Writing is an important lifelong skill.
We should make sure children have lots of opportunities
to explore the written word in their early years.
By reading together, pointing out words and labels in the environment,
children can begin to understand how the written word
conveys meaning.
Storytelling, talking about books, asking and answering questions
helps children to understand language patterns and begin
to develop an awareness of what engages the listener or reader.
These experiences help children to speak in phrases
and eventually full sentences, known as oral composition.
This, in turn, will help them to develop
written composition skills at a later stage.
It is also very important to provide fun activities
that develop the necessary muscle skills to help children
be able to develop their fine motor skills necessary for handwriting.
What I'd like us to do is to start to reflect on writing in your variety of settings.
How do you help children to start to let them have a
go at that mark making on their own?
In our nursery, even from a very young age, so the babies
love exploring, making marks by themselves.
So staff are role modelling and they're joining in with the activities.
So, for instance, putting soapy foam
in one of our tuff trays
and letting them make big circles, you know, making different marks
and then you're rubbing it out and starting again.
And they love it, it's disappearing and they're making these reoccurring marks.
As we're thinking about writing,
can you talk to me how we actually start with the large tools?
We always make sure we're providing them with tummy time
that's really important for developing their core strength.
It's important to build up their shoulder strength so that as they grow,
that they're progressing, being able to hold on to sort of
resources and mark making equipment.
So, for instance, using large sweeping brushes,
using large paint brushes to make marks,
using big, chunky chalk to make big marks outside on the pavement,
making their own racetracks and things like that.
It's really important that that's all started
with tummy time to develop that core strength.
And what are you doing in your setting to help develop that sort of
fine motor skill?
So again, it's tools that we use
lots of different tools and different feelings of things.
So tweezers, we'll get them to to pinch pompoms out of little pockets,
using sand through their fingers,
wet sand, dry sand, rice
pouring rice using their hands.
I was wondering how you relate sharing stories, rhymes and songs to helping
children to understand sentence structure and then into composition?
Lots of the children have obviously favourite stories,
so they're great ones to start with to sort of break down as such
that you can look at the beginning, the middle,
the end, discuss what's happening and then change it about a bit.
So changing the endings of the stories, which they love
and creating those different sort of aspects. Also making their own books.
So they have to think about what can happen in the beginning
and then what's going to be the exciting sort of developing bit in the middle.
And then what sort of ending that they might like for their story.
Even very young children can gain
an understanding that writing carries meaning. As practitioners,
it's our job to show that the printed word is really just a form of mark making.
We write signs and labels together for things in the setting,
and in all our rooms
children have photos and labels showing them where the toys and equipment belong.
From the earliest of ages, children make marks in malleable materials,
creating signs, letters and pictures to communicate their thoughts.
We don't just give a young child a pen or a pencil
and expect them to be able to use it. Large tools are a much better way for children
to build confidence using their arms and hands without their whole body moving.
We build on wider physical development work
by providing opportunities for children to work from left to right, top to bottom.
I also provide lots of activities to build finger and wrist strength,
for example, tweezers, pipettes
and pouring opportunities. When young children show an interest,
it is really important to help them
develop the correct grip to support their eventual transition.
Building on the advice and guidance from the communication and language
section, sharing stories develops children's sense of sentence structure.
Reading books and telling stories is the easiest way to help
children understand that language is about sentence structure and composition.
But getting children to have a go at storytelling themselves is the best
way for them to have the confidence when they learn how to write.
Lots of oral retelling of stories will help to give them the phrases
and sentences which they'll draw on when thinking about their own ideas.