Updated: Feb 7, 2023
The straight line is the first pre-writing shape that children form, so children will likely be able to draw a line when they start to write. However, when children form letters they sometimes curve the lines making the letters difficult to read e.g. the l in flower looks like a c.
In the second example, the l in the word follow is written as a capital letter. In the word will one l is a capital letter and the other is slanted, and because they touch the ll looks like a w.
Therefore the activities in this section all work on keeping the downward movement straight so that they are able to write straight lines from top to bottom without curving the line, helping them to form legible letters. We also need them to be able to add the curve at the bottom of letters such as l, i, t and u.
With the activities in this section, see if you can sit alongside your child and join in so that you model the correct way to form the lines.
As your child plays, observe what hand they write with and look at how they are holding their pencil. I will be chatting about pencil grips in the Facebook group and on the IG account to help you to understand what grip your child is using and how to support them.
If your child is working on their pencil grip, you will find lots of activities to help develop pencil grip in the Pre-Writers Club.
Anna