This document discusses enhancing writing skills in preschoolers. It outlines various activities that can be done to develop the fine motor skills needed for writing, such as play dough activities, stringing beads, and using tweezers. The document emphasizes the importance of using a proper pencil grip and provides tips for developing this skill. It also suggests fun activities to practice tracing, dot-to-dot, and mazes to improve eye-hand coordination and prepare children for writing letters.

1. ENHANCING WRITING SKILLS
IN PRESCHOOLERS
Presented by,
Aiswarya K.S.
Student, PSTTI
Date of submission: 16/11/2013

2. Index
Sr.No.
Title
1
Acknowledgement
2
Aim and Objective
3
Introduction
4
Content
5
Suggestions
6
Conclusions
7
Bibliography
Page No.

3. Acknowledgement
Through this acknowledgement, I express my sincere gratitude
to all those people who been associated with this assignment
and helped me with it and made it a worthwhile experience.
Firstly I extend my thanks to Sadaf mam and Savitha mam who
have shared their opinion and their experience through which I
received the required information crucial for my report.
Finally, I express my thanks to Unaiza mam, Soumya mam and
Prathima mam who gave this opportunity to learn the subject
in a practical approach and specially Sadaf mam who guided
me and gave me valuable suggestions regarding this project
report.

4. Aims and objectives
Aim
•How to further improve the quality of writing skills in
preschoolers.
•To show how important the activities which occur during
preschool years lay the important foundation for their
skills in writing.
Objectives
•To make aware that, it is possible to enhance writing
skills in preschoolers simply by guiding kinds of activities
they would simply enjoy.
•Fun activities at home and play house seek attention of
younger ones, so they follow it.

5. Introduction
Good habits that begin in early years will last a life time and
holding a pencil or crayon correctly is very important. A wonderful
milestone is reached in a child’s life s when they first begin learning
to write. The handwriting activities which occur during preschool
years lay the important foundation for their skills in writing.
Timing can really affect a child’s pencil holding and handwriting
skills. If you introduce pencil too early, he may not have the fine
motor skills to hold it properly and may adopt the wrong pencil grip.
If you wait too long, he may develop an improper grasping method
from writing with crayons and markers and it can be harder to break
these habits and correct his grip.

6. Content
Writing involves quite fine control and coordination of
muscles and structures of the hand as well as eye hand
coordination. These are developing all the time as the child grows,
but these are specific activities which will enhance the preschool
physical ability to write. Even before the preschool stage, from
about the age of two, some of the child’s drawing and painting can
be guided towards writing skills. Encouraging them to draw lines
from left to right is a good start, progressing to zigzags and wavy
lines. Tracing of simple picture and dots to dots are also very good
fun activities which will build confidence and coordination.
First attempt at actual writing are usually the child’s own
name. it is particularly a difficult name in which ‘Mum’ or similar
will do the same job. An adult could write the child’s name and
sounding out the letters. They could hold the child’s hand and
guide it to write the name. big chunky crayons or felt tips are great
for younger preschoolers because they are easy for little hands to
manage and create a dynamic effect. Plenty of praises is good for
child to learn anything.

7. Another technique is to write the name in dots, so the child can join
up the dots. After a time simple repetition will enable the child to
recognize and reproduce their own name. Other words can be learnt
in the same way.
Another important skill is the ability to correctly use pencil. When
preschoolers start drawing with crayons tend to wrap their whole
hand around it making a fist. When they get to school, they will
need to be able to hold and control the pencil correctly between
thumb and finger. A very good way of developing the hand control
necessary is to offer stubs of crayons, so that the child must hold it
with fingers and thumbs such as threading beads also help with this.
As well as the activities, it is important that the children see adults
reading and writing rather than always typing on the keyboard.
Writing need to be such as a normal day to day activity of adult
world. Children naturally went to copy and often start “writing”
spontaneously in the same way that they will play house, if they see
adults writing frequently.
The next stage the child had mastered holding an pencil and can
write simple words, it is worth working on the alphabets. The child
can be learning the sound of the letters at the same time as learning
to draw them. In this way they will have all the building blocks they
need. Have fun making up alliterative doggerel with them so that the
learning is effortless.

8. Important things to notice
Patience and imaginations are keys at this age.
Writing can seem daunting even for young children.
Activities which are presented imaginatively and positively
and creatively help children develop a positive attitude
towards writing from very beginning.
Young children learning to write benefit from
experiences that support the development of fine motor
skills in hands and fingers. Children should have strength
in their hand and fingers before being asked to
manipulate a pencil or a pen.
To develop fine motor skills, there are some fun
activities which can help them to hold pencil at the
preschool age.

