The write start - Jennifer Hallissy 2010

Write Now
All the Write Moves

As parents, we want the best for our children in many different ways. Why not give them the best possible start on their journey as writers? Starting them off right can mean the difference between struggle and success. It can also be the deciding factor between children who work hard at writing and children who write so effortlessly that their ideas all but leap onto the page. Happily, for children who embrace writing, a lifetime love of learning is literally right at their fingertips.

Here are the top ten things you can do to get your kids ready to write.

1. You Can Teach a Child the Best Way to Hold a Pencil (Yes, You!)

My son showed an interest in pencils early on. He liked to feed them into the sharpener, wear one behind his ear like a carpenter, and mark his wood blocks before “cutting” them with his pretend saw. But when it came time to write with a pencil, his enthusiasm was tested. Why? Because holding a pencil is an acquired skill, one that requires practice.

Most children learn to use a pencil between the ages of three and a half and five. More important than age, however, are signs of readiness. Look for a consistent hand preference, interest in coloring and drawing with crayons, coordinated use of eating utensils, and ability to handle clothing fasteners. Mastery of these tasks means that your child’s little fingers have pencil-holding potential.

When teaching your child to get a grip, demonstrate these important pencil pointers:

∗ Pinch the pencil (low on the shaft, just above the zigzag part) between the pad of the thumb and the tip of the index finger. The space between the two fingers should form a wide-open circle. Check to see that your child is using a light touch (no white knuckles!).

∗ Tuck the third finger behind, so the pencil leans on the side of the first joint.

∗ Squeeze the fourth and fifth fingers into the palm, and rest this side of the hand on the writing surface.

At first, it’s best to have children practice this new grasp by doing things other than writing. For example, tracing stencils and drawing activities sharpen pencil skills without the added challenge of forming letters.

Children who can’t get their fingers in the right position may need more time with tools that encourage a three-fingered grasp. The best pencil prep is having your child use tiny broken crayons or pieces of chalk to color or scribble. Other activities that strengthen the pencil-holding muscles are: stringing beads, spraying a spray bottle, manipulating play dough, and cutting with scissors.

What’s the point of all this practice? An efficient pencil grasp lays the groundwork for fluid writing. And holding a pencil right, right from the start, prevents a child from getting into bad habits that may interfere with writing success down the road. Let’s just say, it’s a big step in the “write” direction.

DIY: Give Me a Break Crayons

If your child has a shaky grasp on pencils, it may be time for a little break. Time for a little crayon breaking, that is.

Scribbling, coloring, drawing, or writing with crayons broken into small pieces encourages a three-fingered grasp. Simply peel and break some crayons into pieces to give the little muscles involved in holding a pencil a fun (and colorful) workout. (Caution: tiny tools can be a choking hazard, so exercise care with the under-three crowd.)

2. Tweak the Rules for Lefties

I am often asked if there are any special considerations for left-handed writers when it comes to holding a pencil. The answer is a resounding “Yes!”

Because the English language is written left to right, writing with the left hand is not simply the reverse of writing with the right one. When it comes to writing, lefties encounter a couple of unique challenges. First of all, their hands cover up the words as they write, making it difficult for them to see their own work. And second, they have a tendency to smudge their writing with their hands as they move across the page.

To help left-handed children overcome these challenges, teach them the three important rules to improve their view (and prevent smudging):

∗ Pinch it higher: Pinch the pencil slightly farther up on the shaft (about one to one and a half inches from the tip).

∗ Position the paper: Shift the paper to the left of center in front of them and tilt it slightly toward the right.

∗ Point it: Hold the pencil so that the eraser points toward their left shoulder; this helps to keep their hand below the writing line.

These simple writing rules will make a big difference for lefties, helping them write with greater comfort and ease. And if it seems a little frustrating at first, assure your young writers that they are in good company: many famous authors (including Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll, and Mark Twain), artists (including Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Picasso), movers and shakers (including Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Helen Keller), and eight U.S. presidents were highly successful southpaws.

3. Every Writer Needs a Helping Hand, Literally

While one hand gets a grip on the pencil, what’s the other hand doing? Certainly not twiddling its thumb. The role of the nondominant hand is to stabilize the paper during writing tasks. The importance of this seemingly simple contribution cannot be overemphasized. Without a helper hand, the paper slips and slides, making the process of writing unmanageable and the product unreadable.

