Can We PLEASE Practice Writing?

(4 Years)

Ummmm (can it possibly be this easy?  Thank you Montessori technique!)....  
     Me- "Yes, you can!  What would you like to use?"
     Little Miss - "How aboouuuut (pause, with a sly look in her eye) the writing slates?"

I love the Handwriting Without Tears Slates!  They remind me of The Little House on the Prairie slate boards- ahhh, nostalgia.  More importantly, they remind my kids of Professor Quimby in Leap Frog's Letter Factory.  When the kids were little they must have watched that movie at least three dozen times!  We sang the letter songs in the car, during our walks, while putting together puzzles, in the bath - you get the picture (see here).   I completely credit the talented folks at Leap Frog for teaching my kidabunks their letter sounds.

Anyway, back to the slate boards.  In the Leap Frog movie, Professor Quimby writes each letter on a slate board that is almost an exact replica of the Handwriting Without Tears version.  When I gave the kids their slate boards, they immediately said, "It's just like Professor Quimby's!" They were instantly  hooked on using the boards.  Yay!

The process is so simple.  You (parent, teacher, caregiver) models how to write a letter.  The child uses the tiny sponge to erase the letter, using the same strokes that you did to write the letter.  The child next uses the tiny cloth to dry the wet areas, using the same strokes that she/he just did to erase the letter.  The child now gets to write the letter using the half piece of chalk.

We alternate choosing letters to practice.  When we were first learning how to write letters, we followed the Kumon Uppercase Letter Writing Plan (L T H I F E X V Y N Z A K M W D P B R J U C G S O Q).  It's a logical way of learning to write the letters.  Can you see why?  Look at the first six letters, they are made up of only straight horizontal and vertical lines.  Brilliant!

By the way if you like using the slate board, there's an app for that.  There is also a free trial for app so that you can see if your little one likes it.   

Do you notice that stern look on Little Miss's face?  She wasn't happy that her line did not perfectly end on the corner of the board.  My little perfectionist.  It's amazing, I have one child that tries to make the lines perfectly and the other who rushes his work!  If they weren't in my belly at the same time, I would never believe they are twins.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Blah, blah, blah.  All comments are my own, blah, blah.  I have not been compensated for this post, blah, blah.  It's just me, sharing what works with you.