Writing Doesn't Have to Sit Still

Oct 7

Why Your Child Might Write Better Standing Up (or Lying Down)

Picture a child writing. Chances are you imagined them sitting at a table, feet on the floor, pencil in hand, quietly working.

Now picture the children you actually know. The one who kneels on the chair. The one who stands up every time they have an idea. The one who ends up sprawled on the rug with their paper, somehow happier there than anywhere else.

For a lot of children, especially young ones and reluctant writers, stillness and writing don't go together very easily. And when a child can't sit still, it's tempting to decide they aren't ready to write, or that writing just isn't "their thing."

But what if the stillness is the problem, and not the writing?

Bodies and brains learn together

In twenty years of teaching, I learned to trust what bodies were telling me. The wiggliest children often had the most to say. They just needed a different way in.

Research on active learning points in the same direction. In a series of studies with preschoolers, Myrto Mavilidi and her colleagues built physical movement into lessons on things like new vocabulary words, geography and science. Children who learned with their bodies moving tended to learn more than children who learned the same material sitting still, and in one of the studies they enjoyed it more, too.

Those studies weren't about writing specifically. But they're a helpful reminder that for young children, moving and learning aren't in competition. Very often, moving is how they learn.

What occupational therapists suggest

Occupational therapists, who help children build the physical skills behind everyday tasks like writing, often encourage changing a child's position during writing and fine motor work. Different positions build different kinds of strength. Here are a few of the most common suggestions.

Go vertical

Writing on a vertical surface (a window, a wall, the fridge, an easel) naturally puts the wrist in a slightly bent-back position. That position supports a better pencil grip and more control. It also asks more of the shoulder and core, since there's no table to lean on and no chair to slump into.

Some OTs also note that working upright brings the work closer to eye level, which can make it easier for a child to focus on what their hand is doing.

Try it: Stick a few sticky notes on a window or the fridge and invite your child to write or draw on them right there.

Try the floor

Lying on the tummy, propped up on the elbows, is a classic position for drawing and writing, and for good reason. It builds strength in the shoulders and upper body, which gives the hand a steadier base to work from. Victoria Wood, an occupational therapist writing for The OT Toolbox, also describes tummy-lying as a calming position for many children.

Try it: Put a clipboard and pencil on the rug and let your child write belly-down.

Keep moving

Some children simply think better when they can shift between spots, stand up, or move around between ideas. That's okay. A quick movement break (a stretch, a lap around the house, a silly game) can help a child come back ready to write again.

Try it: For longer writing time, plan a short break in the middle instead of waiting for frustration to arrive.

Act first, write after

One of the easiest ways to bring movement into writing is to act things out before putting pencil to paper.

This month, our Leaf Hunt Box invites children to act out We're Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger, climbing the "mountain" (the couch counts), crossing the "lake" (a blanket) and racing home when the skunk appears. After a story has lived in your child's body, it's so much easier to put into words.

If your child freezes in front of a blank page, try getting up together and acting out what happened. Then sit back down (or lie down, or stand at the window) and ask, "What happened first?"

Writing can happen anywhere

Here are a few ways to let writing come along wherever your child is:

On a walk. Tuck sticky notes and a pencil in your pocket. A word stuck to a tree trunk counts.
On the window. Write one thing you love about the season on each sticky note, and build a whole window of them.
Through the house. Leave a trail of sticky-note clues from room to room, then let your child make a trail for you.
As a game. Hide a small toy and have your child write (or draw, or just say) a clue to where it is.

When writing comes with a purpose, like a clue someone else needs to read, children often write more than you'd expect. They're not practicing. They're playing.

What to let go of

Requiring stillness before writing can begin
Insisting on one "right" posture
Treating standing, kneeling or lying down as "not really working"
Turning every activity into a sit-down writing assignment

The shift to try

This week, try moving the writing instead of moving the child. Stick the paper on the window. Put the clipboard on the floor. Take the pencil outside.

Then watch what happens when your child gets to write the way their body wants to.

The goal isn't to get them to sit still and write more. The goal is that they still want to tomorrow. ✏️

Want to bring this home?

If this is the kind of joyful, screen-free writing you'd love more of, we'd be so glad to help.

Rooted in Writing is a monthly subscription box that pairs a beautiful picture book with open-ended, hands-on activities that grow early writing and fine motor skills. It's designed for emerging writers (preschool through grade 2) and reluctant writers (grades 3 and up), with all materials included. You can start a subscription any time at rootedinwritingbox.com/shop.

Not ready to subscribe? Try one of our freebies first. It's an easy, no-pressure way to bring a little of this home this week.

Either way, let writing move. 🌱