How do I get my 4-year old to start getting interested in writing?

[cafemocha]

I have been trying to get my 4-year old boy into Kumon or Galileo by enrolling him and buying books to teach him the writing skills.  I am doing this so that he will prepared for big school next year.  Any suggetions on how I can get him to be interested?

[Starlight]

Hi

I'll reward my boy with stickers each time he completes writing his English word or Chinese Character.

He will paste the sticker that he has "earn" on the learning chart that we have drawn up together. When he completes the chart, we give him  another little surprise(book/transportation stickers/toys)

Generally, I'll do the writing practice on a regular basis but keep to short words(hot air balloon/happy birthday)

Hope this helps.

Will be updating the learning chart on my blog soon, you can see it at http://www.remembering-moments.blogspot.com

[akalori]

My son has a fine motor skill deficit so this issue has come up alot at our house.  Last year, I sent my son letters from a made up character - a spy called "Bad Cat."  He needed my son to answer some important questions to solve mysteries.  My son had to leave the answers under his pillow.  Bad Cat would then retrieve the message while he was at preschool.  It worked for awhile but then my son became scared of Bad Cat.  Once I confessed that I was Bad Cat, he lost interest.  Next I left questions for my son on the refrigerator with a space for him to fill in the answer.  Questions such as what should we eat for dinner, do on the weekend, have for dessert, etc. When he came home from school he would find the important message on the refrigerator and proudly answer it.  It made him feel grownup, but then he would get fustrated if I didn't comply with his written suggestions.  I helped him hide a journal with a cool pen under his bed, so he could write his secrets in it.  So far to my knowledge he has only written one sentence with my help in it.  These days I'm using old fashioned bribery.  My son earns stars for doing extra academic work including writing.  Once he earns 10 stars he can pick out a small prize at the toy store.  To keep him motivated, I always have the star chart on the refrigerator with ten circles waiting to be filled in with stars.  This way even when he has no stars yet, he still has the visual reminder that a prize is just 10 stars away.  If he wants a particular toy, I download a picture, and glue it to the star chart too.  Mine still dislikes writing, but at least his handwriting is improving.  I don't like to encourage his appetite for material things but it works.  Also I'm hoping he is learning valuable lessons about goal setting and hard work.

[THen]

We started with gross motor skills first.  We would use our index finger and write in the sand, in shaving cream, with finger paints....  Then after a while I would give him a stick to write in the sand, a baby spoon or a plastic knife to write in the shaving cream, and a paintbrush to use with the paints.  We started with simple things.  I'd draw the circle for a sun and he would add the lines.  I'd draw a cat face and he would add the whiskers.  I'd draw a pig and he would add the tail.  I'd draw a truck and he'd add the tires.  Then, we moved to letters.  He liked writing his own name.  But if he knows his letters well, you could play the game with letters, too.  You could write the straight line and ask him if he could add something (the circle) to make it look like the lower case a.  Then, leave out a whole letter from a word and have him fill in the blank.  It is always more fun doing it with mom. 

By the way, those little pencil grips that help the child learn to hold their pencils correctly were helpful, too.  You know, in the beginning, they grip their pencils so tightly.  I liked having the extra cushion for them.  And what can I say, I like having the extra cushion for myself, too. 

[PY]

We started with gross motor skills first.  We would use our index finger and write in the sand, in shaving cream, with finger paints....  Then after a while I would give him a stick to write in the sand, a baby spoon or a plastic knife to write in the shaving cream, and a paintbrush to use with the paints.  We started with simple things.  I'd draw the circle for a sun and he would add the lines.  I'd draw a cat face and he would add the whiskers.  I'd draw a pig and he would add the tail.  I'd draw a truck and he'd add the tires.  Then, we moved to letters.  He liked writing his own name.  But if he knows his letters well, you could play the game with letters, too.  You could write the straight line and ask him if he could add something (the circle) to make it look like the lower case a.  Then, leave out a whole letter from a word and have him fill in the blank.  It is always more fun doing it with mom. 

By the way, those little pencil grips that help the child learn to hold their pencils correctly were helpful, too.  You know, in the beginning, they grip their pencils so tightly.  I liked having the extra cushion for them.  And what can I say, I like having the extra cushion for myself, too. 

