Five exercises for the child to learn to write

Writing is an incredibly complex skill. Before children can hold a pencil, they need to be able to sit up and move their arms independently of their bodies. They will then learn to move their fingers at will, so that at some point they will be able to hold a pencil.

To write, they also need to understand the visual differences between letters. And then they need to remember how to form those letters. But to get to that, yesu little one needs to master prewriting shapes: lines, circles, squares, triangles.

And before these shapes, you need to let them experiment with doodling. At first, the little one will shake his whole arm, shoulder, head and torso, trying to master the role. Then he will isolate the movements. Encourage your child to doodle, it’s not a prank. It is part of their maturation process, mentions Kim Griffin, creator of the Australian Griffin Occupational Therapy community, focused on helping children who have differences in their sensory processes and difficulties in their motor skills (large movements) and motor skills (small, subtle movements). ).

Gross and fine skills are an essential component of a child’s readiness to write. They are part of a sequence: roll over, sit, crawl, stand and walk.

These large movements form the basis of stability that will later be expressed in the subtle stroke of the pencil. But for that they will have to develop dexterity and control with their hands, grasping or dropping objects, knead modeling clay, stack bricks, string beads.

These activities are in the curriculum of the little ones for a reason, to allow them the necessary pincer movement for handwriting. It’s not just that they’re kids growing up in the digital age and will touch the screen most of the time. It is part of developing your intelligence.

Gross motor: posture and stability

Before a child can hold their pencil safely, they need to be able to sit up. Sitting is a product of postural control, the ability to keep the body stable when we are still and when we move. It is essential to be able to control our arms, hands and fingers.

Imagine a building. To rise up, you need to have strong fundamentals underneath. Without those, it would fall. Our foundation is postural control, which develops since the child is born. Initially, a baby does not have it, and its head has to be held carefully. Over time, he will be able to hold her and then push himself up with his arms and turn around. Tummy time helps your child gain stability in the shoulders.

The shoulders are the next piece of the foundation. They are like the concrete floor in a building. They support the arms and hands, in the way that the floor supports the walls. When there is poor shoulder stability, a child has less control of their arms and hands.

Help your child develop postural control and shoulder stability:

1. Take away his devices and take him to the park.
2. Climbing is a good way to strengthen your shoulders.
3. Swings and slides help with posture control.
4. Walking and running on unstable surfaces (as in a jump jump) also gives balance and resistance.
5. Crawling is also a good way to help stabilize your shoulders. Tunnels can do the trick, but if you don’t have them, you can improvise with sleeping bags, mats, and bed covers. Chairs and tables can provide obstacle courses.
6. For older children, cycling and gymnastics or martial arts They are good, since they have movements that alternate movements of the right and left side of the body, as well as combined steps.
7. Freestyle dances, such as Go Noodle’s, are available on YouTube. Other programs like Move with Lucy help children more specifically with their gross motor control.

All the movements that a child makes in his first, second and year of life are the basis of his motor development. It is advised that he be placed on his stomach to strengthen the neck muscles. It also gives them tactile information, since they have to use their hands to apply pressure when standing up or turning. He is more aware of his body. Those simple moves, Griffin OT experts insist, prepare your child for the moment he sits down with pencil in hand, challenged to write.

Fine writing skills

To hold the pencil, the child needs to isolate the movement of the fingers from the rest of the hand. At first he will use his entire palm to hold his utensils. When he gains experience, he will be able to control the fingers. Help the child:

1. Let him play with sand, foam, finger paint, let it get dirty Flour dough can be a lot of fun, and play dough is also a good option.
2. Songs with finger games, like I take a hand They are a good way to sharpen fine motor skills. Playing ‘crocodile hands’ is a good idea to Teach the pincer movement.
3. Construction toys are good activities, as are musical instruments. Learn to use a kids scissor and tearing paper are other good options.

When a child has difficulties or delays in their motor skills, they will avoid these games. Don’t give up, introduce them to them, especially in their first years of life, before they go to school.

prewriting skills

Writing by hand is a complex activity, and children need to be prepared, familiar with pencils when color, draw dotted lines, and draw certain shapes, such as ‘sticks (horizontal and vertical) and balls’. Additionally, let him draw oblique lines for letters like v, w, and x.

1. Coloring and drawing are not just entertainment, but the basis for writing and pen control.
2. If the child does not like to color, find their favorite characters, use colored markers, crayons and chalk.
3. Maze books and connect the dots are good at this stage.
4. If your child is old enough to use a pen and paper, but can’t and is frustrated, you can try a stylus (digital pen) and a tablet, provided Don’t use your fingers on the screen.

Visual perception

Visual perception is the ability to make sense of what we see. It’s not about having good eyesight, but about how the brain interprets the information we see. Before the child writes the letter, he must be able to identify it, remember what it looks like, and then reproduce it.

That’s why it’s important read to the child even if he does not yet understand all the letters or all the words. Do puzzles, games of finding letters in their environment and naming them.

language mastery

If the little one cannot imagine or say a word, it will be difficult for him to write it. So: talk to the kids! Read aloud, sing, recite poetry, tell stories, talk. Give them the material they are going to write about, that is, the ideas and the words. (F)