Why We Don’t Rush Children to Read and Write
When children reach their pre-school year, it is natural for parents to start thinking about school.
Should they be able to write their name? Should they know their letters? Should they be starting to read?
At Saffrons, we absolutely want children to develop a love of reading and writing. But we don't believe that getting children to read and write as early as possible should be the goal.
Instead, we concentrate on building the foundations that will allow literacy to develop naturally, confidently and meaningfully.
Before a child can write, there is so much that needs to happen
Writing might look like a child simply picking up a pencil and making marks on a page, but it actually requires an enormous number of skills.
Children need strength and stability through their shoulders, arms, wrists and hands. They need coordination, dexterity and control. They need to be able to manipulate small objects and use their fingers independently.
That is why you are just as likely to see our pre-school children climbing, digging, building, kneading dough, using tools, manipulating clay, pouring, threading and constructing as you are to see them holding a pencil.
These experiences aren't taking time away from learning to write.
They are part of learning to write.
Before children can read words, they need to love language
Long before children understand that marks on a page represent words, they are developing the foundations of reading.
They are listening to stories.
Joining in with familiar phrases.
Making up their own stories.
Singing songs and rhymes.
Noticing sounds.
Having conversations.
Discovering new words.
Looking through books because they want to, rather than because an adult has asked them to.
We want books and stories to be associated with pleasure, curiosity, imagination and connection.
A child who climbs onto an adult's lap and asks, "Can we read this one again?" is developing something incredibly valuable: the desire to read.
Marks need to mean something
We provide children with plenty of opportunities to make marks, draw and experiment with writing, but wherever possible we want those marks to have a purpose.
A child might make a sign for their construction.
Write a pretend shopping list.
Draw a map.
Create a menu for their café.
Write their name on something they have created.
Make a card for a friend.
Record something they have discovered.
At first, their "writing" may not look like conventional writing at all.
And that's okay.
Those lines, circles, symbols and letter-like shapes are part of children discovering that the marks they make can carry meaning.
Rather than constantly correcting them, we want children to think:
"I am a writer. I have something worth communicating."
We don't want children to become afraid of getting it wrong
One of the most important things we can protect during the early years is a child's willingness to ‘have a go.’
When children become overly focused on producing the "right" letter, spelling a word correctly or creating something that looks the way an adult expects, learning can quickly become about avoiding mistakes.
We want something different.
We want children who are prepared to experiment.
To wonder.
To try.
To make mistakes.
To try again.
To ask questions.
And to feel proud when they work something out for themselves.
These are the foundations not only of literacy, but of lifelong learning.
What about school readiness?
Of course we want children to be ready for their next stage. But being ready for school is about far more than arriving in Reception already able to read and write.
We want our children to leave Saffrons able to communicate their ideas, listen to others, ask for help, follow their curiosity, manage increasing independence, solve problems, cope when something doesn't work first time and approach new experiences with confidence.
These are the skills that allow children to learn.
At Saffrons, we call them our Creating Tomorrow's Thinkers skills:
Curiosity. Confidence. Communication. Creativity. Collaboration. Problem solving. Resilience. Independence.
Reading and writing sit beautifully within these skills — they don't need to replace them.
So, should you practise reading and writing at home?
You don't need to recreate school at the kitchen table.
Instead, read together.
Visit the library. Tell silly stories. Sing songs. Notice signs when you're out. Let your child see you writing a shopping list. Cook together and look at the recipe. Draw maps. Leave pencils and paper available. Make up stories about the people you pass on a walk.
And if your child asks, "What does that say?" or "How do I write Mummy?", follow their interest.
Because there is a big difference between holding children back and not rushing them.
We will always support a child who is showing an interest in letters, sounds, reading or writing. We simply don't believe every child needs to reach the same point at the same time.
Childhood isn't a race.
Creating readers and writers for life
Our ambition isn't to be able to say that a child could read at four.
It is much bigger than that.
We want children who choose books because they love stories.
Children who use writing because they have something they want to say.
Children whose imaginations are full of ideas.
Children who are curious about words and the world around them.
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