Tips for Developing Writing Muscles

Children must go through a series of developmental stages in order to be able to write. Children will come into the classroom with varying levels of skill and experience with writing. Some may be very comfortable using crayons while others may need much more support. It is most important that you observe each child and determine his/her stage of writing and then support their growth toward the next level of development.

Being able to write takes a significant amount of muscle control both of the fine motor (hand and fingers) and gross motor (forearm and shoulder) variety in addition to the language and cognitive development that needs to occur simultaneously. To help children develop the muscles that are required to be able to write and write efficiently throughout their life, there are many ways we can support this growth. Once children develop an improper style of writing it is very hard to break that habit so we, in PreK, are the gatekeepers to children's writing development.

• Crayons are the best choice for PreK since they glide much easier than pens or pencils. The smaller the writing implement the more the child is forced to use an appropriate grip (broken/short crayons, golf pencils)
• Make sure that the writing center provides an appropriately sized table and chair so that the child's forearms can rest on the tabletop while the feet can rest flat on the floor.
• Have children draw on vertical surfaces. This puts the child's hand and wrist into proper position versus on a tabletop. This is especially useful for children who have an awkward wrist placement while writing. You can tape butcher paper to the wall, use easels for writing and drawing, use strong magnets to affix paper on metal surfaces, etc.
• Having children lie on their stomachs while coloring, doing puzzles or reading books helps to develop strength in the shoulders and arms.
• Lacing beads, lacing cards, putting pennies into a piggy bank, finger puppets, spinning tops, using tongs to pick up cotton balls and pom poms- all help children develop hand skills
• Rolling, throwing and catching large balls will help children develop eye-hand coordination.
• Give children ample opportunities to scribble and draw
  
• Put materials in the water table which encourage children to pour, ladle and spoon
• Hide small objects in play doh or sand tubs for children to find - make a scavenger hunt out of it and see how many they are able to uncover
• Help children develop body awareness by playing Simon Says, sing Where is Thumbkin, The Hokey Pokey, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc.