When children enter kindergarten they are made to learn a variety of skills. Writing skills is just one of them. The following are some tips and tricks from Busy Bees Kindergarten in Baldivis to help your child develop writing skills.
Start with a brainstorming session
Children love discussing new ideas. Help them choose a topic which they would like to talk about. You can use a story map, templates are easily available online. These maps help children jot down ideas as soon as they think about them. Once all the ideas are in writing, it makes it easier for them to form coherent sentences.
Help children focus
Once the child has written down certain words and ideas in the map let them focus on it by reading out the words which have been written. Start by giving them hints on how things could be or what else they think should be added to their story. Your child might tend to lose focus at some point. No need to worry, it’s just practice. It’s you who should allow them to develop focus on their own pace to allow for proper writing skills to develop.
Make it easy to access writing material
Make sure you have papers handy. Lined or unlined. Colourful crayons, colour pencils are a must. Keep in mind that kindergarteners are very young. They might often form an idea in the form of a drawing. You are the one who should help give them words to describe those drawings in details. Allow your child a freehand to make use of the writing material.
Breaking down ideas
Often a child has o much going on in their mind. They might try to get it all down on paper. To you it might not seem to make a great deal of sense but to your child it’s a treasure trove of what they feel jotted down on paper. Help your child pick things which might be more in relation to the topic they want to talk about. Helping your child pick the relevant stuff is a good exercise in helping them form cohesive stories.
Forming sentences
This is the important part. Your child has their ideas shortlisted. Now they are talking about what they did or feel. If they are talking about a picnic help they form sentences like I went on a picnic. Now ask them to repeat the sentence and count the words. This is a good way of ensuring that when your child starts writing the sentence they wouldn’t leave out any of the words. Do not focus too much on their spelling. Children eventually learn it. Just ask them to use their phonics to write a certain word. Also be ready to help if you feel they are confused. This can help decrease writing anxiety. Do not place too much emphasis on correct spelling. That is something which would come to the child eventually.
Just ensuring that your child practices writing using the above mentioned tips can help them become better writers.