Pre Writing
FEBRUARY PRE-WRITING ACTIVITIES
Fine Arts Standard 1: Demonstrates creativity through the arts
Benchmark 1.3: Demonstrates self expression and appreciation for visual arts.
Age 1: Cut out some white hearts from typing paper that are around 1 foot in diameter. Provide wide tipped markers in “valentine colors” to decorate the heart. After several are created. Write the name on the bottom and the date. Keep the ones you like. With the others, send them to grandparents, relatives, or special friends that would like a fun creative artwork.
Age 2 On a white paper plate, place a squeeze of a red substance like catsup, red decorative syrup, or white yogart with a dot of red food coloring. Show your child how they can smear their fingers around in it and create designs. With the pointer finger you can create a heart. You can provide other objects to fun through the red mixture to give different effects. (Fork, straw, spoon, look through your utensil drawer for ideas.)
Age3: Make a warm batch of fresh playdough and color it a bright red for Valentines Day. Show how to roll a ball and dent in the top to make a heart along with pinching the bottom of the heart. After creating various sizes, talk about which is the biggest and smallest.
Age 4 Provide craft materials to create their own independent creations. Some craft materials could be child-sized scissors, construction paper, glue, tape, computer paper, stickers, or glitter. Perhaps keep all these in a box to retrieve on a regular basis each week. Creativity is an important part to pre-writing.
Age 5: Out of an old Valentines Card, cut into several large pieces. Show how to put it back together as if it were a puzzle. After you are done with the puzzle part of it, glue it back together on a piece of larger paper. Mark out the typed writing on the card and create your own “wording” for the card. Help them write the new saying on the card. Send or give to someone special who might enjoy it.
Fine Arts Standard 1: Demonstrates creativity through the arts
Benchmark 1.3: Demonstrates self expression and appreciation for visual arts.
Age 1: Cut out some white hearts from typing paper that are around 1 foot in diameter. Provide wide tipped markers in “valentine colors” to decorate the heart. After several are created. Write the name on the bottom and the date. Keep the ones you like. With the others, send them to grandparents, relatives, or special friends that would like a fun creative artwork.
Age 2 On a white paper plate, place a squeeze of a red substance like catsup, red decorative syrup, or white yogart with a dot of red food coloring. Show your child how they can smear their fingers around in it and create designs. With the pointer finger you can create a heart. You can provide other objects to fun through the red mixture to give different effects. (Fork, straw, spoon, look through your utensil drawer for ideas.)
Age3: Make a warm batch of fresh playdough and color it a bright red for Valentines Day. Show how to roll a ball and dent in the top to make a heart along with pinching the bottom of the heart. After creating various sizes, talk about which is the biggest and smallest.
Age 4 Provide craft materials to create their own independent creations. Some craft materials could be child-sized scissors, construction paper, glue, tape, computer paper, stickers, or glitter. Perhaps keep all these in a box to retrieve on a regular basis each week. Creativity is an important part to pre-writing.
Age 5: Out of an old Valentines Card, cut into several large pieces. Show how to put it back together as if it were a puzzle. After you are done with the puzzle part of it, glue it back together on a piece of larger paper. Mark out the typed writing on the card and create your own “wording” for the card. Help them write the new saying on the card. Send or give to someone special who might enjoy it.
SEPTEMBER PRE-WRITING ACTIVITIES
When looking for ways to develop the hand muscle so that your child’s hand is better equipped to handle all the writing that they will be doing in the class room, it is important to realize that simple play dough, matchbox cars, or snapping a dolls dress are all activities that can help to prepare your child for Pre-Writing. The following list is from the NAEYC and explains good toys and activities for Young Children.
Ages 0-1: As your child begins to experiment with new things to eat, provide for them foods that can be picked up with their “pincher grasp” which includes their thumb and first finger. They are beginning to develop eye-hand coordination along with strengthening the fingers needed to eventually hold a pencil.
