learn to write for 3 year olds

  • February 24, 2017

Learning to Write and Draw

A child coloring a red and blue circle with crayon

Key Takeaways

  • How Your Child’s Writing and Art Changes Over Time

Stage 1: Random Scribbling (15 months to 2½ years)

Stage 2: controlled scribbling (2 years to 3 years).

  • Stage 3: Lines and Patterns (2½ years to 3½ years) 

Stage 4: Pictures of Objects or People (3 years to 5 years)

  • Stage 5: Letter and Word Practice (3 to 5 years) 
  • What Can You Do to Encourage Art and Writing Skills

How A Child’s Writing and Art Changes Over Time

Creativity is a bridge to learning. When a child is creative and curious, she can come up with answers to the problems she encounters—like how to keep the block tower from falling. Creativity helps a child become a thoughtful, inquisitive, and confident learner later on, when she starts school.

One of the most important ways that a toddler is tuning into her creativity is by experimenting with art materials. As she grabs that chunky crayon and gets to work, you will see her art and writing change and become more controlled and complex as she grows.

For very young children, art and early writing skills are one and the same. At first, it’s all about just figuring out what these cool things called crayons can do. Then the child discovers the link between her hand holding the crayon and the line she made on the page: Presto! She experiences the power of cause-and-effect. Imagine how exciting this must be for her! She can now make a real “mark” on the world. This leap in thinking skills is helped along by her new ability to hold things in her hands and fingers. The growing control a child has over the muscles in her hands lets her move a marker or paintbrush with purpose and with a goal in mind.

For very young children, there are four stages of drawing and writing that you may see as a child grows from 15 months old to 3 years old. Note that the timetables listed below are approximate; the child may master these skills faster or slower and still be developing just fine. Growth doesn’t happen at the same speed for every child, but by offering repeated fun experiences with a variety of art and writing materials, you will see forward progress over time.

toddler sitting at table with art supplies

This is the period when young children are just figuring out that their movements result in the lines and scribbles they see on the page. These scribbles are usually the result of large movements from the shoulder, with the crayon or marker held in the child’s fist. There is joy in creating art at all ages, but at this stage especially, many children relish the feedback they are getting from their senses: the way the crayon feels, the smell of the paint, the squishy-ness of the clay.

For other children, this sensory information may be too much and they may not enjoy some art activities at this stage (like finger-painting). As they grow to tolerate more sensory input, you can incrementally re-introduce art activities into their routine.

Toddler painting a picture with paint brush

As children develop better control over the muscles in their hands and fingers, their scribbles begin to change and become more controlled. Toddlers may make repeated marks on the page—open circles, diagonal, curved, horizontal, or vertical lines. Over time, children make the transition to holding the crayon or marker between their thumb and pointer finger.

Stage 3: Lines and Patterns (2½ years to 3½ years)

Children now understand that writing is made up of lines, curves, and repeated patterns. They try to imitate this in their own writing. So while they may not write actual letters, you may see components of letters in their drawing. These might include lines, dots, and curves. This is an exciting time as a toddler realizes that his drawing conveys meaning! For example, he may write something down and then tell you what word it says. This is an important step toward reading and writing.

Many adults think of “pictures” as a picture of something. This ability to hold an image in your mind and then represent it on the page is a thinking skill that takes some time to develop. At first, children name their unplanned creations. This means that they finish the picture and then label their masterpiece with the names of people, animals, or objects they are familiar with. This changes over time.

Soon you will see the child clearly planning prior to drawing what he will create. You will also see more detail in the pictures, more control in the way the child handles the crayon or marker, and the use of more colors. What else to be on the lookout for? Children’s first pictures often build off circles. So, you may see a sun—an irregular circle, with lots of stick “rays” shooting out—or a person (usually a circle with roughly recognizable human features).

Once a child has begun to purposefully draw images, she has mastered symbolic thinking. This important milestone in thinking skills means that a child understands that lines on paper can be a symbol of something else, like a house, a cat, or a person. At this stage, the child also begins to understand the difference between pictures and writing. So you may see him draw a picture and then scribble some “words” underneath to describe what he has drawn or to tell a story. When a child is able to share his story with you, he will be motivated to “author” more and more work as he grows.

