Scribble - scribble - blot: games for writing motor skills
handwriting at school. Here are three playful writing and
ideas for practising the use of pen and paper.
All sorts of things to write
«How do you spell that?» Many children become curious about the spelling of words once they have discovered their first letters. Parents can prescribe the words - or help to cut them out of paper, shape them from dough or plasticine sausages, write them with foam on the mirror, with a finger in the sand or a twig in the mud. Children enjoy seeing the traces of their writing.
Draw blind
Children can close their eyes while drawing or writing, blindfold themselves or hold a sheet of paper in front of their face. If there is a sudden lack of visual control when drawing or writing, the movements of the hand are perceived more strongly and are memorised more intensively.
Cat and mouse
Two players each hold a pen in a three-point grip (pen between thumb, index finger and middle finger) and move it over a sheet of paper. Player 1 plays the «cat», player 2 the «mouse». If the tips of the pen touch, the mouse is caught.
Background
Writing is strenuous and places particular demands on beginners: not only do they have to plan, organise and formulate the text content, they also have to devote a great deal of concentration to forming the letters on the paper. Once this basic skill has been automated, the working memory is relieved and can focus on the other tasks of the writing process. From primary school onwards, fluent and legible handwriting is therefore practised systematically. Children improve their motor skills through handicrafts, colouring and doodling and thus learn to write by hand more quickly.
App tip:
About the author:
Johanna Oeschger teaches German and English at upper secondary level and works as a media didactician at LerNetz.