DIY: Handy Helper

If your children need frequent reminders to use their nondominant hand, this trick may help. First, have them trace their nondominant hand on a piece of colored paper. Then, have them cut out the hand shape. Not only are tracing and cutting two great activities that reinforce the use of the helper hand, but the resulting cutout can be taped to the top corner of a piece of paper as a visual cue reminding children to steady the page as they write.

You can help your children get accustomed to using a lead-assist pattern with their hands by cueing them to use their “boss” hand and “helper” hand during everyday activities. For example, you can remind your children to stabilize their bowls with their helper hand when eating cereal or mixing cake batter. Or remind them to hold the bottom of their sweatshirt with a helper hand while their boss hand pulls up the zipper. The more aware children are of their helper hands, the more likely they will use them to get ready (and steady) to write.

4. Strong Writing Starts with Strong Hands

Mastering the use of their hands is one of our children’s greatest and most rewarding accomplishments. Children use their hands to interact with the world. They use them to play with toys, feed themselves, show affection, get dressed, cut with scissors, paint a picture, and scribble their thoughts. Children’s hands help them perform all the meaningful occupations of childhood. For this reason, time spent building fine motor skills is, without a doubt, time well spent.

Moreover, where writing is concerned, strong hand skills are the very key to success. Creating a hands-on home is not only the first step toward raising competent kids, it’s also the best way to prepare little hands for the big job of writing.

FYI: Squeeze Please

Our favorite, no-fail play dough recipe:

2 cups water

1 cup salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

food coloring

2 cups flour

Heat all ingredients except the flour in a saucepan until warm. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour. Scoop the dough out of the pan and onto a cookie sheet. Let it cool for a few minutes, and then knead it well until all the color is evenly distributed and the dough is a smooth texture. Store the dough in an airtight container for up to six months.

There are countless opportunities for kids to be hands-on throughout their day. From making their own meals to making mud pies, children who are encouraged to experiment and explore gain the upper hand, so to speak. They become proficient in the small, refined movements needed to accomplish tasks with skill and precision. And they learn that they can do it themselves, figure it out, make it work, and get it done. Essential for all children, these experiences are especially important for young children who are getting ready to write.

Some of my favorite fine-motor activities include the following:

making and playing with homemade play dough

cutting coupons or junk mail with scissors

picking up small objects with kitchen tongs

using small stampers with a stamp pad

stringing beads

watering plants or a garden with a spray bottle

clipping clothespins on a line

Then, of course, there are the everyday activities that provide great fine-motor challenges. Make sure you help your children learn to do the following things independently, and they will reap the benefits on a daily basis:

buttoning, zippering, and snapping clothes

fastening shoes

opening containers

opening and closing resealable plastic bags

using eating utensils

helping with meal preparations

wiping a table with a sponge

The bottom line is, where kids are concerned, a hands-on home is a happy home. Children who have abundant opportunities to develop their fine-motor skills are well prepared for writing, and for life. Wherever they go, they’ll take with them the confidence that comes from experience. And however they make their mark, they’ll do it with broad strokes and self-assurance.

5. Cutting Isn’t Just a Frill

Everyone knows that young children should learn to cut. We all realize that cutting is necessary for many classroom tasks and some daily activities. Yet there is another reason why cutting is so important that may surprise you. Did you know that when done correctly, cutting can actually improve your child’s handwriting?

When children are taught to cut the “write” way, every snip helps to strengthen the small intrinsic muscles of their hands. These are the same muscles that control that all-important tripod grasp, the most efficient pencil grasp for writing.

The “write” grasp of the scissors is the one that exercises the small muscles that are needed to achieve a mature tripod grasp. Children should be taught to hold the scissor with the thumb and middle finger in the loops. The index finger should be placed on the outside of the handle to provide strength and to direct the cutting activity. Fingers four and five should be curled into the palm for stability. The scissors should be held loosely against the hand, resting on the joints of the fingers closest to the fingertips. The scissors should always be held in a “thumbs up!” position and pointed away from the child at all times.

How do you know if your child is ready for scissors? Cutting requires hand strength, eye-hand coordination, and finger dexterity. If your children are able to manipulate play dough effectively, activate squirt toys or spray bottles, string beads on a lace, and rip paper into small pieces with ease, then they have some important prerequisite skills. But the most important prerequisite skill, by far, is your child’s establishment of a hand preference. Wait to introduce scissors to your child until you see your child favoring one hand over the other during tasks such as eating, playing, or coloring.

