Before we walk we crawl and before we write we build!!! Before putting writing utensils in children’s hands it is so important for them to understand the shape and the direction in which a letter is created. We look at letters and see straight lines and when we put them together in a certain way it creates a letter. Children do not get this concept right away and we work hard in preschool to build the letters with all sorts of items before we practice using pencils! We trace them in the air with our magic writing finger, we build them with buttons or pom poms or beans, we trace them with our finger in salt trays or in squishy paint bags, and we use the shapes to create them before ever picking up a pencil! This is such an easy thing to do at home with your kids as well. Just write the letter on a piece of paper and talk about the types of lines they see. Give them any material you have laying around your house and have them trace it! That’s it!
