Nursery & Reception
In the early years, writing is about exploring and developing fine motor skills. Children start by drawing and making marks before forming letters and words. Here’s how you can help:
- Encourage Scribbling: Provide plenty of paper and different writing tools (crayons, markers, pencils). Let your child scribble and draw freely to develop hand control.
- Letter Formation: Help them practice writing their name and simple letters. Make it fun by using chalk, finger paints, or a sand tray.
- Storytelling with Pictures: Ask your child to draw a picture and tell a story about it. Write down their words and read the story together. This helps them understand that writing is a way to communicate ideas.
Key Stage 1
As your child moves into Key Stage 1, they begin to form simple sentences and understand punctuation. Here’s how you can support their writing:
- Encourage Daily Writing: Set aside time each day for your child to write a short sentence or a list. This could be a shopping list or a letter.
- Punctuation Practice: Teach them to use full stops, capital letters, and question marks. You can turn it into a game by reading sentences together and spotting punctuation errors.
- Story Building: Ask your child to create stories with a beginning, middle, and end. They can start with a picture and add words to describe it.
Key Stage 2
By Key Stage 2, children can write more complex sentences and begin to structure stories. Here’s how you can help:
- Expand Vocabulary: Encourage your child to use a thesaurus or look for synonyms to make their writing more interesting. You could challenge them to describe the same thing in five different ways.
- Support Story Planning: Teach them how to plan their stories with a clear structure: introduction, problem, solution, and ending. This can be done using story maps or bullet points.
- Revise and Edit: Encourage your child to reread their work and make improvements. Help them spot areas where they can add more detail or fix mistakes.
General Tips for All Ages:
- Read Together: Reading stories aloud helps children see how sentences are formed and how punctuation works.
- Praise Effort: Celebrate their efforts, whether they’re writing one sentence or a whole page. Positive reinforcement builds confidence.
- Make Writing Fun: Turn writing into an enjoyable activity by using different tools, such as a fun notebooks, digital technology or magnetic letters.
By integrating these writing activities into your everyday routine, you’ll help your child grow into a confident writer!
