Pregraphism and graphomotricity in kindergarten.

The activities of pregraphing and graphomotricity train children to what will be the real writing.

 

 

 

 

When teaching the alphabet to children.

 

 

 

 

The boys and girls show an extraordinary interest in the written code and already between two and a half and three years, some spontaneously begin to trace on the paper traits that, in their intentions, want to be real words.

 

This spontaneous interest sometimes turns off or does not turn on, because of the precocization of some proposals, which happens both at home and at school, in short, putting them sitting down to write the letters is not the best way to help them.

 

At this age children do not need to learn to write, they have the need and the right to make experiences that are effective, structured and focused but also pleasant and respectful of the stages of development they are living.

 

In my years of teaching, I have seen many boys and girls learn to read and write with total autonomy at three/ four years and do so without anyone having asked or taught them.

 

These children, typically Gifted, have simply followed their instincts and cognitive traits, arriving where others arrive after a completely different path.

 

And as the first one can not say, as I happened to hear: because you taught him to write that then in school he gets bored... of others, in the same way, it is good to accompany the first steps into the world of words with respect and patience, following suitable times and modalities, with activities such as pregraphism and graphomotricity.

 

 

 

 

What is pregraphism.

 

 

 

 

Pregraphism is commonly understood as all those practices that enhance the motor skills related to the graphic trait. Activities and exercises that, over time, will lead children to acquire, among others, the ability to write.

 

The great pedagogue Maria Montessori has revealed the strong link between learning processes and concrete experiences that children live.

 

In sum, more practical experiences will be made possible and more knowledge will come into their possession, allowing a cognitive development, harmonious and constantly maturing.

 

The 5 senses play a decisive role in this process, it is through the body, and the sensations it gives, that children are able to constantly acquire new information and modify what they already know.

 

The graphic skills enhanced by pregraphism, as well as all other skills, in children of the 0/6 range, are therefore built from the body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are the pregraphing exercises.

 

 

 

 

To propose effective pregraphing exercises to children, it is necessary to start from concrete and physical activities, not only concerning the use of the hand, but also and above all that require the use of the body as a whole.

 

Before having them sit with a board to complete, let them play with their hands and body.

 

The activities of played pregraphics that I propose below, challenge children and engage them, so they can approach the written code, which among other things intrigues them very much, in a fun and never boring way.

 

 

 

 

Graphomotricity, pregraphics played with the body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In graphomotricity, the skills of gross and fine motor skills are combined with those of eye-hand coordination and more strictly graphic skills.

 

All the activities proposed at the table, should be preceded by more exquisitely motor activities, which go to introduce, integrate and enhance, the part of work more theoretical.

 

Thanks to graphomotricity, boys and girls can play using the body and experiment with topological concepts and directionality, then get to work at the table more confident, prepared and focused.

 

Approaching graphomotricity is not so difficult and everyone, using their own experience and creativity, can imagine different paths, more or less complex.

 

It is necessary to move in a large space such as the gym and use it to recreate what are the traits we mean, then propose to the children on the sheet.

 

To do this we can use tools or, more simply, colored adhesive tape, which will be useful to draw on the floor different lines, on which the children will then move.

 

Starting from a simple straight line, we can move to a curve or wavy, to the zigzag, to a knotted line, to a dotted line and so on.

 

All these traced paths will be reproduced by the children with the body and in different positions or gait.

 

On different days, the same lines can be covered by walking, jumping, rolling or crawling, in so many different ways as there are children who make up our group.

Just ask them to invent a personal way to make the route and we will see endless variations.

Over time, we will vary the lines and strokes that we will propose, paying attention to dwell not only on the horizontal directionality but also on the vertical one, so important for writing.

 

And to finish the activity, each time, after the motor play, you go to fix and verify what experienced, through a graphic activity on the table: we repropose the paths experimented with the body on an A3 sheet and ask the children to retrace it, this time using their hands, paint or pencil.

 

 

 

 

How to develop pregraphism without cards and starting from unstructured materials.

 

 

 

 

4 effective and fun proposals.

 

 

 

 

Pregraphism with pearls, buttons, ponpom.

