Has your child begun to notice printed words around you, taken an interest in you when you write, or started asking for her own pen and paper? As your child starts to understand that illustrations and print carry meaning, you will find her exploring creative communication and early writing as a form of Expressive Language at this time. That is, she may want to “explore drawing, painting, and writing as a way of communicating.”¹

As a result, she will become more and more interested in making meaningful marks on paper and copying what she sees in her books, on signs, and in the world around her. By exposing her to a variety of different art materials and encouraging her to explore her creative side, she will learn to express herself well through art and writing. Although she may start off creating imitative art and writing, you will soon find her able to show her growing imagination and creatively express her own feelings.² 

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Encourage your toddler to experiment with chunky crayons, paintbrushes, colored pencils, and child-safe paints.³ At 18 months, you may still have to demonstrate and help her hold and use these materials because she is working on strengthening her fine motor muscles and developing control over her little hands and fingers. But as she approaches two years old, she should be able to use these writing tools and art materials with more and more skill.

Make time for creating art every day! Offer your child a variety of different art activities to keep things fresh and interesting as well as build all of her muscle sets. In addition to crayons and markers, consider using craft dough, finger paints, sponges, stamps, and finger print art to develop her small muscles and prepare her for writing.

At this age, you may see your child scribble in a way that imitates writing. For example, she may create rows of chicken scratch in relatively straight lines. While she probably won’t have the fine motor skills and language abilities to start writing letters until she is 2-3 years old, it is never too early to encourage her practice of Early Writing. To support her interest in writing, set up a writing station for her stocked with crayons, paper, chalk, coloring books, stickers, and other creative writing materials she can safely use on her own. Explain to her that she must only color on the paper and let her know that she is free to create and draw as much as her heart desires. The more time she spends exploring her art and writing skills, the more quickly these skills will develop.

Play Tips:

Do you want to know how you can support your child’s development of these Expressive Language and Early Writing skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

1. Provide a variety of art and writing materials to explore.⁴ Offering your child different drawing, painting, and writing materials to experiment with will help develop her fine motor skills as well as expose her to the different textures, colors, and materials available for making art.
2. Model how to draw and write¹ and show her that words contain meaning. Write the words your toddler uses to describe her drawings. Labeling her environment will help her begin to recognize that written language carries meaning. Put labels on her play totes indicating what is inside, label her drawers as to what goes inside, and put her name up in her room. Point out labels to her, and allow her to see how they are read and used.
3. Celebrate your child’s art and writing work.² Acknowledge her efforts and show enthusiasm by proudly displaying her creative work where family and friends can see it.

(SPECIAL OFFER: Sign up for Playful Bee’s Bee Well developmental learning program to give your baby the best start in life. The first 10,000 children enroll for FREE! Sign up today.)

Developmental Milestones:

Has your baby achieved the following Expressive Language and Early Writing developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) she has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!

• Begins to use writing tools and art materials appropriately.

Sources:

¹Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age.

²Tomlin, Carolyn R. Creative Art Activities Promote Development. Early Childhood News. Retrieved January 6, 2014, from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=544.

³Public Broadcasting Service. Child Development Tracker: 1 to 2 – Creative Arts. PBS Parents. Retrieved January 6, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/one/creativearts.html.

⁴Florida Partnership for School Readiness (2004). Florida Birth to Three Learning and Developmental Standards.

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Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee

Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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