Learning to write is much more complicated than we think. After all, most people can write so what is so difficult about it? It's second nature to most of us, yet take some time to look at yourself when you write. What muscles are you using? Switch hands and see if you can manage writing with your other hand. This may give you some idea of the level of control required to make meaningful marks on paper. Building muscle strength and learning to control those muscles is an integral part of children learning to write. Core muscles, the large arm muscles and the small muscles in the hand and wrist all need strengthening and developing in order for children to be able to gain control of a pencil or crayon. In addition to strengthening and controlling muscles, refining depth perception and visual tracking skills are important. Hand-eye coordination is essential as the hands and eyes have to work together to enable children to form letters and write across the page. While your child's first writing experiences may look like scribbles to you, if you ask them what they have drawn you may get a very complex story. Children recreate and make sense of their world first through their drawing and later through their writing. This takes time to develop and develops alongside their language. When a child can tell you all about their drawing and you can record that for them, they are learning that their words are valued and can be represented. When children begin to understand that symbols have meaning, they are on their way to being motivated to record these symbols for themselves. Their first efforts at writing recognisable letters will possibly begin with them writing their names between four and five years old. It's vital that children see their name written and have opportunities to write their names independently. This is their signature, it's not a copy or tracing of an adult's writing. Children who can write their names are very proud of this and this achievement needs to be celebrated, whatever the writing looks like, so they will be enthusiastic about writing. When their child is beginning to write, parents should not worry about letters that are not properly formed, letters that are back wards and that their child may have missed out letters. This is a natural part of children developing their writing style. They get plenty of practise at forming letters later on, the early years is a time for children to experiment as they develop the brain connectors needed to control their hand eye coordination and make writing on the lines possible. Source: Words their way Children need experiences to write about so exploration and interaction with the world around them and other people is essential. Children learn to express themselves through their writing when they have opportunities to: à draw, paint and create and a collage à practise their skills in a variety of contexts through different experiences à strengthen their muscles through manipulating materials during play à develop their coordination through physical activity à interact with their peers and adults Ideas to develop muscles and hand-eye coordination include: à playing outside, swinging, running, pouring sand and water, playing tag, swimming, riding a bike à exploring and experimenting with a variety of materials such as sand, water, glue, tweezers and tongs, boxes and puzzles à finger painting and gloop à working with playdough The more children are engaged in purposeful play; the more opportunities they have for interactions with others; the more they are positively encouraged; the stronger their foundations for both writing and reading will be and the more rewarding their progress will be for them as you celebrate each success together. Some examples of emergent writing

If you're looking to build confident writers it's important that they develop the skills in these four stages of beginning writing.

Transform your preschool day with effective transitions. Explore how music, chants, and stories can engage and guide children through different activities.

4 Must Do's on the First Day of Pre-K. Worried you missed something while lesson planning for the first day of school?

Being organized is my jam; it makes me so happy. I love it when everything is organized and has a proper place. I created a Teacher Binder to help me stay...

This Scope and Sequence is designed for Transitional Kindergarten and is full of easy-prep and engaging lesson plans!

Need lessons for your Kindergarten counseling program? How about for the whole year!? This is a packet of EVERYTHING you need to conduct Kindergarten or Primary-level Classroom Guidance lessons all year long. Let's go to the Zoo! The on-going theme of this packet is a trip to the Kindergarten Zoo. Through the course of the lessons, students will learn about topics like gratitude and respect in the context of a zoo AND their experiences at school. Each lesson includes the following: ∴ Lesson Plan (with materials, introduction, activity, and discussion/closing) ∴ One-page Story to introduce topic/character trait ∴ Defining the character trait page ∴ Whole Group Activity/Discussion ∴ Independent work/response pages Check out the PREVIEW for a visual of what's included in a sample lesson! Sprinkled throughout the lessons are original poems and songs, discussion posters, and additional independent activity pages. As a School Counselor, I travel from room to room, so aside from a book(s)/computer (should you choose to use them) and crayons, I made this as much of a print and go packet as possible. Each lesson includes MORE than what is needed for a 20-30 minute lesson, so pick and choose what you want to use or spread the lessons apart for multiple sessions, or even use it all for a 45 minute+ lesson! Lessons included: 1) Meet Your Counselor 2) Respect 3) Responsibility 4) Gratitude 5) Giving Back 6) Kindness 7) Empathy 8) Perseverance 9) Cooperation 10) Self-Discipline 11) Integrity 12) Growth Mindset The order of these lessons also go along with my Character Trait Quote Posters! Looking for more Early Childhood Classroom Guidance Lessons? Check out this completed year-long packet of PreK Classroom Guidance Lessons!