Stage 5: Letter and Word Practice (3 to 5 years)

Children have had experience with letters and print for several years now and are beginning to use letters in their own writing. Usually children start by experimenting with the letters in their own names, as these are most familiar to them. They also make “pretend letters” by copying familiar letter shapes, and will often assume that their created letter must be real because it looks like other letters they have seen (Robertson, 2007).

During this time, children also begin to understand that some words are made of symbols that are shorter and some words are made of symbols that are longer. As a result, their scribbles change. Rather than one long string of letters or letter-like shapes, a child’s writing now has short and long patterns that look like words or sentences. While these letters and words are probably not technically correct, it does not matter. This exciting milestone means that the child is beginning to understand that text and print have meaning.

How to Encourage Art and Writing Skills

Toddler sitting on the floor dipping paintbrush in paint and making a picture

No need for instructions.

Let children experiment and explore. Creativity means having the power to express yourself in your own way (Lagoni et al., 1989). This independence is just what a growing toddler is looking for to feel confident, competent, and clever. By sitting nearby, observing, and taking pleasure in your child’s creation, you are providing all the guidance he needs.

Notice the process, not just the product.

As parents, we often tend to compliment children on their successes:  What’s that a picture of? A house? That’s great!  And sometimes we get hung up on the fact that trees should be green, not purple. Sometimes we quiz:  What’s the name of that color? But children learn more when we don’t focus so much on what they are drawing, but on what they are thinking about their drawing. Take a few moments to observe a child’s work: Look at the lines you are making—there are so many of them!  Or,  That picture is really interesting. Those colors make me feel happy.  Or,  I see you are working really hard on your drawing.  Or just:  Tell me about your picture. Then see if the child is interested in sharing more.

Experiment with a variety of art materials as your child nears 3.

Let children paint with cotton balls, q-tips, sponges, string—you name it. Give a child crayons and rub over a textured surface (like a coin or a screen). Draw with chalk outside on a sidewalk; see how water changes the color of the chalk. Add powdered paint or glitter to a child’s sand play. Or add a new dimension to water play by adding drops of washable food coloring to the water. What happens when you mix two different colors of water together?

Use art to help a child express strong feelings.

Is the child having a tantrum? Offer some play-dough or set out the markers and paper and suggest she make a very, very angry picture. Creative activities can sometimes help children express and make sense of feelings that are too intense for them to share in words.

Encourage a child’s attempts to write.

If the child scribbles something and then tells you what he “wrote,” take it seriously. Let him take his “shopping list” to the supermarket or mail his (scribbled) letter to Grandma. This is how children learn that words are powerful and have meaning.

Display your child’s art and writing.

This is how a child knows her work is valued and important.

Creative activities help children to learn how to solve problems, come up with their own answers, discover the cause-and-effect of their actions, and feel confident about the choices they make. Art experiences help children develop independence within limits, and gives them the opportunity to represent their ideas on paper or in other formats. Most important, creative expression lets children tap into the magic of their own imaginations—which is what being a child is all about.

Resources and References

Farrell-Kirk, R. (2007 February).  Tips on understanding and encouraging your child’s artistic development.  Downloaded on June 10, 2008.

Gable, S. (2000).  Creativity in young children.  University of Missouri Extension. Downloaded on June 10, 2008.

Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. (n.d.).  My child is an artist! The stages of artistic development.  Downloaded on June 10, 2008.

Lagoni, L. S., Martin, D. H., Maslin-Cole, C., Cook, A., MacIsaac, K., Parrill, G., Bigner, J., Coker, E., & Sheie, S. (1989). Good times being creative. In  Good times with child care  (pp. 239–253). Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. Downloaded on June 10, 2008.

Levinger, L, & Mott, A. (n.d.).  Developmental phases in art.  Downloaded on June 10, 2008.

Robertson, R. (2007, July/August). The meaning of marks: Understanding and nurturing young children’s writing development.  Child Care Exchange, 176 , 40–44.

Browse our full suite of resources on early childhood development.

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Your 3 1/2-year-old: Writing skills

girl writing

Your 3-year-old now

Your life now.

It's exciting when your child's scribbles begin to look more like real letters. Some threes even start writing their name, or a few letters of it. But writing is one of those developmental milestones that varies greatly from child to child. Don't stress out if your child isn't even interested in writing.

A lot depends on fine motor development. Your child may have a clear dominant hand by now (or it may not be clear for another year or so). But it's still hard to control a pencil to make letters with diagonal lines (M, N, K). Other letters may not look quite right either. The lines might not connect at the right place, or letters like E may have too many horizontal lines. What kids should be able to do at this age is copy a circle and make an "x."

