Pre-writing skills for children under five - PDF

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					     Pre-writing skills for children under five
Dianne Saunders

   All	too	often,	young	children	are	given	writing	tools	to	use	before	
 they are ready for them. Young children from three to five years of age
 use their hands to explore and learn about the environment and them-
 selves. By developing good hand skills and other pre-writing skills you
 will prepare your child for the next step, which is writing. Working on
 hand skills will also assist older children who are experiencing writing

 What are the pre-writing skills?
 Hand	skills	refer	to	the	strength	and	the	dexterity	(how	well	we	can	
 handle small objects) in our hands. Both depend on how we use the
 small	muscles	of	our	hands.	However,	we	also	need	the	muscles	in	our	
 forearm	to	provide	strength	and	stability.	In	fact,	we	often	must	coordinate	and	use	both	types	of	muscles	to	do	
 things such as holding and using a pencil, using scissors, managing buttons, handling coins and using various
 utensils for eating. The thumb, index and middle fingers carry out the skilled movements while the ring and baby
 fingers provide stability and increase strength. It is also important to develop strength and control in the upper
 body and shoulders so we can steady ourselves. This gives us the freedom to use our hands to manipulate and
 control objects in a very precise manner.
    Good sensory information is important for hand skills, as it tells our brain what we feel, how we move and
 where our hands are as we do a task. The brain must coordinate these sensations with what we see so we can make
 small changes for precise coordination and muscle control. Imagine you are wearing a pair of heavy gloves and
 blurred glasses while you try to do your work. You would have difficulty coordinating your movements for most
 tasks! Children need to receive and coordinate accurate sensory information when developing pre-writing skills.

 Here are some suggestions to help your child develop good pre-writing skills:

 General tips