Take a peek inside 7 special education sample schedules to get some schedule ideas for your own special education classroom!

When trouble is abound in your Preschool or Kindergarten classroom, Sandi is here to save the day! Sandi is an incredible, seasoned, and passionate Kindergarten teacher here to solve your preschool classroom management woes once and for all! Here are Sandi's 7 tips for making sure your Preschool classroom is running smooth and peaceful. Preschool

Ready to build your STEM library with the best picture books? Start Here! Check out my Top 10 all time favorite read alouds for elementary STEM

These food themed interactive / adapted books are perfect for sneaking in some left / right and top / bottom direction skills. Students can follow directions to set the table, make a pizza, scoop ice cream, and make a sub sandwich. Print and prep yourself! Prep options include: putting velcro on both spots (left and right) on each page so that students aren't just following the velcro, but will really have to think about following the direction! For students who are just learning, you might find you just want to put the velcro in the correct spot. Ways to Use this Interactive Book with Multiple Levels: Interactive Pieces Level 1: Students match the picture from each page to the end choice page while they read. Level 2: Students take off the picture from the choice page and match to the page to follow the direction (directions include picture visuals so student know what option to use.  Prep these books using lamination and velcro! This resource is perfect for special education and autism classrooms, and even early childhood education! ☆☆Check out more Adapted Books HERE!☆☆  Want a prepped and shipped version? Grab it here!

I love self-portraits. It always amazes me how much each child's personality comes out in their drawings. I constantly have parents aski...

I have gotten SO many questions about my binding machine that I am finally giving you all the info in ONE PLACE! I bought my coil binding machine 5 years ago. Why? I was creating my own adapted books and visual pieces for my students and binding them using a comb binder at my school. […]

Save BIG and receive 2 full months for FREE with the All Year Growing Bundle! ★STORYBOOK STEM ALL YEAR GROWING BUNDLE Created by Brooke Brown and Katie King, Storybook STEM provides early childhood teachers with weekly all-in-one units to cover essential skills in reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, math, science, and engineering. Four units are included to accompany favorite seasonal children’s books, with supplemental STEM challenges for each and differentiated literacy and math options for Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade. * What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada * We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio * Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty * Press Here by Herve Tullet Each read aloud and unit can be completed in the form of mini lessons throughout the week, or within a 2.5 hour block on one day of the week, such as Maker Mondays or STEM Fridays. Storybook STEM also provides a simple and comprehensive option for substitute teachers. August Storybook STEM contains the following: Week 1: ( What Do You Do With an Idea? by Kobi Yamada) *Comprehension bookmark *Story Structure anchor chart, word cards, mini lesson, and student recording sheet *Dialogue anchor chart and student extension *Vocabulary (picture cards, interactive games, Tic-Tac-Toe) *Math Connection Anchor Chart – Analog and Digital Clocks *STEM Challenge: Genius Gizmo (teacher lesson plan, vocabulary cards, teacher charts, and student recording booklet) *STEM Maker Task Cards Week 2: ( We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio) *Comprehension bookmark *Parts of Speech anchor chart, word cards, mini lesson, and student recording sheet *Learning from a Book anchor chart and student extension *Vocabulary (picture cards, interactive games, Tic-Tac-Toe( *Math Connection Anchor Chart – Angles *STEM Challenge: Lever Launcher (teacher lesson plan, vocabulary cards, teacher chart, and student recording booklet) *STEM Maker Task Cards Week 3: ( Iggy Peck, Architect by Andrea Beaty) *Comprehension bookmark *Characters’ Feelings anchor chart, word cards, mini lesson, and student recording sheet *Flashbacks anchor chart and student extension *Vocabulary (picture cards, interactive games, Tic-Tac-Toe) *Math Connection Anchor Chart – Tree Rings *STEM Challenge: Sticky Structures (teacher lesson plan, vocabulary cards, teacher chart, and student recording booklet) *STEM Maker Task Cards Week 4: ( Press Here by Herve Tullet) *Comprehension bookmark *Ending Punctuation anchor chart, word cards, mini lesson, and student recording sheet *Cause and Effect anchor chart and student activities *Vocabulary (picture cards, interactive games, and Tic-Tac-Toe) *Math Connection Anchor Chart – Patterns *STEM Challenge: Chain Reactions (teacher lesson plan, vocabulary cards, teacher chart, and student recording booklet) *STEM Maker Task Cards ⇒Feedback and Followers Click the Green ★ to follow my store and get notifications of new product launches and freebies! Did you know that you can receive credit toward future TpT purchases by reviewing this product? If you enjoy this product, please leave a review at the product page or through "My Purchases" under "My Account" at TpT. Ratings make the TpT world go round! :-) ⇒I'd LOVE to connect with you! ★Teach Outside the Box ★Facebook ★Instagram ★Pinterest ⇒Terms of Use ©Brooke Brown, LLC at Teach Outside the Box ©Katie King at Queen of the First Grade Jungle By purchasing and/or downloading this electronic file, you agree to the terms of use as stated below. For personal use/single classroom use only. No part of this document may be distributed, posted on the internet, copied, sold, or edited without direct permission from the author. Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Act. To purchase additional sharing licenses, please visit my store. All contents of this document are under copyright protection including all text, graphics, contents, and fonts. All graphics and fonts are also protected by copyright from their original author/artist. Thank you so much for visiting my store!