Cutting, at least initially, is a one-to-one activity, and parents make the best teachers. Remember, even though scissors are available at your child’s preschool, teachers have many pairs of little hands to watch at the same time. Give your little snippers individual attention at first, and you will find them sharpening their scissor skills in no time.

Important Safety Note: Cutting requires hands-on adult supervision at all times. When not in use, scissors should be kept securely out of the reach of children. Children should also be taught the proper way to hold scissors when carrying them and how to safely hand them to another person. And don’t forget to teach that classic old-school rule: “No running with scissors!”

6. Big Muscles Support Little Muscles

Writing is not purely a paper-and-pencil activity. Nor is it strictly a cerebral pursuit. Writing is a whole-body activity, like playing sports, learning to dance, or riding a bicycle. It requires coordination, strength, and stamina. When children are writing, every muscle is at work, either stabilizing the body or controlling the skilled movements of the hand.

Although it may seem like a stretch, running and jumping, hopping and skipping, climbing and crawling, throwing and catching actually prepare children for writing. These activities are definitely part of the core curriculum for young writers. They build and reinforce the foundational skills that support writing-skill development. And skills built on a strong foundation are built to last.

It is important to incorporate some big-muscle time into every day, which we probably do instinctively anyway due to our awareness of the many benefits of exercise. We have already learned through experience that regular physical activities keep our kids healthier, calmer, happier, and in better shape.

Well, now you can add another item to your list of reasons why a daily “workout” just makes good sense: writing readiness. Strong bodies produce confident strokes, coordinated children control their pencils better, and kids with physical stamina have more endurance for seated tasks that require sustained attention.

Despite this, some schools are cutting down on physical education or cutting out recess altogether. Don’t let this happen to your kids! Advocate for their gross-motor needs as passionately as you would for their academic needs. The two go hand in hand. And try to avoid restricting physical activities when your children haven’t finished their work. This penalty is counterproductive, both at home and in school. The fact of the matter is children who are struggling to get their work done probably need to jump-start their minds and bodies with some movement. A little big-muscle play may be all they need to get their writing muscles in gear.

In addition to the backyard, the playground, and the schoolyard, my all-time favorite big-muscle activities for children include the following:

wheelbarrow walking (hold your children’s feet as they walk on their hands)

walking on a balance beam (or a low curb)

hanging from monkey bars (or a chin-up bar)

crawling (through tunnels, around the house, over pillows, and so on)

playing catch

playing balloon volleyball

jumping on a mini trampoline

Big-muscle activities are just about the most fun you can have as a kid. Aren’t we lucky that they make a big impact developmentally too? So when in doubt, let kids go out and play.

7. Read the Writing on the Wall

The writing on the wall is clear: going vertical is one of the best ways to pump up the writing muscles.

I’m referring of course to vertical surfaces.

Any activity that is done on a vertical surface strengthens the shoulder muscles by encouraging them to work against gravity. Each time children reach up and out, they are developing the stability that promotes mobility. Simple activities done at arm’s reach support writing development by helping children become stable and able.

Encourage your children to try the following on-the-wall activities whenever possible:

painting or drawing at an easel

drawing on a chalkboard

playing with magnets on a refrigerator or magnet board

drawing on a dry-erase board

playing with shapes and figures on a felt board

drawing or putting stickers on a large piece of paper taped to a wall

drawing on bathtub walls with tub crayons

“washing” windows or shower doors with water

“painting” outdoor walls or fences with a large paintbrush and water

using sidewalk chalk on outdoor walls

Any way you look at it, elevating the writing surface is a surefire way to take children’s writing readiness to the next level.

8. Sit for Success

Postural control is the backbone of good writing skills. Writing without postural control is like writing on a moving bus: nearly impossible and barely legible.

Postural control is the key to our ability to achieve and maintain a steady stance. Our trunk provides a base of support for moving our extremities. When our posture is even slightly unstable, our limbs pitch in to help hold us up, compromising their ability to complete the task at hand. When we have adequate control of our posture, we free up our arms (and hands) to function. Simply stated, stability is at the core of mobility.

When it comes time to write, the secret to postural control lies in how children sit at a desk. Assuming their desks and chairs are the proper height (this is important; see the chapter on “The Write Stuff”), there are four factors that will promote good posture:

∗ Their feet should be flat on the floor in front of them.

