Unpopular opinion alert! Today I'm taking on fine motor journals. Let's talk about the developmental stages of writing, proper letter formation, and authentic opportunities for developing fine motor skills - without fine motor journals!
Welcome back the second season of Elevating Early Childhood. I’m your host, Vanessa Levin, the creator of Pre-K Pages and founder of Teaching Trailblazers, where busy preschool and pre-K teachers like you come to learn, save time, and live more.
Now, if you caught my recent masterclass titled "Hot or Not? ECD Edition," you know we covered a lot, but there was one topic we didn’t get to dive into deeply, and that’s fine motor journals. Don’t worry if you missed the training; it’s available for members of my Teaching Trailblazers program, complete with a certificate of attendance and a handy handout.
So, today, we’re diving deep into why you don’t need fine motor journals and what you can do instead.
We’ll cover three big topics:
Plus, I’ll answer some of your burning questions at the end, so be sure to stick around!
Alright, let’s get started. I’ll be honest with you, when fine motor journals first appeared on the early childhood scene several years ago, every fiber in my being screamed, "NO, NO, NO!"
I mean, since when did fine motor skills and occupational therapy techniques take precedence over child development? Who’s steering this ship?
Here’s the bottom line: Fine motor journals are a handwriting fad, not a best practice. They are artificial, not authentic ways to develop these skills. My motto is, "Flat is boring, 3-D is fun," and fine motor journals are as flat as it gets.
So, let’s start with the developmental stages of writing. Here’s the thing: There’s a huge difference between handwriting and writing - they’re not the same!
Handwriting is forming the letters of the alphabet correctly, from the top down. Writing is putting your own thoughts and ideas on paper.
The only prerequisite for children to draw or write authentically is that they have access to paper and writing tools like crayons and pencils. Period. Full Stop.
In Katie Wood Ray’s book "Already Ready," she emphasizes that young children are already ready to write their thoughts on paper for authentic purposes. Why would we want them to wait? That’s ignoring child development. It’s like teaching children to identify uppercase letters first, then lowercase, then the sounds the letters make. Young children’s brains don’t work in a linear way!
And to take a quote from my book, Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers, "When we don't teach the way children learn, we're setting them up for failure."
Here’s a brief look at the typical developmental stages of writing for preschoolers ages 3-5:
Scribbling (Ages 2-3)
Makes random marks and lines without any specific shapes or forms. The child might scribble in a left-to-right motion or randomly across the page - think tornado writing.
This stage represents the child's early attempts to communicate through writing.
Controlled Scribbling (Ages 3-4)
At this stage the scribbles become more controlled. Children might begin to mimic writing by making zigzaggy lines or loops.
Children are starting to understand that writing is a form of communication. They may tell stories about their scribbles, showing the beginning of narrative skills.
Mock Letters (Ages 3-4)
Children produce letter-like forms that resemble actual letters but are not yet true letters. These mock letters often consist of familiar shapes such as circles and lines.
This stage indicates that children recognize letters have distinct shapes and are used in writing. They begin to understand that letters are a part of writing words.
Letter Strings (Ages 4-5)
Strings of random letters or letter-like shapes. Children often string together a series of letters without spacing and with little regard for actual words.
Children are experimenting with letters and beginning to understand that letters can form words. This stage is crucial for developing letter recognition and familiarity with the alphabet.
Transitional Writing (Ages 4-5)
Children start to write letters that are more recognizable and may attempt to write familiar words.
This stage shows children are developing an understanding of the relationship between sounds and letters (phonemic awareness). They begin to grasp that writing represents spoken language.
Finally, we start to see Conventional Writing in children ages 5 and up.
Next up, let's tackle proper letter formation. I’ve heard the argument, "How will they learn proper letter formation if I don’t use fine motor journals?" The answer? Through modeling and reinforcing daily!
Modeling during the morning message is key. Reinforce with letter formation songs. I love the ones from HeidiSongs. For example, the lowercase "r" song goes, "Short stick down, back up, and a rainbow, the lowercase r!" These songs teach uppercase, lowercase, and letter sounds all at once. You’ll be surprised how many of your students will start singing these songs while writing.
Infuse your classroom with authentic opportunities for writing. Have paper and clipboards in your block and dramatic play centers. Encourage writing/drawing observations and data collection in the science center. And of course, there are many ways to support writing in your writing/art center.
For example, when kids are "writing" down an order in the dramatic play center, you don’t stop them because they haven’t learned to write the letters correctly yet, right? That would be ridiculous!
Finally, let’s talk about authentic opportunities for developing fine motor skills. Aside from fine motor journals, there are countless ways for your students to use stickers, bingo dot markers, hole punches, scissors, or tear tape in your classroom.
Look at your daily schedule and evaluate all the authentic opportunities for fine motor skill development:
... and even Potato Heads
These are developmentally appropriate and much more engaging than flat fine motor journals. We want young children to learn through play and hands-on experiences, because research shows that it's how they learn best.
Now, let’s get to some of your burning questions!
Q1: "They can write or draw freely in the writing center, so fine motor journals can't hurt, right?"
A1: Newsflash! A little bit of something artificial is not okay. Doing something that eats up precious time in the classroom, time that could be used for other, more beneficial opportunities for authentic learning is not something we should be doing.
Q2: "How will I keep track of students' fine motor progress if I don’t use fine motor journals?"
A2: That’s what portfolios are for! Use an envelope for documenting tearing and cutting skills. Check out the link to portfolios in the description.
Q3: "I do fine motor journals because my kids love them."
A3: Sure, kids love candy and soda too. Just because they like it doesn’t mean it’s good for them. If you asked them if they’d rather do a fine motor journal or play in a sensory bin, which do you think they’d choose?
Q4: "How will they be ready for kindergarten if I don’t do fine motor journals?"
A4: If we had to rank what kindergarten teachers look for, #1 would be to sit and listen to a story, #2 would be following directions. Fine motor skills are important, but they don’t rank as high on the list. As I mentioned in my training, "You have to Maslow before you can Bloom!" Let’s not lose sight of the children in front of us and their current needs.
Thank you so much for joining me today! If you found this episode helpful, please subscribe and leave a review. Don’t forget to check out the links in the description for more resources and to join the Teaching Trailblazers program. Until next time, onward and upward!