 

 

 

 

This activity requires:

 

 

 

• Beads, buttons, ponpom or other small items to handle.
• Sheets size A3 and then A4.
• Pencils and tempera.
• Cotton swab.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The activity begins after having carried out motor activity in a graphomotricity session.

 

On the sheet we will reproduce the path made with the body, then different lines with various directions, then we will ask the children to complete the lines, as if they were necklaces, with beads of different colors and sizes.

 

For example: on the wavy line draw with blue pearl tempera, on the zig zag red pearls and so on.

 

You can first use your fingers and then the cotton buds.

 

After a few sessions you can also ask the children to use the pencil and crayons to reproduce themselves, the lines of the graphic paths lived with the body.

 

This request increases the level of difficulty and will allow us to see how individual children’s perceptions are.

 

Once the creation of the pearls on the graphic paths is finished, the children will be asked to retrace the various lines, placing a seed on each previously drawn pearl.

 

A simple variation on the theme is to propose the use of eyebrow tweezers to take the seeds, this action enhances gripping and improves eye-hand coordination.

 

 

 

 

Creative pregraphism with flour and fantasy.

 

 

 

 

This activity requires:

 

 

 

• a plastic plate
• a good amount of corn flour
• A3 format sheets for drawing graphics to be reproduced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The activity involves using the plate with flour, as if it were a board that can be erased.

 

In the first sessions children usually familiarize themselves with materials, experiment with the five senses, play with them, manipulate them freely, in completely personal ways.

 

You will immediately see with what pleasure they draw in the flour, smell it, feel its color and texture; Only later, you can offer them the prepared sheets, on which we will have drawn different lines, asking them to cover them by pouring small pinches of flour.

 

This activity requires complex skills, which it itself promotes, such as oculo-manual coordination and gripping.

 

These skills are the fundamental prerequisite for structuring those more complex related to writing.

 

In addition, knowing how to keep the work set clean, proceeding focused avoiding unnecessary distractions, being able to listen to the instructions that the teacher gives from time to time, are all important requirements.

 

 

 

 

Pregraphics with plasticine and seeds to improve gripping.

 

 

 

 

This activity requires:

 

 

 

• a plastic plate
• a good amount of modelling paste
• seeds of various sizes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first step is to give the children the modelling clay and ask them to manipulate it until it becomes soft and malleable.

 

Of course, you will have to let their interest in the material find satisfaction and only then you will move on to ask that the plasticine is spread on the surface of the plate, in a layer not too thin but uniform.

 

Seeds will then be provided: beans, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, lentils, all these materials are suitable for making designs on the dough.

 

You will see how the children will use the materials at their disposal in an original way and in various directions, coming to create drawings in relief.

 

The last step is to give indications on which signs to trace using seeds: compose a shape, a face, an animal, a flower and finally, the letters of the alphabet, starting from the initials of your own name and that of your companions.

 

As an alternative to seeds, children can use toothpicks to engrave letters in the plasticine.

 

I advise to proceed calmly and gradually since this activity can safely last several days, at least until we feel that the children’s interest is kept alive.

 

 

 

 

Pregrafismo with airtight bag and color tempera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This activity requires:

 

 

 

• Food bags with airtight closure.
• Tempera in various colors.
• Cotton swab.

 

 

As with previous proposals, this one also involves the creation of a plan on which to carry out the pregraphing activity, which is unusual and offers a rewarding way of drawing graphs.

 

The airtight bags have all these characteristics and once filled with tempera of two or three colors, they not only allow the creation of interesting mixtures, but also allow, thanks to their softness, to trace with fingers or cotton flakes, drawings, lines and letters.

 

I usually let them first experiment by playing the new material, then propose to trace simple drawings, the initials of their names, letters in succession to compose words like mom, dad or again their names.

 

Finally, we complete the whole thing with a phonological game: it has arrived a load of things that start with A-B-C etc. and children each time have to write the chosen letter.

 

These proposals do not claim to exhaust the enormous scope of work of graphomotricity and pregraphism, but they intend to offer interesting ideas from which to start.

           

 

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