Writing Skills to practice at home

There are two aspects to writing - 
1) the cognitive task of identifying the sounds in a word and knowing the letter symbols to represent each sound
2) the mechanical/physical task of using a writing utensil to form the letters and words (Handwriting skills)

In the classroom, we work on each of these aspects separately, bringing them together when the child has mastered both components. 
Below are some ways you can help your child develop these skills while learning from home

Handwriting Skills

We can do a lot of indirect preparation to build your child's strength and coordination for writing:

Beginning skills:

• drawing and coloring (thick crayons or markers are ideal for helping young children first develop a 3-finger pencil hold instead of the toddler fist grip)
• knobbed puzzles use the 3 fingers needed for writing
• tracing - at school the trace the shapes of the metal insets; at home get creative and let them trace the base of any objects - cups, cans, boxes, toys, etc.
  (and if you are running low on paper supplies, you can make use of junk mail, envelopes, empty cereal boxes, etc.!)
• Try this simple art project tracing everyday objects from our art teacher, Ms. Cuccinotta

Intermediate skills - how to form individual letters & numbers:

We start with cursive! See this guide for how to teach the way to form each letter

• Cornmeal tray - fill a deep plate or shallow baking tray/dish with cornmeal a thin layer of cornmeal. Model forming a letter or number and have your child repeat it (over and over!), and then try it on their own
  
• Chalk (on a chalkboard or outside on the sidewalk or a building) 
  

Cognitive Writing
Many children have a grasp of letter sounds before they have the strength and coordination to write well with a pencil. The movable alphabet lets children practice the mental task of sounding out words.
Important - in preschool and kindergarten, we want children to focus on sounding out words, not to worry about getting the spelling "right". Encourage them to be Writers!

Putting them together: kindergarten writing activities

• Labeling - on strips of paper (can be scrap paper / junk mail!), your child can sound out words to label things in the house. Example - how many things can they label in the kitchen? (sink, fridge, fork, spoon) - they might get just a few of the sounds in the word, and that is okay
• Lists - let your child make your grocery list, a list of healthy snack ideas, activities they can do if they're bored, anything!
• Story paper - They can draw a picture and then write about it below. (We encourage kindergartners to do at least one sentence; 3 is the goal by the end of the year)
• Write a letter - expecially in this time of limited social gatherings, have your child write a letter to a grandparent, relative, or friend! (If your child's writing is hard to decipher, you can include a translation under their words or on a separate paper)