Supporting Pre-Writing Skills for Little Hands

‍When I was a school-aged child, I can remember asking my mother to support me as I learned cursive writing. I wanted to learn because I loved pretty writing. As an amateur artist, I still enjoy creating artful lettering and practicing simple calligraphy with colorful inks.

What I didn’t fully appreciate as a young child was how important active play experiences would be to help me build the skills I would later need to write. There is a long progression to writing that starts with mark-making and progresses as they watch adults make purposeful shapes. Usually, we see random scribbling beginning when children are a year and a half to two years old. After that, toddlers may imitate vertical and horizontal lines and beginning circles that you show them how to draw. By preschool, children may draw lines and circles on their own and start to imitate a cross shape, squares, and diagonal lines. Around school age, young children may be able to draw a “X” shapes and triangles. From there, they will likely be able to form letters and show a preference for writing with their left or right hand. ‍

Each of these steps stem from skills that are built earlier in life. For very young children, pre-writing skills can include strengthening their hands, building the upper body strength to sit upright, learning to reach across their body, and developing good hand-eye coordination. ‍

Here are five ways to support pre-writing at home: ‍

1. Build Fine Motor Skills and Hand Strength. Pre-writing skills require strong finger and hand muscles, as well as hand-eye coordination.

• Kneading, rolling, and squeezing play dough and clay strengthens fingers and wrists.‍ ‍

• Have children use tweezers, tongs, or clothespins to move items like cotton balls or beads.

• Use beads, pasta, or cereal to practice hand-eye coordination and fine motor control through threading or lacing. ‍

• Encourage cutting out shapes or pictures with scissors from magazines, which improves hand strength and coordination.

2. Provide Posture and Tool Support. Make sure that children can sit upright with stability, and use the writing implements they are given properly.‍ ‍

• Ensure your child has a stable, comfortable chair where their feet can touch the floor, with their back straight.

• Using smaller, broken crayons forces children to use a proper “tripod” grip with their fingers rather than their whole hand.

• Tape paper to the wall or use an easel/chalkboard. Writing on a vertical surface strengthens shoulders and wrists.

3. Promote Mark-Making and Drawing. Encourage early “writing,” which often starts as scribbling and drawing. 

• Let children draw in sand, shaving cream, salt, or flour trays to practice making lines and shapes during sensory play.

• Allow children to “paint” fences with water or draw with sidewalk chalk, which builds muscle memory for writing letters.

• Provide thick markers, chunky crayons, and colored pencils to encourage different grips and mark-making.

• Use tracing workbooks, dot-to-dot activities, or trace over shapes made with glue to develop control. 

4. Encourage Early Letter Recognition. Adults can support children to recognize the alphabet and start to practice making letters.

• Focus on helping them learn to write the letters in their own name. Start with the first letter of their name and have them find it in their environment.

• Encourage making letters out of playdough, pipe cleaners, or tracing them in sand for a multisensory experience, and then reading them back.

• Use alphabet magnets, games, or point out letters in the environment to make learning letters and other shapes fun.

• Label objects around the house to increase letter recognition.

5. Encourage Daily “Writing” and Literacy. Show children that writing has a purpose and is used in everyday life.

• Create an “Office” by setting up a dedicated space with paper, envelopes, notebooks, and writing utensils.‍ ‍

• Have children help write shopping lists, fill out forms, or write birthday cards. ‍

• Buy a special notebook for your child to draw or “write” in daily.

• Invite your child to dictate stories, which you can write down to help them understand the connection between speech and writing.

At a time when many of us adults type on the computer or use screens for daily tasks, try to show children examples of when physical writing has been helpful in your life, such as journaling, making a to-do list, or leaving a message for a family member. Make sure and write in front of them. When your child watches you write and has access to their own writing and art materials, they will feel encouraged to practice writing, too.

‍If you have any concerns about the development of your child, there are resources to support your family. For children in Lane County, Early Childhood CARES or Connect the Dots may be able to help with early intervention and pediatric therapy. Kid Sense offers a lot of great information in their Writing Readiness (Pre-Writing Skills) webpage that covers pre-writing skills by age, potential challenges, and when to seek support from a local occupational therapist or health care provider.

‍ Resources:

‍ Here are more fun ideas for supporting pre-writing skills:

28 Pre-Writing Activities for Preschoolers

7 Fun Pre-Writing Activities for Preschoolers ‍

Preschool Pre-Writing Skills

5 Creative Activities That Help Develop Pre-Writing Skills