Inspiring the Young Author in Your Family
Children start to learn to express themselves in many ways very early in life. We know that they communicate with eye contact, movements, smiles, giggles, sounds and words. They also begin to express themselves with writing. Researchers have studied the developmental progressions children naturally go through as they explore their ability to produce “writing,” from early scribbling, to meaningful marks, to more intentional coloring with details added, to marks that begin to look like writing. All along the way, young children are developing their sense of self as an author. They learn that their work has meaning and should be cherished and shared with others (you might even call this publishing).
How can we as parents and teachers inspire the hearts of our young authors? We all look forward to the day when students are actually learning to write letters and use them meaningfully. We do want to encourage letter/word growth as we go, but we don’t want this milestone to get in the way of nurturing the hearts of our young authors. Here are some helpful ideas:
Notice. When your child is writing, notice what they are doing and honor it for what it is.
If your child is verbal, ask them to tell you about their picture. Inspire them with your sense of awe! This is a good time for you to model words or a sentence to label the picture.
Is it free scribbling? Are they staying in one area or filling a page? Are they starting to use more than one color? Do you notice that their writing “hovers” over certain areas (these must be important areas!)? Do you see linear movement yet or scribbles that are starting to look like writing?
Talk About Writing. We use writing for many purposes.
We write grocery lists, keep calendars, make to-do lists, send cards, send communications, draw and look at pictures and artwork, and read books. When you are writing, let your child watch so they start to visualize what writing looks like long before they are producing words and sentences. Point out important words or letters/sounds they know.
Provide Many Ways to Draw and Write. Children love to imitate adults! When you are writing, can your child also write their own grocery lists, calendars, notes, etc.?
Use items you may already have: sticky notes, small notebooks, used greeting cards, envelopes, and even delivery boxes.
Use magazines to have children “circle” or mark items they find interesting, or if they are ready, find letters they know (such as letters in their name).
Cut and glue pictures, letters, and words on papers.
Keep drawing… fill your walls with these funny pictures to let them know their writing is important!
When Letters Start to Form, Write, Draw, Write! Provide creative ways to write using your child’s individual interests.
Maps? Road signs? Recipes? Encourage their inner explorer and let them use the letters however they can.
Often children at this stage are moving into what is called “inventive spelling,” meaning they know letters mean things, they just don’t know yet how they go together. It is so tempting to step in and try to get them to spell correctly at this stage, but resist for a while. Let them make discoveries and know that what they are doing is meaningful.
Again, it is a great time to talk about their writing and even write down what they dictate to you. Encourage them to know both ways are “right.” Through this modeling, we are creating “fearless writers” rather than “stressed writers.” If they ask how to spell a word, it is great to help them hear the sounds in the word and find letters that they can hear. They can even label their pictures with the sounds they hear (such as “m” for mom and “b” for baby).
When Should My Child Be Able to Write Their Name?
Now we are talking about a different skill. Handwriting versus written expression. “Even in a world where technology is king, we still tend to push children into (hand)writing very early. So early, in fact, that they might not be developmentally ready for the task. Sure, some children are able to write their names at age 4, but some typically developing children still aren’t ready until well into age 5! So before you panic about getting those letters on a page, let’s take a look at what it really means to write a name.”
Before children are ready to write letters independently, they should have opportunities to learn basic strokes including imitating and then copying simple pre-writing shapes such as vertical and horizontal lines, cross strokes, circles, and squares. In addition to practicing writing strokes, as adults we need to be observant to know if they are holding a pencil efficiently, seated in a position that supports writing, identifying and seeing the differences between letters, and following verbal and visual instructions. All of these are prerequisite skills to formal instruction in writing.
So what do we do in the meantime? We carefully, positively nurture development in all of these areas while encouraging our young authors to express themselves with writing without attaching rules about what is right and wrong. Yes – do introduce formal handwriting teaching and experiences when children are ready. Let them practice tracing and writing letters, understanding each child will take a different approach to this task (see the stages of emergent writing graphic).
Are you still worried? Please know that our fantastic fives and kindergarten teachers are well equipped and ready to launch these skills to your children when they are developmentally ready!
Mrs. Brenda Bernard
Early Childhood Director & Elementary Principal, SFLS
Sources:
https://theanonymousot.com/2018/05/01/why-your-child-cant-write-his-name-yet/
Harvard Center for the Developing Child
Building Background Knowledge, Marzano
About Sioux Falls Lutheran School
At Sioux Falls Lutheran School, our mission is to develop capable, Christian servant-leaders in a complex world who are World Ready and Faith Secure. We are passionate about giving our students the tools they need to be successful academically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. We strive to accomplish this goal by maintaining high academic standards, employing excellent teachers, and upholding a Christian worldview drawn from Scripture. Ultimately, we are committed to partnering with parents and the church to raise lifelong learners who use their gifts and the fruits of the Spirit, in faith, to touch a troubled world with God’s grace.