9. Some of the fun activities are:
1. Coins or buttons – picking up coins or buttons (if sure they will
not put in their mouth) is wonderful for developing “O” space.
2. Tweezers – picking up cotton wool balls with tweezers is great
for developing opposition of fingers.
3. Play Dough – Cutting with knife is a great strengthening task.
4. News paper – Encourage children to tear the paper into strips
with their thumb and index finger and asked to them to
crumble the paper into balls.
5. Spray bottles – these are perfect for developing strength in the
palm, wrist and fingers. Try adding some drops of food
colouring for magic spray.
6. Finger puppets – for story time, use finger puppets on the
index or middle fingers, keeping the ring and little fingers
studded into the hands.

10. Activities to help handwritings
Pre handwriting activities at this age are textural.
Opportunities should be given for writing in oatmeal, rice,
shaving cream and sand as well as finger painting and a verity
of different surfaces. Children will write very large initially to
avoid eye strain and the size will gradually reduce. When the
children first start writing, a single letter may be painted to fill
the page.
Children at this age must develop an open index finger
thumb space. This means that they can make an “O” with their
thumb and index finger. If your child is enable to do so they
needs opportunities to strengthen the muscle before
attempting writing with crayons or pencils as this will only
cause frustration.

11. There are four important steps to notice.
•Determine handedness – determine the skilled or preferred hand to teach
grip. Notice which hand the child use more often during activities requiring
hand use, for ex. Eating and stringing beads. You may want to discuss with
teachers, parents. So they two are watching too and can help you decide.
• Writing tool is very important – select pencils or crayons as per the age of
children.
•Through play provide – creative opportunities for children to develop fine
motor skills that are necessary for correct grip, such as scissor activities,
manipulating play dough, stringing beads etc.
•Stories and rhymes – narrate or sing rhymes with actions and clapping
hands. Show some activities along with the games like waving ribbon and
clapping hands.

12. Tips for grips
•Keep the little finger and ring finger in the palm. Have the child hold
a small sponge or penny in the palm with the little finger and ringer.
This keeps those fingers out of the way as the thumb, index and
middle finger hold the pencil.
•Sing a song – Because children love songs, love music at handwriting
without tears and even have a song to remind children about proper
grip. Ex. Crayon song.
•Dot to dots- dot to dot activities really helps improve handwriting
skills are valuable pre writing teaching tool. Children learn how to
create shapes on focusing their pencils and learn how much pressure
to apply to paper.
•Well children ready to write his hands are getting ready. There are
series of small muscle in children hands and fingers and they need to
be developed to help the handwriting. Fine motor activities such as
mazes are the perfect way of help develop these muscle activities. A
maze must be look like fun way to boost their problem solving skills.
Solving mazes are wonderful for improving eye hand coordination.

13. Maize activity
Dot to dot activity

14. As with anything else at preschool age writing skills will be
enhanced through play, through fun, exploration and through
observation and copying of adults.
The best way to do this is reading books to them. Books with
simple stories and good pictures, with lot of repetition of simple
words can be shared with children from a very early age. They
will soak up the concept of reading and writing without even
anything they have learned something quite complex.
Preschoolers love to draw and paint. These activities are
excellent for developing the initial concept of representation, as
well as beginning to develop the motor skills and eye hand
coordination necessary for writing.
To enhance them with writing skills preschools need to be
offered a wide range of art materials such as paint, including
finger paints, crayons, feet sketch pens etc.
To guide them more specifically towards writing skills, younger
children can be offered templates to draw around and older ones
would be given simple picture to copy.

15. Some of the fun activities are:
1. Mould and roll play dough into balls using the palms of
the hands facing each other and with finger curled slightly
towards the palm.
2. Roll play dough into tiny balls using fingertips.
3. Use toothpicks to make design in play dough.
4. Cut play dough with plastic knife or with pizza cutter.
5. Tear news paper into strips and then crumble into balls.
6. Pick up objects using large tweezers.
7. Use lacing and sewing activities such as stringing beads
8. Use eye droppers to pick up colours for artistic design on
paper or blob painting
9. Scissor activities (age 3 to 4) – Cut papers (use craft
scissors only), Cut play Dough, Cut straws etc.

16. Stringing activity
Scissor activity
Picking with tweezers

17. Colouring activity
Play Dough activity

18. Suggestions
Some of the fun ways I experience with my
child are:
• Ask the child to point child thumb and
pointing finger and pick up the pencil at the
end using your thumb and pointing finger, use
your other hand to slip the pencil around, this
is the perfect way to hold the pencil.
• Ask your child to make and “Okay” sign
with your hand and open the “O” slightly. Slip
the in the gap and wrap your other hand
around it.

19. Conclusions
Using these ideas, with virtually no craft
effort, it is possible to enhance writing
skills in preschoolers simple by guiding
and extending the kinds of activities they
would naturally enjoy anyway.
By the time they get to school they will be
confident and receptive to the next stage
of development.

20. Bibliography
Online articles
 HWT connections – www.hwtears.com.
 Education space 360 – Author : Briar Metler.
 Wikipedia.
Speech or lecture
 Sadaf – Child Psychology.
 Soumya – Rhymes sessions.
 Prathima – Montessori.
Personal experience
 Montessori and craft classes.
 Experience with my baby.