Comment: Even toddlers, who can hardly hold a crayon or pencil, are eager to "write". Studies of very young children show that their carefully formed scrawls have meaning to them, and that this "writing" actually helps them develop language skills. Research suggests that the best way to help children at this stage of their development as writers is to respond to the ideas they are trying to express. 

Very young children take the first steps toward writing by drawing and scribbling or, if they cannot use a pencil, they may use plastic or metal letters on a felt or magnetic board. For this reason, it is best to focus on the intended meaning of what very young children write, rather than on the appearance of the writing. Children become more effective writers when parents and teachers encourage them to choose topics to write about, then leave them alone to exercise their own creativity. 
 

What Parents Can Do At Home 

• Model writing. Parents and older siblings serve as models for children, showing them what writers do. When you have writing tasks to do, try to get in the habit of doing them when your child is around.
  
  
• Include your child when you write out the weekly grocery list or jot down a reminder to yourself or another family member. Have the child help with writing party invitations, thank-you notes, and cards or letters to relatives and friends.
  
  
• Provide a variety of materials, such as markers, crayons, pencils with erasers, colered pencils, paints, and chalk - as many choices as you can. Variety keeps children experimenting with different writing tools and combinations of paper
            Not all experiences need to be on paper, however. Chunky pieces of chalk for drawing on the sidewalk are great. Later, house-painting brushes dipped in a bucket of water will easily get the chalk off the sidewalk. Activities like these help your child learn to write.
  
  
• Be accepting and enthusiastic of all attempts at writing. Your encouragement is a critical component.