Adelyn has become very interested in writing her name. She was really wanting to write in on the driveway when we were drawing with chalk. Long story short, I picked the orange and she picked the green. I wrote her name with orange and then she traced over it with green.
Sensory!!
We have many of our sensory systems working here and many skills developing! It's fun to see some of the many many things happening in our brains while we do some of our daily activities. The large letters and bright colors are taken in by our visual system. We can hear the sound of the chalk making each line and curve. We don't realize it, but our auditory system does play a part in our writing. The very sounds of the markings on the surface as well as the sounds each letter makes that we hear in our heads. We have got our proprioceptive system working here as we figure out how much pressure to use to hold the chalk in our hand, move the chalk and push on the concrete. Our vestibular system is keeping us upright and balanced as we lean over. Last and still important, the tactile is system is at play. The wide piece of chalk may work well for young kids who have not refined their fine motor skills yet. They may also really like the texture of the chalk although some do not.
Writing can be a very frustrating skill for young children to learn so don't get discouraged if your child is not into this whole writing thing yet. Creative ways to write and imaginative play like pretending to mail letters are great ways to spark an interest!