Regardless of where your child is on the spectrum, encourage his writing by keeping paper, fat pencils, fat crayons, and chalk within easy reach. Another way to pique interest: Pour sand, salt, or sugar onto a tray and show him how to trace letters with a finger.

Some clever bedtime resisters prolong the routine by asking you to kiss not only them, but an ever-increasing cast of stuffed animals. If your child tries luring you into a 20-minute kissing party, put your foot down. What seems fun at first will get tiresome fast. Say, "You have too many animals for me to kiss. Let's pick three, and then I'll blow a big kiss to all the rest when I walk out the door."

BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies .

AAP. 2015a. Cognitive development in preschool children. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/preschool/Pages/Cognitive-Development-In-Preschool-Children.aspx Opens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

AAP. 2015b. Hand and finger skills of your preschooler. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/preschool/Pages/Hand-and-Finger-Skills-of-Your-Preschooler.aspx Opens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

La Leche League International. 2008. Maintaining a bedtime routine that doesn’t take all night. http://www.llli.org/nb/nbmarapr07p84.html Opens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

Mayo Clinic. 2009. Child sleep: Put preschool bedtime problems to rest. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/child-sleep/CC00020 Opens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

Medline Plus (ADAM). 2016. Preschooler development. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002013.htm Opens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

NAEYC. Undated. Help your child build fine motor skills. National Association for the Education of Young Children. https://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/child-development/help-your-child-build-fine-motor-skills Opens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

Zero to Three. 2015. Learning to write and draw. https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/305-learning-to-write-and-draw Opens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

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5 Pre-Writing Activities For Your 3-Year-Old

5 Pre-Writing Activities For Your 3-Year-Old

While your 3-year-old probably isn’t ready to write a full sentence (or even a single word), there are several activities you can do to help her get ready for writing.

The following activities are simple, require very few supplies – and are a great way to spend quality time with your child. As an added bonus, they’ll help prepare your child’s hands and eyes for writing.

Name Tracing

Materials You Will Need: paper, highlighter, marker or pencil

What To Do This fun activity will provide an opportunity for your child to learn how to write his/her name. Write your child’s name on paper with a marker.

Remember to write the first letter using a capital letter then the rest in lower case.

Let your child trace over the name with a highlighter. By repeating this activity, your child will begin to understand how to write his/her own name!

It will take time for your child to write his/her name legibly.

Cutting Practice

Materials You Will Need: pair of child sized scissors, pictures from magazines

What To Do Have your child work on fine motor and pre-writing skills by inviting your child to cut out pictures from old magazines. Your child may choose to cut out toys, food, or just pictures of interest.

Your child may also cut out letters or numbers that he/she recognizes. This activity is easier than trying to cut on lines, but still requires hand strength and more advanced fine motor skills.

Play Doh Letters

Materials You Will Need: Play Doh

What To Do Have your child roll medium sized balls of Play Doh into 6 inch ropes. Ask your child to choose a letter to make, then see if your child can use the rope of Play Doh to do so.

If this is challenging for your child, write the letter on paper first, then let your child form the Play Doh on top to match.

Materials You Will Need: piece of paper, markers

What To Do Write your child’s name on paper using dots, (5 or 6 per letter), instead of lines. Have your child start with the first dot and connect the dots.

Hopefully your child will recognize his/her name! Try this with the names of other family members if your child enjoys this activity.

Tally Marks

Materials You Will Need: small number of objects, paper and pencil

What To Do Today’s activity will introduce tally marks to your child as a new way to represent quantities. This is especially good for a child who is challenged by writing numerals. Tally marks to show the numeral 4: ////

Place 4 blocks or objects in front of your child. Show your child how to make a tally mark for each block. It’s not important that you use a slash for the 5th object at this point, if you are counting that high.

Want more? Visit Productive Parenting to see more than 60 pre-writing activities that you can do with your kids – from birth to age 5. While you’re there, become a member (for free) and have activities emailed to you based on the developmental age of your child. Activities build on one another from infancy to age five to provide a solid foundation for learning and, at the same time, promote lasting parent-child relationships.

You can also find Anna at My Life and Kids .

