Print Motivation: Tracing with Chalk

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!

This year for Valentine's Day, we tried out a new family activity.  It involved a family mailbox, little heart-cutouts, and kind words.  When someone did something kind or we thought of something we appreciated about another family member, we wrote it down on a heart cut-out and put it in our family mailbox (made by Zac and me a few years ago).  We called it words of appreciation or compliments. 

We gave each other these Valentines starting from February 1 all the way to February 14. There was no limit to how many compliments or appreciative words we gave each other so we left plenty of hearts on the kitchen table throughout the 14 days.  After our special Valentines family dinner while we were all eating dessert, we pulled the hearts out and read them out loud. 

When I first announced our special activity on February 1st during the commotion of dinner, "Daddy" responded with an uncertain, I'm-not-sure-I'm-on-board, "um.....what?"  He did however, participate and get into it as the two weeks went on, which included requesting more hearts when we ran out.  Adelyn needed a little help.  I encouraged her a couple of times each day to think of something that someone else did for her and wrote it down for her.  She would put it in the box herself. I think Scott and I both really enjoyed the excitement and joy on the kids' faces when they listened to a compliment addressed to them. 

This worked well for us because not only did we all try to dwell more on the positive attributes of others, but we also tried to make sure we were being appreciative material worthy of a heart! Happy Valentine's Day!

This activity is great for

• Tactile/Sensory motor- cutting out, writing, hands-on putting hearts in the box
• Visual- Seeing the family mail box reminds us to think about the topic
• Auditory- listening to the family members read what is on the heart for them

Alphabet Hide and Seek

I have two great friends who started the "No Time for Flashcards" series with their children last year which inspired me to do it with Adelyn this year since she turned 2 1/2 in September.  We have made letters through H which are hanging in a line above our TV upstairs.  I have not yet taken the time to get a good photo of our fun letters but hopefully I'll get that done soon so I can post it as well.  A couple of weeks ago we decided to review the letters we learned by playing Alphabet Hide and Seek.  

Hide and Seek is one of Adelyn's very favorite games right now so this was very motivating for her (and actually I still LOVE playing hide and seek so I also had a blast.)  We picked a letter to hide and then we both took turns hiding and seeking the selected letter. I hid the letters in very simple and semi-obvious spots for my little toddler, to make the challenge achievable.  Adelyn still has not correctly recalled all of the names of the letters we have made, like many two year olds, so this easy set up was great for learning the names of one letter at a time.

For older kids you could probably hide several letters, make the hiding spots more challenging, or even try to hide it on something that starts with the same letter (that may be for 5-7 year olds).  

When you play just remember to set an alarm in case you lose track of the time :) haha. That did not really happen but we sure had fun!!

Recognizing Words Through Labels

Family and friends who come to our house do not ever have a hard time finding their way around the kitchen.  Yes, it is indeed because of what you see in that picture.  Our house is labeled with words of all kinds.  

I know this is not a knew idea and is in fact it is a popular one among families with new readers and those hoping to learn another language!  Peggy Kaye is one person who recommends this idea in her book Games for Reading Playful Ways to Help Your Child Read.  

When we first put up our labels, our son was just turning 4.  He definitely noticed at first but a lot of the words were more complicated than the beginner words.  For a while it seemed that he had forgotten about them completely.  They had just become lovely decor.  He has, however, begun to realize that the beginning sound of the object matches the first letter of the words. He may also be recognizing the whole word itself and the object it's paired with or that some of the letters are often next to other particular letters even if he does not know what all of these words say.  

I've also been meaning to brush up on the French I had learned at one time and then help myself learn Spanish as well. We may have words covering most of our house but if it's stimulating all of our brains I'll take it.  :)

Pudding Paint

Pudding Paint! We got this fun idea from a friend in our Meet Up playgroup! Pudding paint brings out the artist in all of us. Kids can learn to mix colors and use their imagination for pictures or designs.  It's also a fun activity for toddlers.  Since it's edible your mind can be at ease when it comes to worrying about little fingers in mouths! My 4 1/2 year old loved it too. In fact it can also be a way for our preschoolers practicing letters.  

As far as mess, it really was not bad at all. We cut up some cheep plastic garbage bags we happen to have. It stuck to the table pretty well. Adelyn, my toddler used a bib and managed to not put her hands in her hair. 

I would love to hear about any similar ideas or how you have had fun with pudding paint!

1. Box of vanilla pudding. Follow directions.

2. When ready spoon several little globs onto white paper plates.

3. Add a drop of food coloring to each glob.

4. Have a great time painting!

Teaching Writing

Here are a few good books to teach writing skills to young children.


If you were a Writer- Joan Lowry Nixon

Melia wants to be a writer just like her mom. She isn't sure about what a writer does or how they get their work completed. She learns how to start a story, how to make pictures with words, and how to find ideas.

Activities for this book
1. Pick out objects you see and name as many words as you can to describe the object.
2. Come up with "what if" ideas when situations come up. For example, if your honey goes missing, you could say, "what if a bear came in from the woods?"


Written Anything Good Lately?- Susan Allen and Jane Lindamann


This book has writing activity ideas from A-Z.


The Boy Who Loved Words- Schotter/Potter

This story is about a boy who collects words.  Each page of the book has a new, challenging word to learn.


Dear Mr. Blueberry- Simon James

A book that teaches letter writing


Dear Mrs. LaRue- Mark Teague

A comedy about a dog who writes letters to his owner from obedience school.  Another teaching tool for letter writing.


Detective LaRue Letters from the Investigation- Mark Teague

In this sequel to Dear Mrs. LaRue teaches more letter writing through examples and tells the comic tale of a dog who solves a mystery.

ASL- Write

www.lifeprint.com