4 Tools to Engage Early Writing and Artistic Interests

 Do you want your child to have an interest in writing and/or drawing?  It’s easy to foster or instill this interest at an early age with very little effort or monetary investment.  My daughter was writing words on her own at the age of 4.  Now, I don’t know if it was just her personality (she’s always thrived on a lot of structured education).  But, I do know that we’ve always had a wealth of these things available to her at any given moment.  Here are the 4 tools I suggest having to instill early writing and artistic interests:

Note: I have included an affiliate link to give you an idea of one of the items I discuss.  If you click on and purchase from my links, I will be paid a small commission, but costs you nothing more out of pocket.
1) Paper

We have a dedicated scrap paper drawer in the play room.  My daughter is allowed to use as much paper as she likes because these are typically pages that would have otherwise been trashed.  Essentially, you can’t have too much scrap paper.

2) Writing utensils

Pens, pencils, markers, crayons, chalk.  Because my daughter has always been good about not writing on anything other than paper, I tend to leave these items in areas she can easily reach them.  If you have children at home that aren’t as self-disciplined, be sure to have utensils put away in a safe place, but dole them out any time your children want to doodle (assuming you have the time to supervise).

3) Tracing pages

You can find all sorts of tracing pages to print for FREE online.  My favorite place is education.com.  I have picked up inexpensive workbooks at Dollar Tree before, and I’ve been known use some as dry erase pages, which I blogged about in a post on making a homemade dry-erase book.

4) Dry Erase Board and Chalk Board

We have a Crayola Double-Sided Magnetic Easel that has a dry erase board on one side and a chalk board on the other.  When she expresses a desire to work with them, we hand her the proper tools for the board she wants.  When not being used, this folds up to lean against a wall, taking up less room, and making transport indoors and out a breeze.  Don’t forget your sidewalk or driveway as another great option for drawing and writing.

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I feel it’s important to note that you should try to always be enthusiastic about your child’s writing and drawing.  By praising their work, regardless of what you see, they will build the confidence in themselves and want to keep at it.  Your child’s skills will progress as they are ready, and sometimes with very little instruction.

As an added bonus, I purchased a small writing pad from the Dollar Tree last year that I tuck into my purse along with a pen.  I allow my daughter to use this during longs waits at the doctor’s office, waiting for dinner at a restaurant, or during longer car rides.  As with the writing pad, none of your tools have to be expensive.  Trips to the dollar store can often be sufficient to pick up a few, if not all, of these items.