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About the author: Anna Luther

Anna Luther is the mom of three little kids, and the driver of a minivan. She's the Director of Social Media for Productive Parenting - a website that is full of simple activities you can do with your kids! In her spare time, she blogs at My Life and Kids, where she shares her stories, makes you laugh and helps you feel better about your crazy, messy, fabulous life.

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This is the picture of my handsome grandson and I am so glad for this article since he does start Kindergarden this fall, thanks

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Just because your child might be able to trace letters at 3 years old does not mean this is what you should be doing with a three year old. As a kindergarten teacher, one of the most difficult problems I have teaching handwriting is REteaching a child who has practiced making letters wrong for years because their parents were in a hurry to start their education. I suggest the above activities using lines and shapes instead of letters. Making letters requires a precision that is not developmentally there for most 3 year olds. I know, I know, you are saying, “but my child can, and they like doing it, I don’t see any reason not to.” If they can do it at three then there is no reason to practice, they’ll do it easily at five. There are other things three year olds should do. What should three year old do: climb, build, pretend, run, jump, talk, talk, talk! Keep the ‘sitting-still and focusing hard’ activities to a minimum. They will have 13+ years ahead of them to do that.

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hi. my son is 3 yrs 3 months and at school they were making him draw and write, and i, as a primary school teacher, i was worried coz i believe that he should be having fun. Now am a bit assured that my belief in learning thru play and fun is the gud. thanks Sooneeta

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That’s so silly that you think you have to reteach a kid how to write a letter the “correct” way. Do you have strict ideas on if letters should have tails or not? Learn to tailor your teaching to each kids separate knowledge, that’s what a good teacher does. I think your anger over a parent doing something other than run around and play with toys is silly. My nephew is very bright and loves to hear stories. He can “read” my dad’s name tag he wears on his shirt because we’ve talked about it, that it seems like he can take the next step to learning letters just fine. Besides, as soon as you learn how to write as a human being in general we each start to make our handwriting our own. My handwriting doesn’t match anyones I know so, unless it’s upside down or backwards, I don’t see how a parent would be teaching them how to do it wrong. Learning new tasks also gives them different things to occupy time especially if they’re not already in preschool. Maybe playing with trucks and dinosaurs all day isn’t enough to keep him satisfied, and momma doesn’t always have the steam to play make believe. I can’t sit back and randomly read such a statement that makes me cringe…to me it’s like saying Why have Pre-AP classes, if they’re smart enough to do it now, they should just wait and do it in college. See how dumb that is? It’s important to not treat kids like they’re all basic…some babies want to match shapes with the corresponding hole and some want to throw those shapes.

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Thank you SO much! I’m a mom of a 3 year old and a one year old and a university teacher with PhD in education and I feel exactly the same. Thank you for making me feel not alone in this!

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AMEN! My grandson just came home with papers of letter tracing and number tracing! These kids are 3. There is plenty of time to teach writing when it will be easier to do it correctly! Especially since cursive is not really be taught much anymore. Some of my kids wrote better in cursive than print because they had already learned to make the letter incorrectly.

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Thank you for stating this. The other piece is that there are other pre-reading skills needed prior to the abstract activity listed here for pre-reading.

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this is the best comment so far!!

[…] Pre-Writing Activities For Your 3-Year-Old […]

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Hi! My son is 2years 9month, he can only write 1, he did not like to write at all and he won’t allow us to hold his hand but he love to colour, anytime we want to do his assignment he will hold his pencil and he will be looking at another direction and start asking for something he did not need at that moment inorder to distract me. I will like to know if there is a way to make my son to love to write and identify. Thank you.

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my child turned 3 in November. her daycare insists she should be able to properly hold a pencil and should have chosen her right or left hand by now. since she hasnt we have been asked to make her use her right hand only and only color if she hold pencil/crayon properly. I would think that her age would allow a little more freedom to develop. she has only been in daycare for about 5 months so she could be behind the others, however, I am not sure I want to “force” her to do anythign yet. I am afraid it will make her dislike writing and coloring all together. please advise

Headshot of employee Kate Setter

Hi Penny – I just wanted to let you know that I’m looking into this and will get back to you with thoughts from one of our therapists.