In my play based classroom there are 10 essential learning areas. I cannot do without them. The provocations and resources offered in these areas change throughout the year dependent on children's interests and the curriculum intent. The placement of these 10 areas within the classroom is thoughtf

I am a rather inactive member of many Facebook early childhood educator groups — inactive because I read and look, far more than I participate. Many of these groups focus on Loose Parts and/or Reggio…

Building Functional Pretend Play Centers in an Pre-K Classroom

Wondering how you can keep a calm classroom and create a soothing learning environment? Find out in today's episode.

Successful early experiences in math have a powerful effect in how your child develops their mathematical thinking, a important skill to master for use in their everyday lives. Our math printable worksheets will help your young child learn their numbers, shapes and other basic math skills.

Being organized is my jam; it makes me so happy. I love it when everything is organized and has a proper place. I created a Teacher Binder to help me stay...

Grade Levels 1st - 3rd Subjects English Language Arts, Math, Engineering Resource Type Activities, Printables Formats Included Zip Google Apps™ Pages 59 pages

Ideas for setting up a Post Office dramatic play area at home or in your classroom. Printables for early childhood play-based learning.

Here's a list of fun activities you can do with preschool and kindergarten using rhythm sticks!

In Canada, Indigenous children are less likely to attend ECE programs compared to non-Indigenous children. This lag in attendance presents an immediate opportunity for policy intervention and a loo…

Centers or "Play centers" are centers that are intentionally planned; with a purpose in mind. A lot of my play based centers are planned aroun

Establishing a goodbye ritual in an early childhood special education classroom

Visual discrimination is an important skill for children to develop to assist with reading, writing and math skills.

Circle Time Games for Preschool kids unlock amazing learning opportunities! I've taught thousands of preschool teachers these games!

If you are familiar with the Walker Learning Approach, then you are no doubt also familiar with writing a Statement of Intent. This fortnightly planning document is vital to the success of your play-based learning program. Check out this blog post to see how we write ours.

Number Dots are a fun way for preschoolers to practice many skills while learning to identify numbers. They're also simple to set up!

Visually Closing Centers in a Special Education Preschool Classroom

Creative Curriculum Toddler Lesson Plan Template from early childhood lesson plan template, image source: pinterest.com

Planting lifelong foundations in early childhood

This huge collection of song lyrics, printables, fingerpuppet ideas and movement activities will ensure educators always have new program ideas!

Go on a trip across the country or across the world when you take off from this Airport Dramatic Play Center for the Early Childhood Classroom!

Reggio Emilia is an approach to early childhood teaching. Here's everything parents need to know about this educational philosophy.

Dieses Lapbook beschäftigt sich mit dem Hund. Die Kinder sollen sich mit folgenden Themen auseinandersetzen: Körperteile des HundesHaltungNachwuchsHu