In most European countries, children are not expected to start formal handwriting with a pencil until they are six years old (or the countries that do best in international comparisons scores in Literacy, until they are 7). So, when are children ready to learn letter formation? This has been a much-debated topic and rightly so! On many occasions, I witnessed children become overloaded with the demands to develop these essential skills earlier and earlier at an ever-increasing pace. Do we risk children missing out on less 'essential' age-appropriate experiences in an attempt to spend more time getting children writing earlier?

​Through their marking, children are communicating their ideas, expressing their feelings, developing their imagination and creativity, and testing their hypotheses about the world, it is a truly valuable experience for young writers. For the focus of this post I am referring to the role of mark making in the development of handwriting skills and letter formation. In the early years children make marks simply for the sensory enjoyment of that smooth feeling of moving a marker across the whiteboard or the bumpy sensation of chalk grating across the tarmac, or simply the visual sadifaction of coloured paint dripping down the page. All these experiences are building their confidence and dexterity as well as the fine motor skills needed for compedent use of writing tools. 

To celebrate Science Week we have been super lucky to have our very our Professor Science Pants (impromptu name) visit us every day! Each day, Professor S for short comes bursting through the door after morning break looking mad as a hatter and ladened down with all sorts of science equipment... strangly Ms Murray is nowhere to been seen for the next hour and a half??? probably enjoying a well earned extended coffee break we think...  

Strand: Measure
​Strand Unit: ​Length  
Content Objective: 1) Develop and understanding of the concept of length through exploration and discussion and use of appropriate language. 2) Compare and order objects according to length ​

Homework... most people have an opinion on it! Some children love it, some don't. A recent poll of 10,000+ on journal.ie shows the debate is fairly split in favour of homework in primary school. But if you are a parent I am sure you will agree that it can be difficult to find time to fit homework into busy family life. In primary school, if you must set homework it should be short and sweet. Some follow the rule of 10 minutes per year (10 minutes for infants and first, 20 minutes for second class and so on). We need to explore ways in which homework can add value to family time by making it fun in addition to reinforcing what a child is learning in school. Is there a way homework can enhance family time rather then invading it?

Before I share some tips to support correct tripod pencil grip with Junior Infant, I want to mention that like every other stage of a child's development there are different stages of pencil grip, children start exploring their pencil grip as early as 3 months old. It is important not to force a child into holding a pencil a certain way before they are ready. This could actually have a negative impact and create a dislike of writing and colouring for a child. The chart below shows the development of pencil grip and each are completely normal at different ages. Some children will be comfortable using the trip-pod grip from the start and some children will progress from one grip to the next at a different pace. 

I believe it is our fellow pre-school educators who are the experts in this area. It wasn't until my daughter went to play school that my eyes were opened to the wonderful range of fine motor activities that were available to help her specifically develop her fine motor skills. I realised then, just how important it was that we continue to develop these skills when children arrive in junior infants before we make any attempt to teach letter formation. In this post I set out to compiled a selection of fine motor activities that will help infants develop their fine motor skills as well as hand-eye coordination, while also making them a little more challenging and fun by integrating them into our early maths and literacy learning. Building the muscles in their hands and fingers does not stop when we begin to teach letter and number formation either, teachers should develop these activities, integrating more hands on tasks into children's learning as an alternative to worksheets and workbooks. 

​Making the transition from one Aistear topic into the next can be stressful and time consuming! Follow these Seven Simple Steps to make the transition into your new Aistear topic as easy as possible!

Assessment is paramount when supporting the learning and development of the children in your care and provides the bases of informed teaching. Without it you may as well be teaching blind folded. It also supports the children in becoming involved in their own learning and creates opportunities for them to understand their achievements and know what they need to work on. But what you really need is assessment methods that are quick, relevant and inform your planning. In this post I share with you many valuable everyday assessment methods, with lots of visual examples taken from real classroom situations. I also have a few free downloads for you too! 

As children mature so do the expectations we place on them. You need to allow children the time they need to adjustment from one learning environment to another. Just like every other area of a child's learning, there are stages to their learning development and developing their play skills is no different.