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I’ve been teaching in a special education setting for children ages 3 to 8 for seven years. That said, I’ve had the same experience as you when my child was 3. What I’ve run into is at some preschools the employees are not always certified teachers and sometimes are not well versed on child development. I wouldn’t be worried about hand dominance because some children do not choose a dominant hand until 5 or 6 years of age. I definitely would not force your child to use a specific hand. It will come with time or she could just be ambidextrous. If you are worried about her grasp, which once again I wouldn’t be getting on to her about it, start doing some fun play based fine motor activities. There are tons out there that can be made with things you would usually throw away. One of my favorite things to use in my class is clothes pins. It strengthens those little fingers she will be using for a tripod grasp and you can build activities that can reinforce numbers, colors, shapes and anything else you would like! They can even be used as a tool to pick up little objects. My students love them. I hope this helps you and gives you some fun ideas to do with your daughter.

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My daughter’s kindergarten class expected all children to be able to hold a pencil correctly, know and write ALL letters and numbers until 25 without looking at a paper. That being said I think it is appropriate to start at 3 and work from there.

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I agree with Tara, over here they expect children to at least know how to write their name and hold pencil correctly by the time they go in kindergarten, if not they are held back or even put in special programs. Both my one and three year old boys are in a preschool and my 3 year old is already learning how to write his name. Even though you say we should wait until 5, its the child that suffers when he starts kindergarten and doesn’t know how to write or hold a pencil correctly, and that i DO NOT want for my child. I personally like early teaching, but at the end every one has their own opinion and I respect that.

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Our son has ADHD he is on meds just started kindergarden but cannot write his name .we are working with him he went to p-k last year teacher said he would need work with but this summer he would not be still .he is a little better very smart know his lunch code and numbers ,letters my cell number to .does not color good teacher not so happy with him way we took it so what would be the answer ?

How is you son doing? I think some kids just need an outlet to move! They’re so young, when they don’t want to do something they just wont. You have to find the motivation and sometimes it’s within the realm of being jealous of other kids abilities…when they’re disappointed with themselves they’ll show you and when they don’t give a hoot, they’ll show you that too. I loved being able to write my name in Pre-K, but I’m an artist and have loved to doodle since very young. Maybe your guy needs sports or something else to be motivated with.

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James: My son has ADHD and is now 13. When he was in kindergarten he hated to color and write. If he had to color for class he would take one crayon scribble the whole page that one color and call it done. It wasn’t until 3rd grade that he started to like to color just a little. Writing was just as bad. Once he learned that certain words could be abbreviated he jumped on it and will try to abbreviate everything-he still does. Writing paragraphs now in school is still a struggle. I saw a study once that suggested that children with ADHD will sometimes have issues with writing and coloring and that as parents and educators accommodations should be put in place to help with that. If you don’t have an IEP with the school I would get one, it will help tremendously throughout your child’s education experience. My son has an IEP and it has truly helped tremendously because he hates to write he falls behind other students in classwork and homework the IEP helps to give him more time for his work and for taking tests. Good luck, I know the struggle.

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This is insane. I learned my alphabet in kindergarten and to write in 1st grade. What are the teachers doing if we are teaching them this stuff before they even start kindergarten? My daughter is going to be 3 after Christmas and cannot imagine forcing her to write when she hasn’t even gotten all her letters memorised.

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my daughter is 3 and half she was born here, but she went to Africa at the age of 1 she just came back she’s 3 she started nursery. we speak 3 different languages with her now she has difficulty speak or understand English. The teacher is giving us hard time, She wants her to do as the other kids. Any advice

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I am a mother of 3 children, ages 13,10&5. I also have a bachelors degree in elementary education, specific learning disabilities, & a masters degree in education. I currently teach students grades K-3 that have Autism Spectrum Disorder. I feel from my 19 years teaching experience & parenting experience, that children should not be forced to do any learning they are not ready for. We need to quite trying to keep up with the “jones’s” as it deals with our kids being the best at everything. I wish preschools would have the main focus of learning is to play, socialize and grow in ways that will energize the kids to enjoy learning. Developmentally all kids are growing at different paces. They will eventually plateau at age 7-8. This is when their little brains have developed enough to start taking in and holding onto all the higher level learning. From an article I read a few years ago on the countries in the world that had the lowest illiteracy rate, I would love to go toAustralia & spend time learning their techniques. They do not introduce formal academic learning until age 7. Just something to think about. Enjoy your kids while they are kids????

