Writing

[Flowerchild]

Do you teach your preschoolers to write? Mine are 3 and 4 and they don't know their letters. I mean I've got 2 out of 8 that know their leyters. The other ones either don't know them or just act lazy when I try to them them. It's frustrating. I really want them to learn something. Not just play all day. Play is important too but my lesson is my circle time essentially. They get mad and say they don't want to do it or they don't want the letter I gave them to work on ( really their tracing worksheet) help . They be been wild lately and not wanting to clean up after themselves either. It's worse with the after school in the afternoon who think my rules at day care don't apply to them because they are never there and are at school. It's exhausting and disrespectful

[Flowerchild]

I know you're not supposed to do worksheets but I found them in the resource books we have. I just want to feel like I'm teaching them something and not like they think they run the place they shoudnt do any learning. I love when they learn something and how proud they are when they do. 😍

[jenboo]

Do you have activities out that encourage writing?
Maybe some clipboard with paper, rice in a pan with a stick for writing in? you could even pair letter flash cards with it.
laminate their names on paper and put out markers so they can trace their names etc.

[Ariana]

I start at 4 years old or if I have a 3 year old who is ready and willing. I start with their names instead of practicing letters because they have ownership over their names and it makes them proud to write it. Once they have their names down they tend to want to know how to spell other things naturally and I follow their lead. I never ever force writing and have been lucky that my method works really well. I have never had a kid start JR kinder (we have two years of kinder here, JR and SR) who did not know how to write their name at least.

Show them the letters of their names and get them familiar with it then ask them to try and make the letters themselves, then help them by doing a dot to dot that they follow hand over hand. Do hand over hand until they get confident. Also at this age it is important to sit with them with lots of verbal encouragement. They love it!

[Gemma]

I too start with their names and only teach the kids that are interested

[Flowerchild]

I start at 4 years old or if I have a 3 year old who is ready and willing. I start with their names instead of practicing letters because they have ownership over their names and it makes them proud to write it. Once they have their names down they tend to want to know how to spell other things naturally and I follow their lead. I never ever force writing and have been lucky that my method works really well. I have never had a kid start JR kinder (we have two years of kinder here, JR and SR) who did not know how to write their name at least.

Show them the letters of their names and get them familiar with it then ask them to try and make the letters themselves, then help them by doing a dot to dot that they follow hand over hand. Do hand over hand until they get confident. Also at this age it is important to sit with them with lots of verbal encouragement. They love it!

I do hand over hand too. I have a hard time explaining how to form the letter with marker.

[Flowerchild]

Do you have activities out that encourage writing?
Maybe some clipboard with paper, rice in a pan with a stick for writing in? you could even pair letter flash cards with it.
laminate their names on paper and put out markers so they can trace their names etc.

I love name idea 😍

[LK5kids]

Don’t worry about 3’s not writting. It’s not developmentally appropriate to try and get them to write letters.

Even 4’s who are not headed to Kindergarten the next year don’t need to sit and write letters.

I always have a writing center available with mini magna-doodles, mini mailboxes from the $ tree, little notepads, fine tip markers, self inking stampers, pencils& pens & sometimes small envelopes. This is a great way to encourage writing exploration!


If you have kids who are 4/5 and will be going into kindergarten look into handwriting without tears. You can find all kinds of info if you google it. You can make the curves and lines with cardstock and laminate them.

When you teach name writing teach them to start at the top and go down. Google proper letter formation and encourage proper pencil grasp. Teach upper case first letter and then lower case for the rest of the name.

When I taught kindergarten kids came in writing all upper case and they struggled to correct it.

I’d do a little research and read a bit on teaching children to write to get a little background info.

[coloradoprovider]

Good advice from other providers! Writing is a process, formal instruction is best left to when the child is developmentally ready - when I was a child (back in the stone age!) we didn't begin formal writing until formal schooling. We tend to push kids too early - learning to write their name is enough. If a child wants more then I help them.


Play IS learning! I use guided play to learn to form letters. I use "dough mats," and a toy called "Letter Constructors" from a company called "Learning Resources" and I like to use the process from "Handwriting Without Tears." Also, learning letters is about playing with sounds, loving stories and communicating.

I wouldn't stress about "teaching" the children specific skills that they will get easily when they are ready. Group time should be fun, silly and educational. If a child or two doesn't want to join in, let it go - they will join when they are ready.

