Handwriting in Preschool

 Growing up, handwriting seemed like a chore. I remember my teachers always getting onto me for my bad pencil grip (which I still have), and I remember having to practice writing over and over again by writing lines. It wasn't fun! That experience made me want to make sure my own students can find joy in all of learning, even handwriting! 

My number one goal in teaching preschoolers is to help them learn that learning is fun! Their brains are developing their foundational building blocks that will influence them for the rest of their lives. That is why it is so important for children to enjoy school and enjoy what they do in school! I want to help wire their growing brains for a love of learning.

With handwriting, I try to give them choices on how they get to practice their handwriting. I'm learning in my studies that when children have choices in learning and are able to exercise agency in how they learn, it helps them feel more confident and enjoy the experience more. For writing at Busy Bee I have name plates for them to practice tracing with colorful markers and little erasers. I let them sit comfortably wherever suits them. They each get their own notebook where they can practice writing or drawing whatever they want. It has been so very rewarding to see them start first with scribbles, then move to drawing characters with lines, circles, and slant lines, then move to writing letters, and now many of them have started to write words-often times something simple like "I love (friend's name here)." All on their own! I love seeing them take initiative for their learning and enjoy it!

Other ways to encourage writing at home or wherever, is to bring out a variety of writing tools! Pens with funny tops, markers, crayons, stamps, sticks to write in playdough or salt, sidewalk chalk and more! There are countless ways to help children make the choice on their own to practice writing and fall in love with it!

When we bring novelty and creativity into our daily learning, it takes things from mundane to magical! I hope your children continue to fall in love with the magic of writing!