∗ Their hips should be slid all the way to the back of the chair.

∗ Their paper should be positioned properly.

∗ Their helper hand should be stabilizing the paper.

Then (and only then) are they ready to begin.

Knowing this, I came up with a quickie four-step routine that I do with kids every time they sit down. The ritual of it becomes habit before long, until, eventually, the optimal posture becomes second nature.

Run through the steps as soon as your kids take a seat; it only takes a few seconds, at most. When your kids get the hang of it, they’ll start doing it on their own. The steps are:

1. Stomp: Show your children how to stomp their feet on the floor when they sit down. The force of the stomping sends a powerful message to their brain that reinforces the idea that feet should be planted firmly on the floor.

2. Slide: Show your kids how to slide their hips back until they bump the back of their chair. This ensures an upright posture and prevents kids from rounding their backs or slouching in their chair.

3. Slant: When they’re seated, have your kids slant their paper slightly (approximately twenty degrees to the left for righties; up to twenty degrees to the right and shifted slightly to the left of center for lefties).

4. Slap: Finally, have your kids slap down their helper hand at the top corner of their paper to reinforce the idea that they have to stabilize their paper. Again, we slap because (like stomping) it’s intense enough to send a loud-and-clear message to the brain: “Do this!”

9. Teaching Children the Right Way to Write Letters Makes a Huge Difference, Both Now and Later On (Huge, Trust Me)

If you’re planning on going somewhere new, there are a couple of ways you could go about it. You could map out your trip beforehand, finding the most direct route between point A and point B. Or you can meander toward your destination, making decisions on a whim. You could choose to turn or go straight depending on what looks interesting, or where you think you are in relation to your destination. You could make up your route as you go, correcting yourself if you go in the wrong direction, starting over again if you get totally lost. Will you get where you’re going? Possibly. Eventually. But at what cost? Maybe you wasted time, got frustrated, or felt confused. Or maybe you gave up and never got there at all.

Comparatively, the first approach is definitely the most efficient one. It has another big advantage as well: it is easily reproducible. The next time you are headed for the same place, you can follow the same map. And the next time. And the time after that. After several successful attempts, you probably won’t even need the map anymore. You’ll know the way by heart.

At the beginning, it may have taken a few extra minutes to figure out the best path. But boy, was that time well spent in the long run. Not only was taking the most efficient route successful, it facilitated learning as well.

The same holds true for learning to write the letters of the alphabet, of course. Plotting each letter’s path, right from the start, sets kids up for success. With just a bit of practice they will internalize the way and make it their own. Their writing will become efficient and automatic, as if someone hit the cruise control button.

Children who teach themselves to write, however, are often at a disadvantage. They meander along when it comes to letter formation. When you watch them write, you get the sense that they’re reinventing the wheel with every letter they attempt. They seem to draw each letter, as opposed to writing it, tinkering with it until it looks just right. Easily frustrated (and with a tendency to accumulate a collection of crumpled papers), they focus too much attention on the how of writing at the expense of what they are writing. They certainly may get where they’re going, but, by the time they arrive, they’re so exhausted, they’re not sure they ever want to go back.

DIY: Alphabet Chart

Copy the alphabet chart from the templates section, or use it as a guide to make your own chart using markers and large paper or poster board, and post it by your child’s writing space. Looking at each letter with its arrow guides is the best way for children to realize that every letter has its own road map. By placing this chart in your children’s writing area, you are teaching them to follow the best path when writing (and that it’s okay to ask for directions).

Luckily, this is easily preventable with a little help. And I actually mean a little. This isn’t tough stuff we’re talking about here. (If it was, would someone have coined the term, “As easy as learning your ABCs”?) Sure, it’s a little effort up front. But like teaching your children to tie their own shoelaces, pedal a two-wheeler, or look both ways before crossing the street, it’s a sound investment with big rewards. The payoff is kids who are off and running on their own. So very worth it.

Here are a few basic alphabet-writing rules to live by:

1. Always start letters at the top, and make all vertical strokes from top to bottom.

2. Make horizontal strokes from left to right (to be efficient, letter strokes should move in the same direction that writing moves across the page, so your hand isn’t going back and forth).

3. Make circular strokes (capital C, G, O, and Q and lowercase a, c, d, e, g, and q) in a counterclockwise direction.

4. To prevent reversals in the most commonly flip-flopped letters, b and d, teach these letters using different movements. Lowercase b starts with a straight line down and then has a small curve, while lowercase d starts with the small curve (as if you were writing a c) and then adds a straight line down. Mind your ps and qs as well: p starts with the line down and then the curve; q starts with the curve (like a c) and then the line down.

10. Multisensory Learning Rocks!

When it’s time for your children to learn to write their ABCs, there’s no better way to start than by putting the shape of each letter right in the palms of their hands.

It’s one thing to sing the ABCs, or to recognize them by sight. Getting a feel for the alphabet, on the other hand, is something else entirely. And a feel for the alphabet is exactly what children need in order to learn to write.

This is because the alphabet is not just a set of little picture symbols or a collection of sounds. Each letter is also a movement. (For example, A is a big downhill line, hop back to the top, downhill the other way, and a little line across. B is a big line straight down, hop back to the top, and make two little curves. And C is one great big curved line down. Get the picture?) Each letter has its own unique choreography. If children learn the right moves, their writing will dance across the page gracefully. If they make up the steps as they go along, however, writing becomes a struggle along the lines of dancing with two left feet.

When children manipulate three-dimensional letters (such as alphabet puzzle pieces or magnetic alphabet letters), they get to run their fingers along the lines and curves as they look at each letter and say its sound. The touch system sends information to the brain along with the visual and auditory systems. What a learning experience! Multisensory information makes the brain positively light up from all of the connections it is making. In other words, when children’s brains process input along several sensory channels at the same time, everything just makes more sense.

In addition to manipulating letters, children can also get a feel for letters by putting together their component pieces. For example, Handwriting Without Tears (see the resources at the end of the book) has a set of generously sized wood lines and curves that can be used to build all the capital letters.

Once children have gotten in touch with the letters, it’s time for them to work on their moves. Their letter moves, of course.

When you first introduce letter movements to children, think big. Gross-motor movements are the easiest for young children to imitate. Children can practice “writing” letters in the air using large, sweeping arm movements. Big movements send big feedback to kids’ brains. This also helps them experience success at learning the movements of writing, by isolating out the fine-motor factor. In other words, children can concentrate on the concept of letter formation, without struggling to control their tiny finger muscles at the same time.

Want another great way to get emerging writers to focus on letter formation? Try writing on them. Yeah, I’m serious. Only skip the ink and use your finger instead. Trace letters in the palms of their hands or on their backs. Once they get the picture, so to speak, write little messages on them, such as “I love you” or “You are cute.”

When it’s time to take it to the next level, combine tactile input with the movements learned to create the ultimate multisensory learning experience. I have found sand to be the perfect medium for providing really powerful feedback for practicing writers. Fill a shallow box or tray with about a half inch of sand, and then show your children how to practice writing their letters.

DIY: Touchy-Feely Letters

When you combine the sights and sounds of letter shapes with tactile and movement input, information travels along an express train to the brain. Showing a child how to trace over sand letters with their finger capitalizes on the multisensory connection.

MATERIALS

colored index cards (unlined)

glue

sand

box for storing cards (optional)

HOW-TO

1. “Draw” a letter of the alphabet with glue on an index card. If your child is right-handed, place the letter to the right of center on the card; if your child is left-handed, place it to the left of center. (This allows room for children to stabilize the card with their helper hands while tracing.)

2. Sprinkle sand over the glue, covering it thoroughly.

3. Wait two to three minutes, and then shake off excess sand. Let it dry.

4. When the letter is completely dry, show your children how to trace over it (following the right path) with their fingers, while saying the letter sound out loud.

Which letters should you show kids first? The letters of their name (first letter capital, the rest lowercase) are a great place to start. Then, instead of presenting letters in alphabetical order, try progressing from easiest to hardest. The easiest letters to write are made up of straight lines, then come curves, and finally letters with diagonal lines.

Remember, you can also retrace many of these steps with older children who are beginning the process of learning to write in cursive. (I’ve included a cursive alphabet chart in the templates section, for future reference). Newbie cursive writers need to master new letter movements, and they will surely benefit from this approach as well. It definitely beats learning penmanship by writing over and over again in a copybook, like they did in the good old days.

Whether letters are manuscript or cursive, multisensory experiences bring them to life for children. Try them, and you’ll see (and feel) what I mean.