Triveni Goswami Vernal
(Registered Special Educator CRR No. A64010)

The previous blog  (https://specialsaathi.com/2024/09/26/pre-writing-skills-and-their-significance/)  had shed light on the significance of the hierarchy of skills that a child needs to attain  before the introduction of the formation of the letters of the alphabet and the developmental sequence that one must keep in mind, before introducing any writing task, to the child.
In this blog, I will share activities that can be done with the child to develop their pre-writing skills.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS:
Fine Motor skills play an important role in improving the grip strength of the child, improve eye hand coordination and work on their attention and focus. They may include the following:
a) Sensory Play with Play Dough (pinching, pulling, rolling the play dough)
b) Beading (Use beads with big holes and a thick string to bead, and then introduce beads with smaller holes and thinner strings).
c) Lacing (One can get wooden/carboard shapes with holes in them and an elongated wooden needle with a thick string to go in and out of the holes, eg., https://www.amazon.in/WONDRBOX-Lacing-Fun-Stringing-Educational/dp/B07X1438G6)
d) Finger Painting
e) Tracing on Sand, and later on Sandpaper or a wooden board with ridges.
f) Cotton Swabs and Paints to apply dots on lines and curves.
g) Placing spoons in a vessel one by one. Or create a box with slits on the lid, through which bamboo ice cream spoons can be placed and pulled out.
h) Pinch cloth pegs and place them on the sides of open boxes.
i) Scribbling on sheets of paper

GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Gross motor skills are equally important in the development of pre-writing skills as postural control and core strength play an important role in laying down the foundations for a child to write. Some Gross Motor skills are as follows:
a) Animal Walks
b) Wheelbarrow walking
c) Dancing
d) Playing Hopscotch
e) Balloon volleyball
f) Running
g) Obstacle Course
h) Simon Says
i) Throwing and Catching a Ball
j) Gym ball exercises (under supervision)
k) Cycling
l) Swinging
m) Climbing a ladder/stairs
n) Rolling
o) Touching Toes
p) Bouncing a ball etc
Thus, we see that keeping a child active through play and exercise and working on their fine motor and gross motor skills, can help in developing their pre-writing skills, which in turn will lay down the foundations for the subsequent ability to write.

References:
https://www.weareteachers.com/pre-writing-activities-for-preschoolers/
https://happytotshelf.com/pre-writing-skills-and-activities/
https://www.theottoolbox.com/handwriting/

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Author Triveni Goswami Vernal

Triveni Goswami Vernal is an Autism advocate, registered Special Educator (CRR A64010) and an Independent Researcher. Her areas of interest include Autism, Disability Rights, Gender, Art and Northeast studies. She is a mum to an 12 year old on the Autism Spectrum.

Artwork- “Fireworks”
Acrylic on Canvas
Artist- Kabir Vernal