My daughter didn't go to pre-k.?

Question

Now she's in kindergarten and is having problems with her writing. Anything besides workbooks that might help her out??

Answer 1

Why don't you get her an easel for that age group, and encourage her to write on it. Perhaps put stickers on the paper and have her write the names. Make this as pressure-free as possible. I would go to a store that has learning materials (like Thinkertoys if you have it) and see what they have for K-aged children.

Answer 2

Start with pictures. Chose a topic she is interested in such as a favorite restaurant, holiday, etc... Then have her take a few minutes to draw it on paper. Then after she has finished, ask her to write about it! Children 1st "write" by scribbling little lines, then move onto random ABCs, and then they will move onto ABCs written out in little strings, as if imitating words. Finally, they will move on to words they know from sight (they should have a sight word list in her class!) and finally, they will start trying to write words based on the phonetic spelling! It is a long process so be patient! Children learn language in this order: understanding, speaking, reading, and last of all, writing! Keep encouraging her to write at home, even if she doesn't actually write any legible words! Also, we post all sorts of words around the house and have magnetic letters that I use on the fridge to spell words out with. You can also encourage her to "write" letters to people you know. She will gain confidence and then you will see huge changes as the school year progresses. My children did not go to Pre-K either and they do fantastic work in school! Don't worry- just keep practicing. Oh, one last thing is you can have her decorate an empty coffee can or something similar, and write "journal jar" on it. Fill it with little slips of paper that have different topics written on them such as: my family, a favorite toy, my favorite restaurant, etc... Then have her pick a topic, discuss it with her, and help her write a few sentences! Keep all her writings in a special notebook. To get her excited about writing, take her with you to chose a new notebook at the store. Good luck- I hope this helps!