Many children are told that scribbling is a worthless activity. Actually, scribbling is a very important part of learning to write. It allows a child to experiment with writing implements and learn to control them.
If you look at a child's scribbling, you will see curves and straight lines. These are the types of lines we use in writing. This practice will help the child master the shapes of letters more easily later without having to do the long, boring writing drills.
As a child matures, the scribbling will become pictures. The child's first "pictures" are usually just shapes. We may not be able to recognize the pictures and the child may not be able to tell us much about them either. That's okay. Then we will see a suggestion of a sun or a person. (A person will probably resemble a sun with eyes.) The child is starting to use pictures as symbols of what he sees. This is the beginning of understanding that a person's thoughts or observations can be put into symbols on paper. Drawing also helps a child to observe his world more carefully.
As the child grows and observes other people's writing, he copies the idea by creating what other people's writing looks like to him. This may be one or more shapes or squiggly lines. The child is beginning to show interest in being part of our reading/writing world.
The more practice a child has with these beginning experiences, the easier the process of learning to write will be. Encourage your child to scribble as soon as he/she can hold a marker or crayon. Tape a piece of paper to a table or the high chair tray. Provide experiences with many types of writing instruments, such as pens, pencils, markers, crayons, and chalk. Provide different writing surfaces, too. Use newspaper, paper bags, paper of different types and thicknesses, the insides of cereal boxes, a chalkboard, even the sidewalk or driveway for chalk. Your child will also enjoy experimenting with finger paint or a tray containing a thin layer of salt or sand.
Don't require that your child identify the "pictures" he creates. Instead, you can compliment the shapes, colors, or even the size of his creations and encourage him to do more. You can encourage his language skills by asking him tell you about his creations.
(c) Cindy Patterson 2005
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