Importance of writing in our lives

Like reading, writing is a very important learning tool.  Writing can be done through a keyboard (keypad at an electronic device such as pc, smart phone) though pen or pencils are writing tools. Now touch pads or smart phones has improved a way of writing with fingers or touch pens but can we get rid of 'writing with pen or pencil' and does 'writing' is still important for us?
There is a vital importance of 'writing'. 

Importance of writing:

Wikipedia says: "Writing helps you express yourself"

 Writing prepares you for school and employment (both of which in most cases require a lot of it).
 Writing is how much of the world communicates. If you don't write, you cut yourself off from a large community (including this one, incidentally).

Activities to promote a good foundation for handwriting among kids

Good foundation of handwriting starts at home. Proper fine motor skill development makes it possible for kids to learn good handwriting at school. Teachers at the same time can help kids enhance their skills needed  for good handwriting start. This post helps you learn about the activities which can help promote a good foundation for handwriting among kids.
Writing is one of the most complex tasks that humans engage in, involving both motor and critical-thinking skills. It's not surprising that learning to write is a process that takes years to complete. It also happens in order, with each skill building on the last.

Today modern technology has dramatically changed the way we communicate through writing. However, despite the increased use of computers for writing, the skill of handwriting remains important in education, employment and in everyday life. Handwriting with pen and paper still has an important role from early childhood through our adult lives.

Handwriting readiness can be developed by activities to improve children's fine motor control and isolated finger movements.

Activities to promote handwriting readiness: 

• Rolling therapy-putty or clay dough between the tip of the thumb and tips of the index and middle fingers. Use modeling clay or Play-Doh to form words. First, make large flashcards with letters of the alphabet or simple words. (Laminate the cards if you can.) Then roll out thin ropes of clay. Ask your child to trace the words or letters on the cards using the ropes of clay. Not only will he learn to recognize words, but playing with the clay will help build the muscles in his fingers and hone the fine motor skills he'll need to write.                                              
• Use sand to "write" words. Help your child make letters and words out of materials like sand, glitter, or cake sprinkles. Cookie dough and pancake batter work too — and you get to eat the results!
• Picking up small objects with tweezers.
• Pinching and sealing a zip lock bag using the thumb opposing each finger while maintaining an open web space.
• Twisting open a small tube of tooth paste with the thumb, index and middle fingers while holding the tube with the ulnar digits.
• Moving a key from the palm to the finger tips of one hand.

Activities to promote prewriting skills:

1. Drawing lines and copying shapes using shaving cream, sand trays or finger paints.
2. Drawing lines and shapes to complete a picture story on chalk boards.
3. Drawing pictures of people, houses, trees, cars or animals with visual and verbal cues from the practitioner
4. Completing simple dot-to-dot pictures and mazes.

Activities to enhance right-left discrimination includes

1. Playing/maneuvering through obstacles and focusing on the concept of twining right or left
2. Connecting dots at the chalkboard with left to right strokes.

Activities to Improve children's orientation to printed language:

1. Labeling children's drawings based on the child's description
2. Having children make their own books on specific topics such as favorite foods, special places etc.
3. Labeling common objects in the therapy room.
4. Look at pictures together in magazines, catalogs, or storybooks. Ask your child to tell you what he thinks the people are doing or thinking, and write down what he says as a caption. Or ask him to narrate a conversation he thinks two people may be having.

Related: http://www.childsupport.in/html/ourservices_handwritingskills.html

Useful links:

* 25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun

Activities to do at home to enhance writing skills

Parents can help their child develop good writing skills at home. Sports, games, and everyday activities help children improve many of the skills involved in handwriting. Activities like cutting, cooking, baking or crafting are helpful in development of hand eye-coordination skill. The more opportunities your child has to develop large and small movement in their arms, hands and fingers, the better.

Educational technology advances suggest that reading and writing development are intertwined in early learning. The relationship between reading and writing continues long after these early efforts, so parents can enhance their child's skills dramatically by encouraging the writing habit in childhood.

Few activities to do at home to enhance writing skills:

You can help your child by: doing activities like

• Digging,
• ‘Painting’ outdoor surfaces with water and a large brush,
• Sweeping and swishing a scarf through the air in different shapes hanging out the washing,
• Use a peg board and picking up grains of rice with fingers (which helps develop the grip needed for writing)
• Make marks on paper with fingers, brushes and crayons              
• Write labels, birthday cards and invitations
• Rolling playdough and doing fingerplays help children strengthen and improve the coordination of the small muscles in their hands and fingers. They use these muscles to control writing tools such as crayons, markers, and brushes.

To improve visual memory, teach card games, marbles and jacks, and engage in hand sports- using large then smaller balls. Use dictation or a computer for homework assignments when a child's poor muscle strength and low endurance cannot sustain written work despite high intelligence. Encourage letter writing to family and friends.
Parents can engage their children in fun, practical activities that improve writing skills.

Some suggestions from Roy Peter Clark's book, "Free to Write":

Interviews. Encourage children to ask family members about life experiences, take notes and write short articles or stories based on what they learn. This can be especially fun if they ask a grandparent about a historical anniversary or an activity that is no longer common, like listening to radio shows.
Journals. Buy your child a special notebook to write in. Encourage him to write about daily activities, important life events, feelings and other personal topics.
Television. Turn watching television into an educational activity by asking children to write about a program they've seen. They can retell the show's story, or better yet, explore the values and meanings it expressed. Reading. Read aloud to your children. This will improve their writing by exposing them to well-written sentences and well-expressed ideas.
Proud displays. Have a place in your home where you display your children's writing. This will build their confidence and encourage them to write more often.
Dictation. Encouraging very young children to generate ideas and think in complete sentences. This will help prepare them to write alone when they get older. Encourage children to dictate stories and ideas to you, and keep them so they can read them later.


Useful links:

* Helping Children Develop Fine Motor Skills

* Adventures in writing-how you can help her develop this new skill with confidence.

* Help Your Child Learn Writing Skills

A family blog from a parent

I usually review the sites which are related to teaching, learning, parenting and so on. Today's blog is from Rozz_Lea Rozie, who is a business Development Executive from Malaysia and a mom blogger. Blog is very colourful and especially I liked it for a personal touch. The topics you can find the posts about are:Random Daily Happenings, Family, Children, Life, Personal, Friends, News, Events, Thoughts, Poems, Foods, Cultures, Nature, Books,Travel and writings.

I spent a lot of time to see the posts and I was amazed to read some very appealing posts. As in her post "Morning thoughts" she says:
"You may not realize this, but it is nevertheless a fact.
If you set out with worry and depression,
of soul toward fate or man, you are giving the key note
to a day of discord and misfortunes.

If you think peace, hope, and happiness,
you are sounding a note of harmony and success.

The result may not be felt at once,
but it will not fail to make itself evident eventually.

Control your morning thoughts.

You can do it! "

She hasn't mentioned that she likes to read self help topics, but from few of her posts I can estimate that she reads about variety of topics. Isn't it Rozie?

One thing I am confused about that blog is only few months old, but she could manage to write many posts in one month. As in April she had 18 posts, then in May 40 and June with 46 posts. It shows her interest in blog that she is very passionate about it.