When you look at a child's first scribbles on a paper, they may just look like that. To your child though, it is much more meaningful. Those first scribbles are your child's first attempt at writing or communicating their thoughts in a way that is meaningful to them.

As your child begins to scribble, they are learning a powerful tool in language development.

This scribbling is called the pre writing stage. You will want to provide many different kinds of writing tools such as markers, crayons, colored pencils, and brightly colored paper to encourage writing. Talk with your toddler about what they are "writing."

As your toddler moves into the pre school years, you might start seeing strings of letters that may or may not spell anything. This stage of writing is called pre emergent.

Your preschooler will start to recognize that letters are symbols of our language. They will begin to recognize environmental print all around them, and make the connection that letters are symbols that make up words. They will show more interest in writing their name and learning the alphabet. Here are a few ideas to help foster writing in your home.

Start with a "Star Writing" wall. Display pictures, scribbles, etc... on a special bulletin board near your designated craft or writing table. Your child will take pride in seeing their accomplishments displayed.

Use a special box or bucket to hold the writing tools. Decorate or label the box, and provide different kinds of paper to write on. Example, envelopes, recycled greeting cards, shopping list forms, restaurant menus, yellow pages, fun stationary, stickers, and blank paper books stapled together. Remember, writing is developmental just like language.

Encourage your child to write what is meaningful to them. Correct spelling and letter formation should not be the emphasis during the pre school years. This will come later in kindergarten and first grade.

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