Just as you look for books to support reading with your kids, you should also provide opportunities to incorporate writing in planned activities and through spontaneous play. Young children can learn about literacy through everyday writing activities at home.
Children need easy access to materials so they can build their early writing skills through scribble writing, groupings of random letters, and their own unique spelling of words. Our friends at the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) suggest offering your children writing materials to use in play, which includes a basket stocked with pens, pencils, markers, paper, envelopes and book-making materials.
The Kiddie Academy education team has pulled together a list of ideas to encourage writing with your little ones:
- Order’s up! Have some fun in the kitchen with your kids and let them take food orders, create menus and scribble recipes.
- Next time you visit the grocery store, let your kids make a list and check off items. Making lists shows sequencing so learning is at the forefront of this idea. The younger ones can draw pictures if that’s easier.
- Need a good stretch? Have everyone in your family stand up and bend their bodies into the shapes that letters make. Go a step further and try to spell a word together! That should make for a fun family photo!
- Get crafty and provide play dough, pipe cleaners or even break out the sand box and let your kids draw and manipulate shapes into letters. Heck, you could even use shaving cream! This idea makes for a great rainy day activity.
- The next time your kids host a birthday party and have something to give appreciation about, allow them to write the thank-you notes. Not only will the recipient deem it sentimental, but it also opens the door to discuss gratitude with your children!
It’s important to praise your little ones attempts at writing, whether they are scribbling, stringing random letters, and printing letters backward, or writing words all over the page without regard to direction. Display their artwork and encourage celebration of their efforts.
The possibilities for writing are endless, and more importantly there is always room for fun! For more information, visit kiddieacademy.com.
