With kids it seems the least expensive things are the ones which get the most use. Sticks, rocks, random objects found on the ground, boxes, balloons... and a favorite of mine, paper!
I found at our local Dollar Tree store that children's lined paper for learning how to write- you know the paper I am talking about? It is made out of newsprint or something, but a whole pack is only a dollar!
While I have mentioned many times that Zeru's favorite activity is not writing, it is still a necessary skill. I also believe it is the repetition of doing the same types of lessons again and again which drives him crazy.
I had recently purchased a rather expensive workbook for him, which the first several days delighted him! It was new and different- but that too got boring.
Back to the lined paper! I love it for many reasons:
Make our own custom lessons (work on words kid's are interested in, add pictures, etc)
Make it for any language (we do a lot of Amharic lessons, like the one pictured)
Not tracing, but "letter drawing" practice
Big enough for crayons, markers, etc. (which adds to the fun)
It's super cheap and easy!
I have found with Zeru that when he does letter tracing lessons the way he writes a letter is not the same as when he writes the letter free hand. And when he goes from tracing to free hand in the same lesson the quality is much worse! I think it confuses him somehow.
But when I give him a letter or word and ask him to write in below, he examines the lines and curves and tries to copy them diligently to see if the final product matches. I personally find this MUCH more practical.
So far I think it has paid off. Many days he is excited to work on something new that interests him, like yesterday when he picked out his own writing lesson. "Ruh roo ree rah ray rih row" and "Muh moo mee mah may mih mow"
I found at our local Dollar Tree store that children's lined paper for learning how to write- you know the paper I am talking about? It is made out of newsprint or something, but a whole pack is only a dollar!
While I have mentioned many times that Zeru's favorite activity is not writing, it is still a necessary skill. I also believe it is the repetition of doing the same types of lessons again and again which drives him crazy.
I had recently purchased a rather expensive workbook for him, which the first several days delighted him! It was new and different- but that too got boring.
Back to the lined paper! I love it for many reasons:
Make our own custom lessons (work on words kid's are interested in, add pictures, etc)
Make it for any language (we do a lot of Amharic lessons, like the one pictured)
Not tracing, but "letter drawing" practice
Big enough for crayons, markers, etc. (which adds to the fun)
It's super cheap and easy!
I have found with Zeru that when he does letter tracing lessons the way he writes a letter is not the same as when he writes the letter free hand. And when he goes from tracing to free hand in the same lesson the quality is much worse! I think it confuses him somehow.
But when I give him a letter or word and ask him to write in below, he examines the lines and curves and tries to copy them diligently to see if the final product matches. I personally find this MUCH more practical.
So far I think it has paid off. Many days he is excited to work on something new that interests him, like yesterday when he picked out his own writing lesson. "Ruh roo ree rah ray rih row" and "Muh moo mee mah may mih mow"
No comments:
Post a Comment