Ages 1-2: Next time you have place mats that need to be wiped off after the meal, show your child how to take a sponge and start in the top left corner and wipe across to the right, then the middle of the place mat going straight across and then across the bottom. Just as you will write on a piece of paper starting in the top left corner and working your way down, so too, you can go through the “hand motions” while cleaning off the plastic place mat.
Ages 2-3: As you go on errands this week, begin to point out some of the artwork you see around you. Do you see patterns in the pavement? What about different colored tiles at the grocery store. Do bricks make a pattern on the side of the building? Begin to point out the how there is artwork all around us to enjoy.
Ages 3-4: When you are ready to begin an artwork activity together, take pictures of the process. Once the pictures are developed, walk through together the process you went through to make the pretty picture they made that is now displayed on the refrigerator. Show them the pictures you have developed and talk together about what you had to do first, second, and last to create the project. Place the pictures next to the picture or add to your scrapbook.
Ages 4-5:
Play dough is a great way to strengthen hand muscles to help prepare the child for writing when in the classroom. So an activity you could do would be to use playdough to create letters of the alphabet. Start first of all with the letters of your child’s name. Take a large marker and write it on a piece of paper and place the paper in front of them. Show them how they can roll the playdough back and forth across the palms of their hands and create a long worm. Use a plastic knife to cut off the play dough so it is the correct length for each of the letters.
Ages 5-6: Next time you visit a pet store, point out different parts of the pet areas. For example, in the fish aquariums there is the filter, plants and the fish. In the guinea pig cage, there are domes for the animals to sleep in along with wood chips across the bottom of the cage. Once you get home, provide markers and a large piece of paper to represent one of the animal exhibits. Help them to think through what they saw at the pet store and try to draw the items on the picture.
THE TOOLS FOR MOTHERHOOD GRADUATES have shared some of the activities they have tried with their child in the area of Pre-Writing. Here are a few of the ideas...
Lexi decorated a paper with her name on it with colored noodles. Zoe helped husk corn as a summer project explaining about seasons and harvest. Lexi sorted out the colored noodles in bowls. She was soo proud of herself when she got it right! To combine gluing and sorting she made a letter A and then did an apple out of the red noodles. Soo fun! And then we proudly hung them on the windows
Shamrock craft
So, I have been trying to do more crafts and such with the girls and I love having a month with a holiday. So, we’ve finished Valentines day and now we are doing St. Patrick’s Day crafts. There are soo many great ones out there and soo easy too.
In the pictures I’ve included Lexi is doing a shamrock craft. I drew a shamrock on a piece of paper. I let her tear up pieces of green paper and then I spread glue all over the picture and let her put the green pieces of torn paper on it. It was fun and she did a great job tearing paper and had such fun doing it too. So cute. I had Zoe do the same thing only on a smaller scale and she made St. Patty’s day cards for family.
I’ve also recently done a shamrock wreath with Zoe…. Shamrocks she cut out and glued on a paper plate to make a wreath. Again, soo cute! What great things to keep from year to year.
1 & 4 Years Old Play-Doh
The girls love, love, love play-doh and I only wish I loved it more--- what a mess it makes... But they love it so I tolerate it. It does keep them busy and they play pretty well together with the play-doh. So they have cookie cutters, scissors, plates, and bowls... All the necessities for great play-doh fun. They pretent to "eat" the different things they make. It's fun to see them play together nicely and it gives me time to do other things but in the mean time boy do I get "full." : )
Recommendations: Sure- great hand muscle development.
3 Years Old Trace Letters with Glitter Pens
I wrote Kaihtlyn's initials on cardstock and had her trace the letter "K" with her glitter pen. This was a difficult activity for her. She does not have control in her hands to trace and squeeze at the same time. So I helped guide her hand while she squeezed the glue pen; other wise the glitter was ending up in piles. : )
Changes: Possibly use elmers glue trace the letter then have her sprinkle loose glitter on it or let her use the glitter pens freely and let her paint the glitter around.
