re: 4 year olds

<blockquote><b>Quoting Mylittleone's (B.B.M):</b>" Yea we do a lot of pre-k stuff I recently just bought him the Tag junior and he has been obsessed with ... [snip!] ... their name and what not what do you find to be the best way to help them learn how to draw the letters? The tracing books or?"</blockquote>

I am so anti tracing. When kids trace they don't really form the letters right. I use a technique with my kids where I explain how it should look. So when they draw an "a" I'd say "make a circle and give it a little tail". If they don't know where I'll point to the spot or draw it with my finger so they can visualize what it should look like. If they don't get it then I'll model as I am describing it on a separate sheet of paper (or whatever substance we are using. So I'd draw te circle while saying that, show them, then say and then a little tail and draw it and show them.

Some good ways to practice writing are with cheap barbasol shaving cream (either directly on the table, gets them really clean, or on a cookie sheet to contain the mess). Dry erase boards. Crayons, markers, colored pencils, chalk. Change it up a bit. Then they won't get bored. You don't want it to feel like a chore. It should be fun  

<blockquote><b>Quoting lolajessup:</b>" <blockquote><b>Quoting Mylittleone's (B.B.M):</b>" Yea we do a lot of pre-k stuff ... [snip!] ... pencils, chalk. Change it up a bit. Then they won't get bored. You don't want it to feel like a chore. It should be fun  "</blockquote>




This!

He's 3.5, so I still hold his hand the first couple of times.