*Collaborative Post*
Of all the skills that children ought to master and practice early in life, learning how to write could very well be one of the most pivotal ones. At its most basic, writing is simply a means of communication through texts, allowing children to organize their thoughts so as to articulate them in an intelligible fashion. Beyond this elementary purpose, however, there lies the undeniable value of writing and reading as creative, imaginative and satisfying endeavors in their own right. For parents and educators looking for professional support, Academized.com offers valuable resources and assistance. In fact, when I was overwhelmed, I paid someone at Academized to write my paper, and it was a great decision that helped me focus on teaching and engaging my kids in writing activities. This post looks at some of the fun and interesting activities and games that can help early childhood learners develop a flair for the written word.
Storytelling with Pictures
Although very simple, storytelling with pictures is an excellent way to promote writing for kids because it makes the process less daunting. It also helps to combine a visual element (the pictures) with the narrative creation. Start by providing children with a series of simple pictures or illustrations. These could be cut-outs from magazines, downloaded from the internet or drawn freehand by the children themselves. Ask the children to place the pictures in an order that will convey a story-line. Once they have the story mapped out visually, ask the children to draw some short sentences or phrases that describe each picture. Kids can focus on creating a narrative first and then add a descriptive text later. For children who are just start writing, creating brief paragraphs around their pictures can be a very useful strategy. Then they can gradually increase the amount of text they produce for each picture.
Sensory Writing Trays
Young hands-on learners relish tactile and multisensory play, so it should come as no surprise that they best learn how to form letters and write when those lessons are hands-on and multisensory. One of the most engaging ways to make writing multisensory is to use sensory writing trays according to Fran Smith, Centerville, Ohio, author of Playful Learning (2001) and Play at Home (2017). ‘For shorter-term
writing, fill a shallow bin with sand, salt, shaving cream or something else,’ she explains. ‘The child can then use a stick or even her finger to write letters, numbers or even a few words in the writing material. This gives writing the feel of play as opposed to work.’ Kids and teachers often visualize letters with their eyes closed so our goal is to make their fingers visualize letters too. Keeping with the multisensory theme, invite kids to write the letters, words or numbers in a shape that corresponds with the sound. Smith says this is a great way to make multisensory learning more natural and better able to bridge the gaps between senses. Download the Multisensory Learning Chart to get even more inspiration. You can make the activity more challenging by asking kids to write longer words and even sentences in the sensory bins.
Story Dice
One of the best ways to ensure quality writing activities for kids is by referring to the best essay writing services reviews, which can guide you to resources like Academized.com for professional help and inspiration. Story dice are great for getting kids writing creatively and can help younger children think about the narrative elements of a story. You can buy a pre-made set of story dice, or make your own using wooden cubes with clear blank faces, and stickers or drawings. Each face of the dice will contain a different image, like a character, an object, or a setting. How to play: kids roll the dice and then ‘tell’ the story that the rolled faces suggest. Later, they could try writing down the story. First, ask them to tell the story out loud. This game can help children understand basic narrative elements, such as characters, actions and settings, and provides a structure for writing. To make this more challenging, as children become comfortable with the game, ask them to write a longer story or roll more dice.
Letter of the Day
Writing one letter at a time can make the task of writing a little less daunting for little ones. Pick a ‘Letter of the Day’ and build activities around it. Children first want to do some writing – both upper case and lower case – and brainstorm some words that start with that letter. Use those words to write sentences. ‘I run around like a kite. See this K? Oh, K is also for kitty and Kiwi.’ The fun doesn’t have to stop there. Continue with art projects designed around that letter: make an ‘A’ from apple prints, a ‘B’ from buttons, that sort of thing. At the end of the day, the child has had several exposures to writing that letter and the words that go with it, all in a fun and not-quite-so-predictable way.
Writing Pen Pals
Hearing the thwack of an opened envelope and holding a handwritten letter can seem like a treat these days. So, set up a pen pal system in 
your class or with another class in your school. Match up children and encourage them to write to their buddy on a regular basis. Start with small prompts, such as telling their buddy about themselves or describing their favorite toy. As they grow in confidence, they can write about their day, ask questions or tell stories. As well as improving writing, this activity introduces children to the letter-writing process and to what goes on when we communicate with someone. Writing becomes meaningful, with purpose and audience, which can be hugely motivating when you’re only just starting to write.
