Early humans began writing with pictures of their lives on the walls of caves. We are visual. The human form seems to be stored in our minds from the memories of our ancestors. Universally, all humans begin to draw a person around 3 years old as a circle. Dots are for eyes, a thin line for the mouth and arms and legs are emanating from that circle which represents himself. As the child matures, he or she is more aware of noses, ears, eyebrows and hair. At 5 or 6 years old, your child will realize that there is a body beneath him and drawings will reflect a primitive body. From early scribbles, your child will learn to form letters and then make words.

Activity One- Age 3-5

If you have no large paper on hand, spread out a sheet of newspaper from the business section that has no pictures, only texture on the floor.

Use fat crayons, not the thin ones that come with a myriad of colors. The small muscles of your child's hands need to grasp something large. Your child may hold the crayon surrounding it with his or her whole hand, with the tip of the crayon at the bottom. That is fine. The main thing is to let your child see that when he or she uses the crayon, she or he is responsible for what happens on the paper. Show your child how to scribble on another paper and have him or her do the same, using large movements of the arm. Have your child choose the color of the crayon and let the shapes and lines fill the paper, if possible. Praise your child, even if there is only a little mark on the paper. Eventually, your child will make bolder marks.

Activity Two

Get a large 18 x 24 pad of newsprint. Take one paper for yourself and one for your child. Tape them on a wall or vertical surface. Say, "Now look at me". Start at the top left corner of the paper, leaving a border above.

Demonstrate a line. Make the line go from left to right. Do not lift your hand from the paper and start a new line and continue. Soon you will have a pattern of lines, like the lines on a page. "Now you do it." Your child's eyes will get used to moving from left to right. This will help later with reading.

Activity Three

Repeat placement of two papers on the wall. Now show your child to make a line from top to bottom. Do it again and again and it will be the correct way to form a letter that has a stick in its' capital form. Your papers will look like the trunks of trees all in a row.

Next, beneath the vertical lines you will draw rows of horizontal lines, but lift your hand at the end of the line and start a new line beneath, moving from left to right. It will look like many trees over water. Use your imagination.

Keep your sessions down to thirty minutes. Too much will be tiring and boring.

Be patient. Some children will have trouble doing what you do. Praise whatever you see on the paper. It is your child's first attempt at writing. Later, maybe in a year, it will be letter formation and writing his or her name.

Have fun watching your child explore the world of imagination and creative interpretation. Laugh with your child and enjoy this time well spent together. Remember, you are your child's first teacher. Make it fun!

Mary D. Bogin is a 30 year veteran teacher. Blending art, reading, and writing have been her methods of teaching literacy. She writes, paints, hikes and kayaks in North East Pennsylvania with her husband, and enjoys visiting with their seven children and four+ grandchildren. Visit http://www.mdbogin.wordpress.com for more articles about teaching and life.