Writing Before the Right Time

Several years ago one of my co-workers, a single mom, expressed her concern of wanting her son to do his very best when he started school. She was worried about him keeping up with writing. Thinking this might be an issue with delayed handwriting development, my first question to her was the age of her son. When she replied that he was three-years-old, and he was entering a private pre-school, I had to bite my tongue. I gently told her that he was right on task developmentally and, that at his age, it was too early to expect him to complete regular writing assignments. Many teachers and parents feel pressured these days to accelerate their kids' learning skills - especially reading and writing. Our changing world filled with more and more technology is forming new ways of thinking and performing for our kids. However, I think the best approach is still the developmental sequential method. This means keeping in mind a child's age (associated attention spans) along with a multi-sensory approach to learning.  

First time in school and going back to school is fast approaching. With that in mind, the Handwriting Without Tears® Pre-Writing Set is a great solution for working on developing the visual, perceptual, motor and tactile skills that are so important for good handwriting now and later in life. The set includes Roll-A-Dough Letters, a Magnetic Stamp and See Screen, a Sing Along CD and more. Perfect for these remaining summer days before school starts as the activities are easy, interactive and fun. What are your favorite suggestions for working on pre-writing skills?