[Josiegirl]

Good advice from other providers! Writing is a process, formal instruction is best left to when the child is developmentally ready - when I was a child (back in the stone age!) we didn't begin formal writing until formal schooling. We tend to push kids too early - learning to write their name is enough. If a child wants more then I help them.


Play IS learning! I use guided play to learn to form letters. I use "dough mats," and a toy called "Letter Constructors" from a company called "Learning Resources" and I like to use the process from "Handwriting Without Tears." Also, learning letters is about playing with sounds, loving stories and communicating.

I wouldn't stress about "teaching" the children specific skills that they will get easily when they are ready. Group time should be fun, silly and educational. If a child or two doesn't want to join in, let it go - they will join when they are ready.

This, IMO, is the way to go. Just allowing them to randomly play will encourage chaos. But with guided play, and prepared fun activities, you'll be ahead of the game. Do you use sensory tubs? You could build a tub around letters to entice their interest. Or sensory bottles. It's important to build their find motor skills using materials such as playdoh. 3/4's do learn so much through being exposed to fun organized play.
I started doing theme week based on a letter(or 2) at a time. Borrowing ideas from 'No time for flash cards'(google it, she's got some awesome ideas!) we'd make the letter from an art project, do activities related to the letter. When we did F, we worked on farm activities. It was so much fun! We painted with mud, pretended to milk cows using plastic gloves, made a silo out of an oatmeal container, added rice and small farm animals to the sensory tub. Use visuals too, such as finding the letter in written materials and hanging them up, put their names up to see and find certain letters. Imo, you have to first encourage their love of learning for them to want to learn.

[Gemma]

I know you're not supposed to do worksheets but I found them in the resource books we have. 😍

Is there a reason why worksheets are considered no good?
As I said earlier I only teach those kids that are interested and want to learn. I use whatever works including worksheets!
I see nothing wrong with worksheets (I even make my own), they're easy and fun for the child, and parents can see their child's progress. I thought worksheets were considered a useful tool but evidently not by all, I just like to know why some people don't like them

[Blackcat31]

Is there a reason why worksheets are considered no good?
As I said earlier I only teach those kids that are interested and want to learn. I use whatever works including worksheets!
I see nothing wrong with worksheets (I even make my own), they're easy and fun for the child, and parents can see their child's progress. I thought worksheets were considered a useful tool but evidently not by all, I just like to know why some people don't like them

"Worksheets take away from oral language development, creativity, movement, problem solving opportunities and the sensory experiences necessary for brain development, human interactions and friendships.

Worksheets only tell you what the child knows, generally only provide one right answer and do not let children use their creativity or encourage open ended questions to expand their knowledge and interests.

Children learn best through hands-on experiences, real life experiences, interactive learning and purposeful play."

Worksheets can definitely be a fun time "filler" once in a while but they aren't usually considered DAP in use for teaching children.

More often than not however, worksheets create passive learners.

[Blackcat31]

and parents can see their child's progress.

Here are some other ways to communicate to parents their child's progress/all that their child is learning:

• Send home some work samples and collect others in a portfolio for each child that you can periodically review with parents
  
• Have a checklist of skills for each child
  
• Have regular parent conferences and talk with them about what learning that takes place via specific activities
  
• Send home a monthly newsletter for parents outlining concepts or themes your group is working on
  
• Send home ideas for hands-on learning activities that parents and children can do at home together.

[Flowerchild]

"Worksheets take away from oral language development, creativity, movement, problem solving opportunities and the sensory experiences necessary for brain development, human interactions and friendships.

Worksheets only tell you what the child knows, generally only provide one right answer and do not let children use their creativity or encourage open ended questions to expand their knowledge and interests.

Children learn best through hands-on experiences, real life experiences, interactive learning and purposeful play."

Worksheets can definitely be a fun time "filler" once in a while but they aren't usually considered DAP in use for teaching children.

More often than not however, worksheets create passive learners.

Is it considered a worksheet if there is a place to continue writing. Like tablet paper? I found some blank ones of the tablet that I might work with them on their writing with

[Flowerchild]

Is there a reason why worksheets are considered no good?
As I said earlier I only teach those kids that are interested and want to learn. I use whatever works including worksheets!
I see nothing wrong with worksheets (I even make my own), they're easy and fun for the child, and parents can see their child's progress. I thought worksheets were considered a useful tool but evidently not by all, I just like to know why some people don't like them

Technically they are not developmentally approprite. I like using them as a guide though