I’ve been reading a great book called Skills for Preschool Teachers by Janice J. Beaty. It’s been a little while, but I’ve written about several important skills for preschoolers based upon the information and research included in the book. This week I’m writing about what I’ve learned in the area of Advancing Preschool Writing Skills. I’ve included an affiliate link to the book for your convenience.
Since I am pre-schooling my two little guys at home I wanted to familiarize myself with what types of skills a preschool teacher would be working on with them, so I could make sure that I incorporate some of those activities into what we’re doing at home. This information is great for all parents because it can help one understand what types of developmental activities will help their child prepare for kindergarten. These information isn’t meant to encourage parents to compare their kids to other children in the same age group, but rather to help assess areas of strengths, and areas of improvement as a child develops – keeping in mind that all children develop at their own pace.
Advancing Preschool Writing Skills
From my study of the book, I was excited to learn that teaching a preschooler to write isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. At this young age the key is to teach them to use a writing utensil to make a mark. Exercises in the written and spoken word are to help young children develop a sense of phonological awareness – which means that spoken words are made up of sounds which are connected to letters in printed words.
To encourage writing – a.k.a. scribbling, there are a few things one can do.
1. Create a writing area – place some pieces of paper and a container with brightly colored felt tip pens.
2. When your preschooler draws or “writes” make sure to display their work on a bulltien board nearby
3. Take a facilitating role by demonstrating how to use the utensils to make marks on paper, encourage your preschooler to tell stories.
4. Take dictation – have your preschooler tell oral stories while you record what they are saying on a chalk board or easel pad while they talk. When finished, the child can “read” the story back to you or other children while pointing to written words on the board.
5. Make it interesting – use puppets or stuffed toys to encourage storytelling – help children use their imaginations to create stories.
I enjoy watching my three year old grow and develop. His scribbles are not very organized yet but he will easily make up a story about a line he’s drawn. Using this checklist as a guide helps me to organize some of our activities in such a way as to encourage him to write. I hope that you also find this list helpful.
In addition, with this post I am including a FREE Chart to help you look for indicators of successful writing behaviors exhibited by your preschooler. Click the image to download the PDF.
If you’d like even more ideas for some fun preschool activities, I recommend my post on the developmental areas of Montessori. It’s packed full of ideas to help you educate and have fun with your preschooler.
Some other categories for assessment include:
- Small and Large Motor Skills
- Creative Movement and Curiosity
- Cognitive Concepts
- Listening and Speaking Skills for Teachers
- Reading Behaviors
- Writing Behaviors
- Self-Help Skills
- Social Skills
I’ll be blogging about some of the other key areas as we progress.
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Here is a list of the alphabet printables I am creating just for subscribers. The average printable pack is 50+ pages with over 30 activities to help teach preschoolers how to read and have learning new vocabulary and new alphabet letters. A few of the letters are available for anyone reading this blog so that you can see what to expect from Happy and Blessed Home.
- Learn to Read Preschool Alphabet Letter A
- Learn to Read Preschool Alphabet Letter B
- Learn to Read Preschool Alphabet Letter C
- Learn to Read Preschool Alphabet Letter F
- Learn to Read Preschool Alphabet Letter H
- Learn to Read Preschool Alphabet Letter D
- Learn to Read Preschool Alphabet Letter G
- Learn to Read Preschool Alphabet Letter I
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