How to teach a pre school child to write

1. By Rachel Aird
The Family Africa
Literacy :Teaching
Writing

2. Children learn more in the
first five years of life than in
the rest of their lives.

3. Believe it or not……….
It is very difficult for a child to
write when they are under 4
years old because they have
not yet developed the
necessary hand eye
coordination.

4. Pencils can seem very big and
difficult to use to a small child!

5. They need to learn hand eye
coordination
So give lots of
opportunity for pre-
writing exercises.

6. What are Pre writing excercises?
Pouring
Spooning
Scooping
Balancing
Carrying
Squeezing
Lacing

7. Finger
painting
Cutting
Building
Sorting
Stacking
Etc…

8. Pre-writing
Activities
Pouring needs very good hand eye
coordination

9. Cutting with safe scissors.

10. Building with blocks

11. Lacing requires very good hand eye

18. WWhen a child is drawing they are
learning to control their pencil.
It does not matter what they draw – just
them draw!!!

19. Pre writing exercises using pencil
and paper

20. Make sure they are drawing
from left to right.

21. Draw simple shapes : a circle, a square etc

22. Normal Drawing stages of a child.

23. Benefits of colouring books
Teaches hand eye cordination and
control of the crayon or pencil.

24. Draw the letter in the air and
get them to copy.
Give them time to write a row of the
same letter and start with lower
case.’
Start with c, then o then a, and d
and g and e as they are very similar
in the way you write them.
Then do i and l and t and f
 h and n and m also go together.
u and y and then v and w go

25. Draw the letters in sand

26. You can even use salt on a
plastic plate

27. There is a correct way to hold a
pencil

28. There is a correct way to write
each letter

29. Please don’t just write their name
and then leave the child to work
out how to do it. They will not
form the letters correctly.


30. Always teach lower case letters
first
 a, b c, d. e.
……………………..
Rather than
A B C D E………………

31. Test
1. When a child is small, it is easier
to for them to read words than to
write them;
True or False
2. It is useless to allow children time
just to colour pictures.
True or False

32.  3. You should teach children the
proper way to hold a pencil.
True or False
4. When teaching a child to write
their name just let them work it out
for themselves how to write it.
True or False

33.  5.Which of the following are pre writing exercises
and help develop hand eye coordination:
 a) Stacking bricks
 b) Pouring water
 c) lacing
 d) spooning
 e) finger painting
 f) cutting
 G) all of the above


34.  6. When doing pre writing exercises with
paper and pencils always encourage the
children to do them left to right.
 True or False
 7. It is best to start with lower case
letters rather than capitals
 True or False

35. Thank you!

36. Answers

37. 1. When a child is small ,it is easier
to for them to read words than to
write them;
True
2. It is useless to allow children time
just to colour pictures.
False

38.  3. You should teach children to
proper way to hold a pencil.
True
4. When teaching a child to write
their name just let them work it out
for themselves how to write it.
 False

39.  5.Which of the following are pre writing exercises
and help develop hand eye coordination:
 a) Stacking bricks
 b) Pouring water
 c) lacing
 d) spooning
 e) finger painting
 f) cutting
 G) all of the above is correct because they all are.


40.  6. When doing pre writing exercises with
paper and pencils always encourage the
children to do them left to right.
 True
 7. It is best to start with lower case
letters rather than capitals
 True

41. Congratulations you have
finished the module on
 Hand/eye Coordination
and Writing