Pre writing skills, also known as writing readiness skills, are the foundational abilities children must acquire before they can engage in writing activities. These skills are essential for a child's ability to hold and manipulate a pencil effectively, as well as for tasks such as drawing, copying, and colouring. A significant aspect of pre writing skills involves mastering pre-writing shapes, which are the basic pencil strokes forming the building blocks for letters, numbers, and early drawings. These shapes are typically learned in a sequential order and developed to a level appropriate for the child's age.
Pre writing skills are not something that gets taught once a child goes to school - they are the foundational skills that work towards being able to write once a child is in school. Our School Readiness Program, designed for children entering Prep in 2025, offers a range of opportunities to practice pre writing skills, and is the perfect opportunity to make sure that your child has exposure and experience to a range of pre writing skills.
To find out more about our program or if it is suitable for your child, please contact us.
Why are Pre Writing Skills Important?
Pre writing skills are crucial for a child's development of the ability to hold and manipulate a pencil fluently and effectively, leading to the production of legible writing. When these skills are underdeveloped, children may experience frustration and resistance because they struggle to produce legible writing or keep up with classroom tasks due to fatigue. This can negatively impact their self-esteem and academic performance. Therefore, mastering pre-writing skills sets the foundation for successful writing and overall academic achievement.
Do We Really Need To Focus on Pre Writing Skills Before Preschool?
Handwriting skills may not be at the forefront of parents' minds when it comes to very young children. It's more common to focus on developmental milestones like building with blocks, learning to dress themselves, and creating artwork with finger paints. However, during these playful activities, preschoolers are actually laying the groundwork for future handwriting abilities.
The skills required for manipulating a pencil, replicating letter shapes, and controlling pencil movements when writing or copying text onto a page begin to develop in the early years of childhood.
Beelieve Paediatric Therapy have designed a School Readiness Program designed for children entering Prep in 2025 which actively targets skills to set a child up for a positive entry into formal schooling, including important developmental skills such as pre writing skills. For more information about the program and if it is suitable for your child, please contact us.
What are the skills necessary to develop writing readiness
Pre Writing extends beyond merely grasping a pencil (pencil grasp) and creating letters and numbers.
Several pre writing skills contribute to accuracy in written tasks. These skills must be honed and mastered before successful handwriting can occur. They serve as prerequisites even before the act of holding a pencil to form shapes and eventually letters.
The development of pre writing skills relies on several foundational components. Firstly, hand and finger strength are essential for exerting force and enabling controlled pencil movement. Hand and finger strength can be built upon with lots of practice of fine motor skills and sensory games that get fingers moving.
Aside from this, we focus on areas like crossing the midline, hand-eye coordination, bilateral integration, upper body strength, object manipulation, visual perception and hand division to cumulatively support the development of pre writing skills.
What Can We Do To Practice Pre Writing Skills
Here are some ways to encourage your child to engage in prewriting activities:
Create a designated area with a child-sized table and chair, stocked with a variety of fun and colourful drawing materials such as textas, crayons, coloured pencils, and paper. We love paint sticks that dry quickly - aside from their size being perfect for small hands as they are a bit chunky and easier to manipulate, they don’t take a great deal of pressure to work, and therefore are easier to move and create an effect, allowing children to learn the workings of drawing more quickly.
Encourage drawing and activities on vertical surfaces, as these help develop your child's arm and hand skills. Options include using a blackboard for drawing, painting at an easel, sticking magnetic letters to the fridge, or placing stickers on paper taped to the wall.
Avoid rushing to teach your child how to write letters. Instead, focus on enjoying drawing together, copying shapes, and colouring in. Pre writing isn’t a race - it’s a fun skill to practice!
Offer praise as your child's skills develop, fostering a positive attitude toward prewriting activities and building confidence with statements like "I can do this."
Download free printables, like our pre-writing tracing activity, explore commercially printed activity books, such as colouring, dot-to-dot, or mazes, available at newsagents, post offices, bookstores, or toy shops. Ensure they are age-appropriate and simple enough for your child to understand, offering guidance as needed.
Encourage fine motor activities to help your child develop hand skills. Examples include engaging in art and craft activities, playing with playdough, and building with blocks. We also recommend sensory kits that encourage active fine motor play like picking things up with tweezers, pouring and scooping.
Encourage big movements with drawing even with chalk. As we start to see success with big movements then we can start to refine the movements and shapes and make them smaller.
Are you focused on refining fine motor skills, enhancing visual perception, honing visual-motor skills, boosting sensory tolerance, perfecting handwriting, or mastering scissor skills? Look no further!
Our sensory kits encompass all these aspects and beyond.
Explore our selection of Fine Motor Kits that kids adore:
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