Writing activities to help your child practice letter formation and written expression.

  • Writing Expectations: This chart shows the stages of emergent writing development. In preschool, it is common for children to create “letter like forms” and “letter strings”.
  • Pencil Grip: Holding a pencil incorrectly can take a lot of energy. This video shows how to support your child in holding their pencil correctly.
  • Model Letter Formation: Write letters in highlighter or marker and have your child trace them.
  • Multisensory Writing: Have your child form letters and words using shaving cream, in the sandbox on the playground, or with chalk. Using different textures supports your child in remembering the formation of letters.
  • Build Pre-Writing Stamina: Playing with play-doh or clay builds the small but important muscles in your child’s hands and wrists, which will help them be able to write more without getting tired. Check out these other ways to build hand muscle strength.
  • Pencil Grip: Holding a pencil incorrectly can take a lot of energy. This video shows how to support your child in holding their pencil correctly.
  • Daily Writing: Encourage your child to write throughout the day. Examples include writing grocery lists, letters to friends, or short stories. You can also give your child a story starter and have them finish the story.
  • Spelling: As your child writes, encourage them to spell the sounds they hear in the word(s). Stretch out the words to help your child hear and record as many sounds as they can. For example, your child may spell alligator as ‘aligatr’.
  • Sentence Expansion: Writers in upper elementary are expected to move from simple to detailed, or complex, sentences. If you child is writing simple sentences like “They are fast”, ask them questions such as who, when, where, why, and how, to help expand their sentence.
  • Convince Me: One of the major types of writing in upper elementary is opinion/argumentative writing. When your child wants something (more TV time, a special dinner etc.) have them write you a letter to persuade you to side with them.
  • Write an Outline: Writing paragraphs can be overwhelming for upper elementary students. Creating an outline helps writers organize their ideas before writing. This video walks young writers through the outlining process.