Scribbling and squeezing
At 2 and 3 years old, children become interested in drawing and writing. They may not produce recognizable letters and pictures, but this is, nonetheless, an important step on the road to learning how to write and draw. The coordination required to move a pencil or crayon accurately is actually quite complicated. Posture, wrist and arm movements and finger grasp all have to be coordinated. Activities that encourage this coordination are very useful and can be fun and creative! Forming objects with play dough, scribbling, drawing with an assortment of crayons and markers, finger painting and painting at an easel all provide practice in coordinating the muscles necessary for later writing and drawing skills.