Recommendations: I would recommend it for older children who may have that hand control better if you want the letter really traced.
1 1/2 Years Old This is one of my favorite activities that Lexi does which is coloring. Of course this is because she does it sooo well by herself. So I simply let her work her little hand muscles by giving her crayons, markers (pip squeaks), colored pencils or pens and I can't forget the paper or coloring books. Though now I am an expert at getting any kind of marks off walls, furniture, applicance and floors. She just scribbles now, but she really enjoys seeing the pictures of people and especially animals in the coloring books. This is my favorite activity to do with her as we are getting dinner ready. I even keep crayons and paper in my purse. She loves to color/draw!--Heather
3 Years Old I sprayed shaving cream all over her highchair tray and hid the letter K in it. Her job was to find it. She found it almost immedicately. Then she just used her hands to fub around and pat the shaving cream. I would take her finger and help her write the letter "K" (for her name) in the shaving cream. She was always eager to mess it up. This was a very fun activity that honetly could be played with for as much time as you want and takes little supervision while the child is in the highchair.--Kahle
4 years Old So as the mail came, I noticed we got the new Toys R Us catalog and I thought it would be a great magazine to cut pictures out of and glue on Zoe's name. So I got a piece of cardstalk and wrote Zoe's name in large outlined letters. I got out the glue and scissors and surprised her with the catalog. I let her cut out pictures of things she liked and then she had to fit them in her name without covering up the shape of the letter. So not only was their hand strengthening going on with the scissors and glue, but some problem solving to see what pictures fit where so she didnt cover up the outline of her name. She did a great job and it will make another great keepsake -- another page for the scrapbook.. It was great fun!--Heather
When looking for ways to develop the hand muscle so that your child’s hand is better equipped to handle all the writing that they will be doing in the class room, it is important to realize that simple play dough, matchbox cars, or snapping a dolls dress are all activities that can help to prepare your child for Pre-Writing. The following list is from the NAEYC and explains good toys and activities for Young Children.
Ages 0-1: As your child begins to experiment with new things to eat, provide for them foods that can be picked up with their “pincher grasp” which includes their thumb and first finger. They are beginning to develop eye-hand coordination along with strengthening the fingers needed to eventually hold a pencil.
Ages 1-2: Next time you have place mats that need to be wiped off after the meal, show your child how to take a sponge and start in the top left corner and wipe across to the right, then the middle of the place mat going straight across and then across the bottom. Just as you will write on a piece of paper starting in the top left corner and working your way down, so too, you can go through the “hand motions” while cleaning off the plastic place mat.
Ages 2-3: As you go on errands this week, begin to point out some of the artwork you see around you. Do you see patterns in the pavement? What about different colored tiles at the grocery store. Do bricks make a pattern on the side of the building? Begin to point out the how there is artwork all around us to enjoy.
Ages 3-4: When you are ready to begin an artwork activity together, take pictures of the process. Once the pictures are developed, walk through together the process you went through to make the pretty picture they made that is now displayed on the refrigerator. Show them the pictures you have developed and talk together about what you had to do first, second, and last to create the project. Place the pictures next to the picture or add to your scrapbook.
Ages 4-5:
Play dough is a great way to strengthen hand muscles to help prepare the child for writing when in the classroom. So an activity you could do would be to use playdough to create letters of the alphabet. Start first of all with the letters of your child’s name. Take a large marker and write it on a piece of paper and place the paper in front of them. Show them how they can roll the playdough back and forth across the palms of their hands and create a long worm. Use a plastic knife to cut off the play dough so it is the correct length for each of the letters.
Ages 5-6: Next time you visit a pet store, point out different parts of the pet areas. For example, in the fish aquariums there is the filter, plants and the fish. In the guinea pig cage, there are domes for the animals to sleep in along with wood chips across the bottom of the cage. Once you get home, provide markers and a large piece of paper to represent one of the animal exhibits. Help them to think through what they saw at the pet store and try to draw the items on the picture.
