The endless possibilities of a blank paper: Building routines around writing

Building writing habits into your child’s routine from a young age helps them foster a love for writing and creating. Whether your child is beginning to learn how to hold a crayon for the first time or starting to recognize and copy letters, meaningful writing time will help expand your child’s skills in many developmental areas.

Here are some tips to make the most out of a blank piece of paper.

Allow your child to use a variety of writing tools such as pencils, markers, crayons, paintbrushes-- and their fingers too! Different writing utensils help your student develop their fine and gross motor strength, and their confidence. Even in adulthood, if you pick up a crayon and try to write out a note, you notice that muscles in your hand work differently. When a child holds a crayon, they are working on the strength of the inner muscles of the hand. In fact, using broken crayons requires more work and is a greater strengthening task. To up the challenge, encourage your child to color more resistive surfaces such as construction paper or cardboard.

Letters aren’t the only way that you can write!  Writing is all about expressing yourself; sometimes that takes the form of complex sentences, but pictures can do wonders in expression as well! Different writing mediums and colors help inspire stories and pictures.  Being creative allows a child to build their self-confidence so they can start to feel empowered as an artist and writer. If you've ever received a coloring masterpiece from a child, then you know the pure delight and pride they have when giving a creation they created from scratch!

Encourage your child to explore! Coloring with crayons or paint can help children understand color blending and a spectrum of light. These differences in sensory input will help your child learn not only their letters, but build skills in how to perceive subtle differences in the world around them.
 
For a great book to read with your child about writing, try Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson.