3 Tips for developing early writing skills in your preschooler

Preschool teachers recognise the importance of early writing by making writing materials available in their classrooms and providing children with many opportunities to write during the day.

Early writing, or emergent writing, firstly involves children producing physical marks and secondly the meaning and understanding behind these marks.

The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework maintains that “Young children begin to explore written communication by scribbling, drawing and producing approximations of writing. They use digital technologies and multimedia resources to communicate, play, and learn. They create and display their own information in a way that suits different audiences and purposes.” Preschoolers further benefit from being encouraged to scribble and pretend to write during playtime.

The foundation of all good handwriting begins with the following skills:

Tip 1 - Proper letter formation (top to bottom)