Good ideas Then..thanks

[Starlight]

Hi

Here's the learning chart that Darius & myself have done up.

http://remembering-moments.blogspot.com/2009/05/chinese.html

[aichoo]

Can I know at what age is best to start exposing my baby to writing?  I bought a Doodle Pro for her and she's about 14 months now.  Attempted to teach her how to hold a pen and draw a line.  Thought of giving this early exposure.  Anyone has comments?

[Starlight]

Hi, everyone. Some quick updates about getting my boy to write. As mentioned in the previous posts, I do it using the sticker chart method.

I have been using the sticker chart for Darius since Mar2009 as a motivational and reward system for learning. I started this system initially to encourage him for his Chinese writing and reading. Each time he completes a task, he "earns" a sticker. If he is doing writing and reading, he gets two stickers. There was a period of time that I gave out stickers using "task" basis but over time, I only give him a star for completing a series of task for a subject.  My explanation to him is that he is a big boy now and should work based on subject not task.

Along the way, I have also include a chart for his English. So far, the sticker chart works very well and I am very encouraged by Darius's positive response to learning in the process. Sometimes, when I am home late or is too tired to do the subject with him, he would remind me and insist that we do it before going to bed. I'm really glad that he enjoys learning.

[zaku]

We started with gross motor skills first.  We would use our index finger and write in the sand, in shaving cream, with finger paints....  Then after a while I would give him a stick to write in the sand, a baby spoon or a plastic knife to write in the shaving cream, and a paintbrush to use with the paints.  We started with simple things.  I'd draw the circle for a sun and he would add the lines.  I'd draw a cat face and he would add the whiskers.  I'd draw a pig and he would add the tail.  I'd draw a truck and he'd add the tires.  Then, we moved to letters.  He liked writing his own name.  But if he knows his letters well, you could play the game with letters, too.  You could write the straight line and ask him if he could add something (the circle) to make it look like the lower case a.  Then, leave out a whole letter from a word and have him fill in the blank.  It is always more fun doing it with mom. 

I would love to use these ideas to teach my son to write. he is not interested in writing. I think these will be interesting for him to get into writing.
thanks and karma Then 

[Kyles Mom]

a wonderful article on this topic I read sometime ago
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-raise-a-child-who-loves-to-write_64528.bc

[ShenLi]

My son doesn't like writing either.  He gets bored of the repetitive nature of practicing how to write letters.  I've tried stickers and star charts but they don't work. I'd all but given up until I discovered the ultimate bribe.  For my son, it's smarties.  I'm using Kumon books as well and he gets a smartie for every page he successfully completes.  Works like a charm.  These days, he's the one pestering me to let him practice writing. Of course his motive is to get the smarties, but I figure the end justifies the means.

[norcalmommy]

I have been trying to get my 4-year old boy into Kumon or Galileo by enrolling him and buying books to teach him the writing skills.  I am doing this so that he will prepared for big school next year.  Any suggetions on how I can get him to be interested?

This might be a silly idea, but my son loves it so I'm sharing.  I put worksheets in a sheet protector or laminate them - then let my son use a dry erase marker to do the worksheet.  He loves that its a marker, he can erase it and do it again. Feels more like play than work.   If you don't have sheet protectors or a laminator - you might test plastic wrap (like saran wrap) to see if that works with a dry erase. Just tape it all to the counter.

[DadDude]

a wonderful article on this topic I read sometime ago
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-to-raise-a-child-who-loves-to-write_64528.bc

That does look like good advice, thanks for the link.

[jtsbaby]

Might try getting him to type. Spell check on computer is also helpful to boost their confidence. After all the goal is to hone their writing skills such as sentence construction and help them become effective communicators.  My sister started typing at 4 yo. She was reading at 2, and she could spell verbally very well. She could spell "guarantee" at 4yo. However her motor skills weren't very good and she had trouble writing...but she thrived on typing. After all we live in a cyber age. My sis is now 22 and her hand writing is still like a baby. But she is smart and accomplished and succesful in corporate world. Many doctor's writing are terrible...have you seen their prescriptions?

[Kimba15]

Hi,

There is a book available on amazon.com called Games for Writing: Playful Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Write by Peggy Kaye has relatively good reviews.

Might be worth checking out.

kimba

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