Helping Your Child to Write

Helping Your Child to Write

Ensure your child has access to a range of materials that encourage writing and drawing such as pencils, paper, glue, magazines and scissors.
Work together to write shopping lists, write letters to friends and family or have your child add their message on a card or letter.
Encourage your child to write by asking them to write the directions to their school, grandparents house or the shop; or the directions to draw a house.
With your child read and write your own maps or brochures to show different ways to write.
Discuss different varieties of writing that is seen in books you have at home. You can ask your child to find the signs or speech balloons seen in books.
Mix up different types of writing by reading poems, songs and rhymes.
Demonstrate how you write. Start by explaining that when you write you start at the far left hand side of the page and that you put gaps between words and use full stops to complete sentences.
Show your child how you work on spelling unknown words - say it, write it, check the spelling with a friend or the dictionary.
Encourage your child to show and read their writing to friends, family and neighbours.
Locate words and letters around you. Play games using the alphabet or finding specific letters or numbers. For example you could play games with signs and number plates.
Praise every attempt at writing, reading and spelling and talk about what your child has done.