Making Marks
Prep: 10 Minutes | Activity Time: 5–7 Minutes
Your child at this stage of beginning writing may be starting to favor the use of one hand, although you won’t be able to know true right- or left-handedness until later. When offered markers or crayons, your toddler can begin to scribble or make marks. These marks and scribbles will eventually turn into letters.
- Large washable markers
- Large crayons
- Tape
- Newspaper
- Large sheet of paper (e.g., the back of a piece of wrapping paper)
Step 1: Create a writing space for your toddler. Writing can get messy, so first create a safe, enjoyable space for writing. This might be as simple as taping down a layer of newspaper to protect the surface from the writing tool.
Step 2: Tape a piece of plain paper on the newspaper and give your child a safe, non-toxic writing tool such as a large crayon, large washable marker or a large piece of chalk.
Step 3: Show your toddler how you can move the writing tool back and forth to make a mark on the paper. Let your child choose a writing tool and play with making marks. Closely supervise your toddler during these early explorations with writing tools.