I Make Many Marks!

Materials You Need: Crayon, pencil, or markers (several if possible); large pieces of paper (can even be newspaper or the back of something already written on). 

What You Can Do Together: At this age, most children cannot draw “realistic” pictures, but they love to make marks on paper — scribbling.  A few months ago, your child may have begun to do this; now you can encourage scribbling even more. Give your child lots of time to do this by just putting a big piece of paper on a flat surface, with some materials to draw or write with. Your child may pick up a crayon and start making marks. If your child has been doing this before, you’ll probably see your child quickly do this.

Let your child have time to use the materials any way she or he wishes.  You can say things like “Oh, look how you have made so many marks with that pencil.  I see a big circle here, and a long, long line there!” If possible, you might tape up a few of your child’s “scribble drawings” where you and the family can admire them later.

What Your Child is Learning: These experiences are beginning steps toward drawing and writing. Your child is gaining more control of the small muscles in her fingers and hands.  Your child is also beginning to make connections between what her brain is thinking (make a long, long mark) and what her fingers are doing.  Also, you are stimulating her language development when you use words to describe what your child is doing.