are taught in their first year of Primary School, is writing between the lines in order to develop their handwriting. 

Once children have developed their fine motor skills, worked on learning letters and practiced writing on blank paper and with other mediums to develop their letter formation, they are usually introduced to handwriting paper with dotted-thirds to assist them in writing letters of consistent size and format.

A little trick I used in my classroom to help children learning to write in dotted-thirds was, "Clever Cat." 

Clever Cat's bottom sits on the solid base line and his body takes up the first gap. His head sits on top, occupying the second gap up between the dotted lines and his tail dangles below the solid line, extending to the first dotted line below.

Clever Cat for handwriting works as a fun visual aid to assist children in remembering where letters should sit between the lines and their sizing. 

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For Maddie's 5th birthday I made her a special "Writing Box." Being a teacher of the Early Years I knew that she was at the perfect age for really developing her writing skills and love of writing. She is already interested in writing, thanks to activities we've done over the years such as writing in salt, writing with water on the chalkboard and sensory name writing. You don't have to wait until your child is 5 years old though to make something like this. It should interest and engage them in writing/mark-making/drawing/creativity regardless of the age.

As my daughter is just starting her first year at Primary School, I know that this means that over the year she will be expected to write and to practice things like hand-writing, letter formation, sight words, story telling, etc. My vision is that having a special way to inspire her to want to write and get excited about writing, should hopefully help in this area.

I have always tried to encourage a love of literacy in her and this was just another way that I thought would help entice her to really want to write and be creative with her own special box and materials.

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Today's activity is part of an ongoing series, Exploring Reggio. Our co-creators for the series are, The Imagination Tree, An Everyday Story, One Perfect Day and Twodaloo

Maddie (almost 5), is starting school next year so we've been filling out a lot of transition paperwork lately. I was asking her about what she's looking forward to learning at school and one of the main things she was interested in was, "writing and reading new words."

She's always shown a great interest in reading and writing and in the past we've done many activities around learning letters, writing your name and basic sight words. Like most children her age, things like letter formation are still yet to be perfected as she continues to develop her fine motor skills and coordination.

As a way to help her in her quest to write and read new words, as well as paying closer attention to how letters are formed, I set up an invitation (or provocation) to entice her to hopefully want to read, write and play around.

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To help my daughter (aged 4) practice writing her name, I thought I'd give her a fun sensory experience to entice her to want to learn. It was a huge success and one of the few activities she has pleaded with me on more than one occasion, to repeat. As a result, I changed the experience slightly each time so now we can share with you, 3 different ways that you could make your "Chocolate" Name!

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Today's Invitation to Play is designed to encourage young children to learn and explore numbers.

Possible outcomes include counting, number recognition, drawing, writing, representation, one-to-to correspondence, manipulation, calculator skills, memory, fine motor and more. 

My favourite thing about Invitations to Play is that they are open ended. This means that there is no set outcome or end result that must be achieved. It also means that the child has the freedom to work at their own level and ability within their own interests.

Ages: 2-6+

(See Handy Tips at the bottom for ways to simplify and extend to meet your children's needs)

Materials: (we used) Number books/charts, foam number stickers, dot stickers, glass stones, paper, markers and calculator.

You could also use: counters, beads, beans, number stamps, number stencils, deck of cards, dice (and pretty much anything with numbers on it or number/counting/manipulating related) etc.

The stickers and the calculator were utilised first by my daughter (aged 3.5y)

Without prompting she decided to start at the number one and found a foam 1 sticker and then the number 1 on the calculator.

"The "1" sticker needs 1 dot sticker to go with it"

I love how she used one-to-one correspondence to place one glass bead on top of each dot sticker.

This is a great moment to talk with the child about what they have done and why.

Having visual cues is good for children to make and form connections between the written symbol and the amount. They are able to see and count. Having them talk about what they see connects the language that goes with it.

Seeing the written numbers (written both in numerical form and the written words) will also allow children to attempt their own writing of the numbers.

She spend a long time drawing 3 little people, finding and sticking the number 3 and corresponding one glass bead with each person. 

Here in this little picture alone are a number of important and valuable skills that have been used.

I was so happy to see her representation of the number in a different way.

Handy Tips:

- Simplify this activity by providing a few less materials to work with. Start with something like paper, number stickers and sticker dots. Add new/different materials each time and focus on working with and manipulating them. Try another invitation another day with a calculator and beads/counters/stones so that the materials are all introduced but separately to give enough chance to explore them and learn how to use them (just peeling the back paper off foam stickers can be tricky for little kids still developing their fine motor skills.. but so worthwhile)

- Extend this activity by mixing around and changing materials for the children to explore. Provide number charts etc of higher numbers depending on the children's levels. Try adding glue and craft sticks for children to make their own 10s frames (10 beans/beads etc stuck to a paddle pop stick to represent the number 10). You could have these made already and add them in for children exploring larger numbers. Challenge them to use all the materials combined to demonstrate a chosen number representation. Have them teach/show this to their siblings/peers/you.