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I hate what kindergarteners are forced to know this day in age. 50 sight words phone numbers birthday addresses, how to “decompose” numbers!!! I’m sorry but that word just bothers me for my kindergartener to even say!! We are on our second round of kindergarten because we didn’t meet benchmarks to the school expectations I believe early learning is very much needed or the kids suffer from it not the parents. They watch their friends move on and they feel bad they have to stay in same grade. If u don’t know almost all the stuff before u start kindergarten you are already behind and it’s so sad. I remember we played in kindergarten when I was a kid just learned our abc’s played house sang songs. There is to much pressure now days and I don’t agree with it.

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I agree with Kimberly; in today’s society, the children must excel early. Its extremely hard in this world we live in. Try making the learning experience as fun as possible.Never feel the work is too hard or that its to hard on the child at that age. He/She are in their repetitive stage… so everything they do daily is remembered. Today’s society expect more in every aspect now more than ever.

These days? What? I was doing that when I was in kindergarten. It’s very important! Using songs we learned how to spell words and were even asked to sing our addresses, and it has been very helpful. I remember those songs to this day! It wasn’t a chore, it was fun!!! Don’t feel bad with your kids though, encourage them to think that they’ll be smarter than the new kids because they get to go over everything again. These are the generations that are going to get to go to college, instead of it being a privilege.

Yes, Kindergarten IS the correct time to learn these things! We are talking about 3 year olds!

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My kid is pre term baby.now she is 3 yrs and 11 months. She is very adament to hold the pencil for writing. She is asking me to hold the pencil for writing. If we beat also she is stubborn and not writing a letter. She likes only the number 1 2 3 for writing other than that she wont move for 4 5etc or abc. She will be writing 2 and starting saying i have written 1 she is repeating the same. How to give practice for alphabets and other numbers

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hi sathya priya .please dont worry abt ur child writing letters or numbers… may be she is not yet interested to read or write. Now in preschools they are forcing to write. But their age is only to play well as they can. Make them to write but please dont tense for that. Make them engage in other outdoor or indoor games. And make them learn slowly in studies also..even my 3 year old son i am not making to read or write..sending to playschool just for activities

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So what about when your kid is obsessed with letters and numbers? My son just turned 3 and he points them out everywhere we go. He can identify upper and lowercase and he knows all the sounds that they make, even some letter combinations like “ch”. He accurately reads a digital clock, of course he has no concept of what the time means.This has all happened almost on its own, there is no “lesson time” in his routine. We just talk about what he sees and we do read quite a bit. Should I just leave it as it is, or encourage what seems to be an active interest? I don’t want him to be bored when he finally goes to school.

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so Miss Penny parents are not supposed to teach their children about letters and words because teachers are not smart enough to work around this? In my experience as a teacher and parent all efforts in the reading and writing area are useful and make the child’s brain think about these things and be ready to embrace all styles of teaching.

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Early education is the best platform to set up your kid future. and choosing the right place for your kid is also an important task for their parents.

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Nice information,thanks for sharing this type of information.

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That kid is left handed!!!!! I realised thst because i.m too

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The blog is really interesting. Pre-writing skills are the basic skills that children need to acquire before they can write. Such abilities lead to the ability of the infant to keep and use a pencil and the knowledge of drawing, writing, copying, and coloring. Kids are very curious about the events of childhood. Pre-writing skills are necessary to allow the child to develop the ability to hold and move a pencil fluently and effectively, thereby producing readable writing. At home and in schools, we have to give proper training. There are so many pre-schools offering various activities to develop the ability to read, write, speak and listen.

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This is a great idea, I think we can also teach them to read books; it can develop our children at this age too.

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The Measured Mom

Education resources for parents and teachers

PS PK K 1 2 3 30 Comments

Teaching the alphabet to your 3-year-old

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Are you teaching the alphabet to your 3-year-old? Follow along with us!

These 3-year-old activities are great for learning the alphabet!

Plus, you’ll find lots of hands-on activities (including free printables!) along the way.

Just click on the image to take you to each letter.

  • Letter A activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter B activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter C activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter D activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter E activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter F activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter G activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter H activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter I activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter J  activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter K activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter L activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter M activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter N activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter O activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter P activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter Q activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter R activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter S activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter T activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter U activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter V activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter W activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter X activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter Y activities for 3-year-olds
  • Letter Z activities for 3-year-olds

Looking for a done-for-you alphabet curriculum?

learn to write for 3 year olds

Alphabet Curriculum for Preschool

$ 29.00

Our curriculum includes lessons for teaching both upper and lowercase letter names and sounds. You’ll get three lessons per letter, built-in review, simple handwriting practice, rhyming, syllable counting, phonemic awareness, and a whole lot more!

