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This is part two of the series How to Start Homeschooling- teach toddlers to write

Homeschooling in India seems daunting at first. There are no clear guidances, no proper resources, and not much precedent of homeschooling amongst our peers, therefore the thought on how to teach toddlers to write seems scary. It ain’t.

As mothers, we already need to learn and respect our child’s development cycle. No two children are the same. Therefore, their development and when they start writing and learning how to write, will not be the same.

Identify these development indicators before you teach toddlers to write:

• The child’s motor skills- This is by far the most important thing that you need to consider when you teach toddlers to write. Check whether they are comfortable holding a normal crayon and colouring with it. If not, then first start with larger crayons that help grip.
• The child’s recognition of shapes- Whether your child can start recognising basic shapes like a circle, square, triangle.
• Does the child know his rhymes well?

How to encourage them into exploring their skills is as important as how to teach toddlers to write.

• Give your toddler ample space and opportunity to write, colour, scribble. Large pieces of paper, blackboard, chalkboard, easy to grip colours etc.
• Wooden puzzles- Where the toddler has to use fingers and dexterity to remove and replace the pegs in their correct places.
• Board books- touch and feel books, board books, all have sensory development tricks. They help the child to trace and get a feel of how the letters are shaping up.

When all this is done, then how to teach toddlers to write?

• Let us start with getting them to do the straight lines first. In a tracing book or template from the internet, start helping them join the dots to trace a straight line.
• Sleeping lines- after they have mastered straight lines, use the joining jot template for sleeping lines.
• Then, when the child becomes confident of the standing and sleeping lines, it is time to move on to right and left-slanting lines.
• When they can master this, it is time to move on to curves. Left, right, upper, lower.

Let’s teaching toddlers to write in homeschooling. We can do it and have fun too! It’s a win-win.

You can visit homeschooling in India part 1 on how to get started here.