Prewriting Activities

I have been working with Adeline on making lines.  When teaching children to make lines it is important to teach from the beginning, to start at the top and move down.  So when we make lines we always say "down, down, down".

Right now I am working towards Adeline making a cross shape.  This is a developmental skill when children are able to cross over lines.  She is making vertical and horizontal lines so I think we are on our way.

We also work on circles and our favorite song to sing the is "The wheels on the bus go round and round".

I am using three different things to practice our writing; a chalkboard, a dry erase board. and corn meal.
I keep my corn meal in the freezer to give an extra sensory experience when touching it.

When using the corn meal I use two pans, one for me and one for Adeline.  I will draw a line in mine and say "down, down, down"  she will imitate.  We also make horizontal lines and I usually say "side, side, side".
She will do with me for a few times and then she wants to play with it and that is OK.  Corn meal has a great texture and is great for fine motor skills.

We are also working on the chalkboard.  I will draw some vertical lines and Adeline will trace over them with water and a paint brush.   We did need to start with by doing hand over hand, but she is starting to do this on her own now.

Here we made some lines down and now Adeline is working on going "round and round".  I love using a large chalk board on the wall because she is able to use her whole body in this activity.  I found our chalkboard at a thrift store.

 Prewriting is important it helps to create a foundation for good writers later in life.