Free Alphabet Printables

Join our email list and get this free sample of alphabet activities from our membership site! Students will practice identifying and forming letters, matching upper to lowercase, and identifying beginning sounds.

learn to write for 3 year olds

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learn to write for 3 year olds

Reader Interactions

30 comments.

Sandi Davison

July 19, 2021 at 7:13 pm

No one every learned to read by learning the names of the letters… but by the letter sounds. Lower case letters are most useful, but for some reason, a lot of children are taught only the capital letters.

Anna Geiger

July 19, 2021 at 7:48 pm

I stand by my belief that learning letter names is helpful for many reasons, although obviously learning letter sounds is essential for reading. Researcher Marilyn Adams talks about this a lot in her book, Beginning to Read. Quote (p. 112): “There exists a wealth of evidence that the speed and accuracy with which young readers can recognize individual letters is a critical determinant of their reading proficiency and future growth.”

July 15, 2019 at 1:59 pm

I am looking for a 3 year old curriculum but want to make sure I only get short vowel sounds first. Does you curriculum contain both short and long vowel pages or just one or the other? I get frustrated when I purchase something and I get some short and some long vowels. I would like to have both since I can choose when to teach each. This is a real problem when you purchase letter borders and they are not consistent.

July 20, 2019 at 8:28 am

Hi Mel! The focus of the curriculum is more on letter identification, but any time I teach letter sounds within the curriculum I focus on the short vowel sounds.

September 10, 2018 at 5:49 am

The pictures shown look amazing! Are all the ideas that I see above in your letter of the week book?

September 10, 2018 at 7:18 am

HI Maryann! Some of them are, and some of them aren’t. I actually completely redid the letter of the week ebook after I did this free series, and I would say it contains a greater variety of printables than what you see above.

September 6, 2018 at 1:19 pm

Is there a place where all the free Alphabet printables are in one pdf so they can all be printed at once?

September 6, 2018 at 2:44 pm

No – when I put things together into a bundle I charge for them.

August 22, 2018 at 12:30 pm

Hi Anna, can you share fraction games printables

September 1, 2018 at 6:46 am

I currently have two posts about fractions: https://www.themeasuredmom.com/free-equal-sharing-task-cards/ https://www.themeasuredmom.com/how-to-teach-fractions/

July 11, 2018 at 9:12 pm

What order do you teach the letters in? Like the curved, c, o, e type compared to the straight, k, b,f, t, l type then ones with humps h, m, u, n types, and finally tail types p, g, y, q. Hopefully that makes sense. Thanks

July 14, 2018 at 7:17 pm

Hi Sandy! That’s a big question, and I have different answers depending on the age/ability of the learner. I recommend signing up for my free email series, which answers that question and many more about teaching the alphabet. You can sign up here: https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/305342?v=7 (it’s completely free; you’ll get 5 emails in 5 days)

Anne Winter

February 12, 2018 at 5:44 pm

This is a wonderful idea. I run a playgroup and do an activity every week with the little ones. You’ve just covered 26 weeks!!

February 17, 2018 at 7:51 pm

Yay! I’ms o glad you’ve found useful ideas here, Anne!

Jennifer Washko

January 23, 2018 at 10:23 am

I can’t seem to find the printable for the Cut and Paste Letter Sounds for J. I have every letter but that one.

January 23, 2018 at 12:44 pm

Here’s the link! https://thisreadingmama.com/learning-the-alphabet-letter-j-pack/

December 30, 2017 at 6:45 am

Awesome ……Thank You so much.

January 1, 2018 at 7:18 am

You’re very welcome, Syeda!

January 3, 2017 at 1:19 pm

Im little confuse regarding alphabets n phonics. I mean my she is 3.5 yrs old n she knows all the alphabets now i teach her phonics from a to j but i show her upper case A as A alphabet n then i show her lower case a as phonic n i say A makes a sound of ah (a). Am i doing right? I feel that im doing wrong because this way she is learning that uppercase r alphabets n lowercase r phonics. Is it right?