THE TOOLS FOR MOTHERHOOD GRADUATES have shared some of the activities they have tried with their child in the area of Pre-Writing. Here are a few of the ideas...
Lexi decorated a paper with her name on it with colored noodles. Zoe helped husk corn as a summer project explaining about seasons and harvest. Lexi sorted out the colored noodles in bowls. She was soo proud of herself when she got it right! To combine gluing and sorting she made a letter A and then did an apple out of the red noodles. Soo fun! And then we proudly hung them on the windows
Shamrock craft
So, I have been trying to do more crafts and such with the girls and I love having a month with a holiday. So, we’ve finished Valentines day and now we are doing St. Patrick’s Day crafts. There are soo many great ones out there and soo easy too.
In the pictures I’ve included Lexi is doing a shamrock craft. I drew a shamrock on a piece of paper. I let her tear up pieces of green paper and then I spread glue all over the picture and let her put the green pieces of torn paper on it. It was fun and she did a great job tearing paper and had such fun doing it too. So cute. I had Zoe do the same thing only on a smaller scale and she made St. Patty’s day cards for family.
I’ve also recently done a shamrock wreath with Zoe…. Shamrocks she cut out and glued on a paper plate to make a wreath. Again, soo cute! What great things to keep from year to year.
1 & 4 Years Old Play-Doh
The girls love, love, love play-doh and I only wish I loved it more--- what a mess it makes... But they love it so I tolerate it. It does keep them busy and they play pretty well together with the play-doh. So they have cookie cutters, scissors, plates, and bowls... All the necessities for great play-doh fun. They pretent to "eat" the different things they make. It's fun to see them play together nicely and it gives me time to do other things but in the mean time boy do I get "full." : )
Recommendations: Sure- great hand muscle development.
3 Years Old Trace Letters with Glitter Pens
I wrote Kaihtlyn's initials on cardstock and had her trace the letter "K" with her glitter pen. This was a difficult activity for her. She does not have control in her hands to trace and squeeze at the same time. So I helped guide her hand while she squeezed the glue pen; other wise the glitter was ending up in piles. : )
Changes: Possibly use elmers glue trace the letter then have her sprinkle loose glitter on it or let her use the glitter pens freely and let her paint the glitter around.
Recommendations: I would recommend it for older children who may have that hand control better if you want the letter really traced.
1 1/2 Years Old This is one of my favorite activities that Lexi does which is coloring. Of course this is because she does it sooo well by herself. So I simply let her work her little hand muscles by giving her crayons, markers (pip squeaks), colored pencils or pens and I can't forget the paper or coloring books. Though now I am an expert at getting any kind of marks off walls, furniture, applicance and floors. She just scribbles now, but she really enjoys seeing the pictures of people and especially animals in the coloring books. This is my favorite activity to do with her as we are getting dinner ready. I even keep crayons and paper in my purse. She loves to color/draw!--Heather
3 Years Old I sprayed shaving cream all over her highchair tray and hid the letter K in it. Her job was to find it. She found it almost immedicately. Then she just used her hands to fub around and pat the shaving cream. I would take her finger and help her write the letter "K" (for her name) in the shaving cream. She was always eager to mess it up. This was a very fun activity that honetly could be played with for as much time as you want and takes little supervision while the child is in the highchair.--Kahle
4 years Old So as the mail came, I noticed we got the new Toys R Us catalog and I thought it would be a great magazine to cut pictures out of and glue on Zoe's name. So I got a piece of cardstalk and wrote Zoe's name in large outlined letters. I got out the glue and scissors and surprised her with the catalog. I let her cut out pictures of things she liked and then she had to fit them in her name without covering up the shape of the letter. So not only was their hand strengthening going on with the scissors and glue, but some problem solving to see what pictures fit where so she didnt cover up the outline of her name. She did a great job and it will make another great keepsake -- another page for the scrapbook.. It was great fun!--Heather