Hands-On Activities for Building Your Child’s Pre-writing Skills

Pre-writing: If you have young children, you are probably familiar with this term. But what exactly is pre-writing, and why is it important? 

 Before a child can properly form letters, they must first work toward mastering a series of lines and shapes and develop hand strength, fine motor skills, and upper-extremity stability. Pre-writing can begin as early as 10 months. From 10 months to about 6 years of age, your child will progress through a series of strokes that will look something like this:

10-14 months: Child begins to scribble

2 years: Child can imitate a vertical line from top to bottom, imitate a horizontal line, then imitate a circle.

3 years: Child can copy a vertical line from right to left, then a horizontal line from left to right, and imitate a cross.

4 years: Child can copy a cross, right and left diagonal lines, a square shape, and an X shape.

5 years: Child will begin to copy a triangle. 

These prewriting shapes are the foundational strokes needed to form the letters in the alphabet. 

Here are a few fun activities your child can do at home to promote prewriting skills development:

Utilize sensory input during your child's playtime! Have them trace prewriting strokes with their pointer finger in shaving cream, sand, dirt, mud, slime, salt, or paint!

Draw a large figure-8 or lazy-8 on paper and attach it to the wall, or use painter's tape (as pictured) and have your kiddo draw with a car, their finger, or a pencil to practice crossing their midline, hand-eye coordination, fine motor coordination, and to practice handwriting!

Draw prewriting strokes on bubble wrap with a Sharpie and have your child pop the bubbles with their pointer finger as they trace over the strokes.

Create pre-writing strokes with Wikki Stix and Play-Doh!

 Use multi-colored chalk on the sidewalk or a chalkboard. Trace each pre-writing stroke over and over with different colors to create rainbow letters.

Draw prewriting strokes on a chalkboard, then have your child trace over the strokes with small wet sponges.

Trace prewriting lines in cinnamon, nutmeg, or other strong-smelling spices. This incorporates multiple sensory systems and helps establish memory. You can also use coffee!

I suggest using verbal cues such as "go" and "stop" as you trace the lines and shapes. This provides auditory input and direction to reinforce proper formation of letters.

However you choose to approach pre-writing, have fun, and don't be afraid to get a little messy! Happy pre-writing!