- Assist your child to use materials they may be unfamiliar with like a calculator. Allow them to explore it themselves first and just step in where needed.

-Ask questions to help connect their understanding and use vocabulary to give them words to describe what they're exploring/creating, eg. "What are you working on now?", "How many people have you drawn?", "Which number is that?" "How many beads will you need?" "What's a different way to represent that?" etc

- Use new language and descriptive words like, "represent" This will help with their language development.

- Supervise your child when using small items such as glass beads/stones.

More Invitations to Play

Dried Playdough and Water

Books and Cars

Playdough, Pipecleaners and Beads

Boxes and Tools

Pipe cleaners, Craft sticks, Playdough and Animals

Paint and Recycled Materials

Playdough Sweets

Marble Exploration

Happy playing,
Debs :)

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The other day I got a bit fed up trying to clean a large blackboard sticker that we use as a memo board on our pantry. It worked great at first, but over time it's become harder and harder to clean and is generally looking a little tatty.

I decided I needed a new solution and after a bit of browsing at the shops, came up with a new idea. Before I ended up completing my new idea to use for myself, however, it occurred to me that this same idea could be used as a fun new way to help my preschooler developing her early literacy skills.

Now I need to make more! haha

 This Do It Yourself writing board is very quick, very easy, super fun and cheap to boot!

 You will need cheap photo frames (These A4 size picture frames were $2 each at the Reject Shop) some backing paper (what ever colour you like... mix it up. I like black) and some Liquid Chalk.(These are different from whiteboard/dryerase markers as they are waterbased and very vibrant! They write on all non-porous surfaces and they are available all over the place. Try art/office supply shops, cheap variety shops or ebay)

 Put the backing paper behind the glass and there you have it. An instant writing board!

But, why would you use this instead of a conventional whiteboard or blackboard?

Well, besides looking cool, the ability to change the background of your writing surface to whatever you like makes this board multi-functional.

Here are just a couple of ways you could use the writing board. There are many more!

 Print out your child's name on a piece of paper, put it behind the glass and let them practice writing their name.

I use the handwriting script that is used in Victorian schools. (Victorian Cursive). In Microsoft Word, put in your text, highlight it, right click, font, then tick "outline." This will give you the same sort of effect that I've used here.

 You can do the same for writing the alphabet

Practicing numbers

Try putting lined paper underneath

 And just wipe away the writing with a tissue or cloth and use again and again.

I find that if the writing stays there and dries for a long period of time, a damp cloth is best.

 The reflective nature of the glass with the black paper behind it is fun (although very difficult to photograph well haha). They can draw patterns, designs, pictures, learn colours, just doodle, scribble whatever. Wipe off and use again and again and again.

Now, it goes without saying that if you are allowing children to use this, you must remember that it is glass and must be treated with care. You're the best judge to know whether you would trust your child using this or not. And hey, if you'd rather they didn't use it... YOU CAN! :)

Debs :)

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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 :)

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Every time it's the birthday of someone close to us, we always make them a homemade card.

Such a lovely activity that will not only help them to practice a variety of skills (see tips at the bottom) but also help to instill some pride in their work.

The delight of them handing over something they put their time and effort into is priceless.

 Set out all the materials for your card so your child can see and access them easily. Here we used a variety of coloured and textured paper, glue, little paper shapes from cutters, glue and stamps.

 As this activity was to be given as a gift, we practiced our stamping on scrap paper to begin with so that she could learn the proper technique to get a clear and complete print. This can be harder than it sounds for kids.

 Stamping on the good copy. Hoorah, the practice paid off. Got it right first time!

 Arranging shapes of paper onto the card to see what will look good. I encourage this BEFORE gluing as it saves them changing their mind and ripping it up again

 The final design that she settled on. Now to glue it in place!

Gluing the individual pieces 

 Taking the time to try and get them stuck back in the same place. This takes memory and concentration

 Sticking the final piece in place

 After dictating her message for the inside of the card, she decided that needed some colour as well. Paper punched strips of coloured paper worked well here.

 The front of the completed card

Inside the completed card

Some tips:

- Involve your child in choosing the materials, colours etc so that they are individual to the person the card is for as well as giving your child some ownership over their creation. If your child is quite young, present them with just a couple of alternatives ie, "Would Grandpa like a blue card or a green card?"

- To simplify this activity, cut out all the pieces for the front of the card and allow your child to stick them on as they like. Alternatively, provide stickers and write the message in the card for your child.

- To extend this activity, let the child do the cutting etc themselves, let them attempt some of the writing etc

- Help your child build their literacy skills and understanding by talking with them about how to write a card, the sort of messages that go into a card, what they'd like the card to say, the purpose of the card and so on.

- Having your child dictate to you as you write down (before they can write, of course) really personalises your card (as well as the obvious literacy learning)

- Use any materials you have at hand. You don't have to rush out and buy greeting stamps and paper cutters/punches! (It's just what we used this time)

Debs :)

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