Please take a look at the table, which provides an overview of some important early hallmarks of writing development:
| Age Group | Writing Milestones | Suggested Activities |
| 2-3 years | Scribbling, imitating writing | Finger painting, drawing in sand |
| 3-4 years | Drawing letter-like forms | Tracing letters, sensory writing trays |
| 4-5 years | Writing some letters correctly | Story dice, letter of the day |
| 5-6 years | Writing own name, simple words | Writing pen pals, storytelling with pictures |
Remember that milestones are only general guidelines, and every child makes progress at her own pace. When it comes to literacy, the best thing to do is keep offering lots of opportunities to write in a supportive atmosphere.
Nature Journal
Stepping out of the four walls and onto the ‘page’ of nature can be a welcome change for children. Assemble nature journals by stapling several sheets of paper together to make a simple notebook, and decorate the cover with stickers or fabric. Lead the children outdoors for a nature walk and ask them to find one object and look at it carefully. When they are finished, they can draw a picture of their chosen item and write a single sentence description. Then send them off to find something else. Encouraging children to examine their natural surroundings with all their senses will enable them to write about the observations. This activity allows young children practice in writing skills whilst simultaneously exposing them to science observation disciplines that they can develop and expand upon in the future. As children become more proficient, encourage them to write a longer entry (several sentences perhaps), about what they have observed, or how it made them feel, or ask questions about what they saw or felt or did – in essence, write about their experience.
Writing Recipe Books
Cooking and writing may seem like an odd match, but making recipe books is a fun way to help kids write. Start by making easy recipes with the kids, such as fruit salad or no-bake cookies. Talk aloud as you cook, describing the steps and why you’d use a particular
ingredient. Then bring the recipe to life on paper: help kids write out the ingredients and the steps. If sequencing and following directions are the ultimate goals of your writing activity, a recipe is a great form because it delivers the steps all in a row. Help the kids write up their own recipe cards or put them together in a class recipe book. This brings the project to an end and lets children see they have a product worth keeping. They’ll be proud of their efforts, and they’ll have an immediate reason for writing.
Puppet Show Scripts
There’s little like putting on a performance for a puppet show, and such shows can offer a motivating path to getting the kids to write down their ideas. A good approach is to begin with children making simple puppets. Suggest materials for making the puppets – paper bags can allow for three-dimensional facial features, sock puppets are an old standby, and popsicle sticks with cotton-ball heads can make puppets fun and easy for little hands to hold and manipulate. Then encourage the children to come up with short stories, perhaps no more than 100 words, that their puppets can perform. Help the kids catch some of these ideas by writing their dialogue on paper and providing a basic story outline. This can introduce children to a new writing genre: writing dialogue script. And that’s cool. You can then slowly increase the page count of the stories to build skills in paragraph work and story structure. Older kids can work toward writing longer scripts and even working together both with written words and spoken word performance.
Word Building Games
Word building games are really helpful when you want children to pay attention to the patterns that letters make and then practice spelling the words. Draw a set of letter pictures, including lots of vowels and the most common consonants, then have children build words. Start with very short little three-letter words such as cat and dog, then move to longer ones and see how many words children can build with a given set of cards. Children can then practice writing the words on paper. This game helps children see how letters form words, and how spoken words connect to written words.
Daily Journal
A daily journaling habit will help a child become a better writer and expressive thinker by the end of the year. Set aside time each day: just a few minutes at first. Give each child a notebook and let him decorate the cover. At the beginning of each journaling session, give a simple writing prompt like ‘What did you eat for breakfast?’ or ‘What was the best part of your day?’ Tell the children that they should write whatever comes to mind without worrying about spelling or punctuation at first. The goal is to get children comfortable writing their thoughts. Over time, you can promote more complex prompts and introduce punctuation and spelling as the children become more comfortable.
With the inclusion of these informal, playful activities in the early years curriculum, we can foster in our young learners a relationship with writing that will benefit them beyond the early stages of literacy development. Make writing feel like play, not like work. Make it about creativity, praise children’s effort and encourage your pupils to take pride in their achievements.