3 Ways to Teach a Child to Write

1. Demonstrate the Uses for Writing

Modeling writing in your daily life will teach your child to draw the connection between spoken words and written words and demonstrate why writing is important. For example, have you child present when you compose your grocery lists. Saying aloud what you are writing will help your child understand that those scribbles on the page represent the word you are saying. Even before your child can read, you can start writing letters and notes to her. Announce that you wrote her a letter, and then read it while pointing to each word. Because the letter is to her, she will have more interest in it. Follow up by asking if she wants you to write a letter to someone else. Write the letter as she dictates to form the association. The same can be done with lists.

2. Encourage Early Scribbling Attempts

As early as 2-years old, children can begin to imitate the mechanics of writing. These first words will may appear as illegible scribbles on paper, but these first experiments should be encouraged. Ask what your child is writing, listen intently to the explanation and offer positive reinforcement. Your child will learn to appreciate the act of writing even before he learns the skills to communicate with it.

At around age 4, children develop the motor skills to learn how to write rudimentary letters. What once looked like simple "curly Qs" and lines begins to resemble actual handwriting. They also start to notice that the structure of writing consists of multiple letters in a word and words separated by spaces. You can encourage this by suggesting that your child incorporate writing into drawings and showing interest in the results.

Around 5 or 6 years old, children can put together the sounds of different letters within a word. For example, they know what "b" sounds like and that the word "ball" starts with the letter "b." This knowledge inspires children to start writing crude phonetic words such as "thk" for "think." Vowels are often left out altogether. Writing is critically linked to reading during this stage as children learn that their phonetic spellings don't quite look like the correct spellings. That awareness will lead your child to question how she is writing a word. This is a great opportunity to teach spelling rules and positively reinforce both reading and writing.

3. Keep Writing Supplies Handy

Encourage writing by keeping writing supplies available when needed. Stock paper, pencils and crayons in your home and take some with you when you go out. When you are looking for something to do, pull out your supplies and say, "Let's write something." You can instruct your children to practice their letters repeatedly or write a story about what's happening. Take an active interest in the product and praise whatever your child creates.