An Excercise in Coordination

Elias in his studiousness.

Elias has shown a new interest in writing lately. He will sit at the table with a page of traceable A's with such intensity he notices nothing around him. He has always had times where he concentrates on something to the exclusion of all else and it is amazing to watch in a four year old. Elias has written a few letters here and there in the last year and a half (his name, Eva's), but never with much desire to improve or go further. He does love dot-to-dots and with a new book of dot-to-dots his coordination and desire to count have increased. The coordination has led him to want to trace; pictures, stencils and as a progression his letters. Most of the books I have seen for preschool children are about writing the ABC's as you learn them. We have picked up several of these books to have around, but have never really given them to Elias.

I have always believed that you shouldn't link writing and reading. They are two different skills and where many young children show an interest in both; it seems that for some (my brothers included) the desire to read is there until the pressure of writing comes in. With the stress of learning both they lose the momentum for either. Writing should be a task you learn years after reading and when you have the desire to "write" something; a letter, lists, etc. The more you have read and seen writing the easier it will be to reproduce. I am a bit surprised that Elias is showing an interest in writing and wonder how much I should encourage it. It can be a frustrating endeavor and as he gets older and becomes more coordinated it will be easier to learn. As such I print the traceable letters and let him write his name on papers, drawings and other works of art, but as is my normal way let him lead the way and start the projects. The resources are there and it is his choice to pursue them.

As a side note, typing is yet another skill set and rests somewhere in the middle of reading and writing. Elias has been typing words since gaining the coordination to hunt and peck. He loves to reproduce words he knows, but rarely ventures to create new ones. His word count goes up all the time and he reinforces it by typing it on a word program his dad created for him. Favorite words are the names of family and friends, activities that we as a family enjoy, such as camp, bike, swing etc. and like most kids; animals.