Writing is a basic part of a child’s education, so the earlier they begin to write, the better for them. ‘How to teach your child to write’ is a question that dogs most parents with pre-school kids. If as a parent, you teach them to write their names or two or three-letter words initially by holding a pencil or pen, you can successfully teach them to write.
However, as with anything to do with kids, patience is the key. If you aren’t patient and put undue pressure on your child, he/she will resent imbibing anything you teach. To send them the message that learning is fun, you need to enjoy the experience yourself.
If you have preschool kids, the question ‘how to teach your child to write’ is best answered by asking them to trace a letter on handwriting worksheets. Laud them each time they finish one letter, as this encourages them to move on to the next one.
You can also write a story together. Each time your child traces a letter, begin a story with that letter. As you write or narrate the story, leave blanks in the story for your child to fill up. All you need do is to make sure that it’s easy (as a confidence building exercise) and fun (for boost your kid’s eagerness to learn).
If your child is at the stage where he/she is between kindergarten and the third grade, let him/her become a regular reader of books. Let your child read as much as he/she can. Make up stories for your child to write on and complete the story. Let these scenarios be fun, and give him or her enough confidence to show it to family and friends. Teaching a child to read is one of the first steps to teaching a child to write.
If your child is older, i.e. between grade 4 and 6, let him/her make up endings to his/her favorite stories. This will make your kid think beyond the obvious. You can then progress to stories he or she has never read and ask him or her to make up an ending.
What you can do:
- Provide your child with a quiet corner, a desk, sufficient lighting, paper, pencils, crayons, and pens to write with.
- Give him/her sufficient thinking time to get the right idea and words.
- Show interest in your child’s writings; don’t put off his/her efforts for later viewing, or it might disappoint your kid.
- Let him or her be the author of the entire project. Don’t take over your child’s work only because he or she has to meet a deadline at school.
- Praise and encourage your child for his or her work.
- When you’re out on a holiday, encourage your child to take down notes of what he or she saw and enjoyed. This could widen the scope of his/her imagination, observation, and vocabulary.
- Boost your child’s vocabulary, language fluency, and overall confidence by exposing him or her to word games and puzzles.
>> Click here to discover a simple effective program that will teach your chidl to read in just 12 weeks
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