What is the practice?
This practice guide includes activities that help infants learn to use their fingers to “draw,” “paint,” and “scribble.” The activities will help your child “make the connection” between using his fingers and making some kind of mark or scribble.
What does the practice look like?
Beginning writing happens any time your child uses his fingers to scribble or mark. A baby running his fingers through pudding or squeezing whip cream through his fingers are examples of these kinds of activities.
How do you do the practice?
There are many different opportunities for finger drawing. These include finger paints, rice, water, whipped cream, pudding, sand, play dough, and flour or cornmeal. Many homemade recipes for different kinds of “finger paints” that are safe for infants can be found on the Web by searching homemade finger paints.
How do you know the practice worked?
- Is your child using his fingers more often to “draw” or “mark” on things?
- Does your child seem pleased about or intent on trying to mark something?
- Has your child shown interest in trying to do different things with his hands and fingers?
- Start by identifying which types of material will be most interesting to your child. “Messy” infants most likely will enjoy playing with pudding or cool whip. “Neat” infants are more likely to want to play with play dough or water. The more fun and enjoyable the activity is to your child, the more he will benefit from the activity.
- Find an appropriate place to do the activities. “Finger painting” with cool whip, pudding, or other foods can be done on your child’s highchair tray. Try finger painting in the bathtub before your child’s bath. “Painting” the sidewalk, deck, or other outdoor surface with water dripping from your child’s fingers is easy and does not involve clean up. Cut a box down to size for a makeshift sandbox. Fill it with flour or cornmeal instead of sand.
- Encourage your child to use his fingers to “draw” by showing him how to make different types of marks and scribbles. Show your excitement! If you find the activity enjoyable, chances are he will like it too.
- Show your child he did well by smiling and commenting on his efforts and successes. A little bit of acknowledgment will go a long way in keeping your child playing. Try not to overdo it!
Take a look at more infant finger drawing
Play Dough “Drawings”
One-year-old Gloria’s mother has found a fun way to help her daughter use her fingers to make her mark! She fills her daughter’s walker tray with play dough, which Gloria pokes and squeezes to produce interesting effects. Her mother takes two or three different play dough colors and mashes them so they fill up the walker tray. At first, she shows Gloria how to dig her fingers into the play dough, but now Gloria has developed her own way of drawing! She loves to push her fingers into the play dough and look at her “drawings.” After doing this for a few times, she grabs a handful of play dough and squeezes it between her fingers. Gloria delights in seeing the play dough ooze out of her hands.
Making a Joyful Mess!
Sammy’s middle name might as well be Messy. The more this busy 9-month-old can get into things, the happier he is. His mother figured out as soon as he was able to sit in the bathtub that it was an opportunity to introduce Sammy to finger paints. Before filling the tub with water, she smears finger paints on the tub bottom between Sammy’s legs and in front of him. That’s all it takes! He just loves to run his fingers through the paint and make big swooping motions back and forth. Sammy’s mother joins in and adds different sounds to the hand painting motions. More and more, Sammy tries to repeat the sounds his mother makes and says a few of his own.
Getting the Feel of Things
Maggie’s parents both know that their 15-month-old daughter will need to learn to read Braille when she gets older. Mom and dad both play different kinds of drawing games to help Maggie “get the feel” of different textures and shapes. While she’s seated in her highchair, Maggie’s father encourages her to reach into different containers—one filled with rice, one filled with cornmeal, and one filled with water. Her dad describes what Maggie is doing and waits for her to “tell him” what she is doing. Maggie and her mother play a game of drawing in pudding on her highchair tray. It is clear that Maggie has figured out that different kinds of hand movements produce different kinds of effects. She often squeals and vocalizes in response to what she has done.