January 3, 2017 at 1:29 pm

I don’t think this is a problem if she doesn’t have trouble remembering both upper and lowercase. You might want to play games where she matches the upper and lowercase forms. Personally I associate the sound with both the upper and lowercase letters, and I focus on letter names before sounds. However, some educators start with just the lowercase and teach them as sounds instead of using the letter names. I think with continued exposure your daughter will put the pieces together.

April 7, 2016 at 3:46 pm

This is truly a blessing! Thank you for compiling all this information in one location.

April 11, 2016 at 5:33 pm

You’re very welcome, Allison! Thanks for reading!

Egzaminy Cambridge

December 20, 2015 at 11:20 am

With those activities and printables I’m definitely sure that learning alphabet is very joyful and effective.

June 11, 2015 at 4:08 pm

Love all the ideas you are sharing! Also when teaching the alphabet, make sure you are teaching both the upper and lower case letters. We also believe you should explicitly teach the confusing fonts (like the two lower case letter a, or g, or upper case I – looking like a lower case L).

[…] Measured Mom did a great series of letter of the week posts that she did with her three-year-old son. They include activities for forming the letters in […]

[…] Letter of the Week with a 3-year-old […]

[…] https://www.themeasuredmom.com/letter-of-the-week-with-a-3-year-old/ […]

[…] * Letter of the Week with a 3-year-old […]

[…] đang được cô Anna trang themeasuredmom.com áp dụng cho con trai 3 tuổi của cô ấy letter-of-the-week-with-a-3-year-old. Giáo trình của cô Becky được giới thiệu ở đây: letter of the […]

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learn to write for 3 year olds

learn to write for 3 year olds

Are You Ready To Help A Beginning Or Struggling Reader?  Get My FREE Starter Kit Here!

Mrs. Karle's Sight and Sound Reading

350+ Free Handwriting Worksheets for Kids

Helping a child learn to write is a lot of fun. There are a few things you can do to help your student learn to write.

First, make sure you help your child hold their pencil correctly. We have a fun Alligator trick that works well and children love for helping a child hold their pencil correctly.

Next, make sure you help the child know where to start forming the letters. We always start the letter at the top and pull down. It is not good enough to let your student practice, practice, practice. Make sure when they are practicing writing that they are practicing writing well. When you write/form a letter correctly, you are able to write faster later (when you are better at writing).

Help your child have proper spacing on the paper between letters and words.  One fun trick is to have a “spaceman”/wooden ‘Popsicle’ stick to place between words, or a student can use a finger, OR, a cheerio.  Soon your student will know how to space words well.

You can make handwriting practice fun by giving children colored pencils to write with.  Write a rainbow!  Drawing is a great way to practice handwriting.  Yes, you still have to practice letter formation, but, pencil grip is part of the battle.  Make sure you child is holding their pencil correctly and then have them draw!

Also, if you have tracing sheets, have your student use a highlighter and trace over the letters.  My students always like this.  To help you help your students practice writing, I have included some free printable handwriting worksheets below .  Hope you find what you need!  A great way to start teaching handwriting is to first start teaching the child how to write his/her own name!  

learn to write for 3 year olds

Handwriting for  Kids – Free Handwriting Practice Pages

The links below contains the ENTIRE alphabet handwriting pages:

Free Handwriting Practice Worksheets (lower case letters, dotted trace) 1 Handwriting Practice for Kids (lower case letters, dotted trace) 2 Preschool Handwriting Practice (lower case letters, dotted trace) 3 Free Handwriting Sheets (lower case letters, without trace) Free Printable Handwriting Worksheets (upper case letters, without trace) 1 Printable Handwriting Pages (upper case letters, without trace) 2 Printable Handwriting Worksheets for Kids (upper case letters, dotted trace) 1 Kids Handwriting Worksheets (upper case letters, dotted trace) 2 Handwriting Practice Printables  (upper and lower case letters, without trace) 1 Preschool Handwriting Worksheets (upper and lower case letters, without trace) 2 Handwriting Printable Worksheets (upper and lower case letters, cut and paste, case recognition) Handwriting Worksheets for Kids  (upper and lower case letters, dotted trace) Printable Handwriting Worksheets for Kids (tracing, writing, sign language)

No Time For Flash Cards

preschool activities, preschool crafts, and preschool books.

July 21, 2016 | 3 Comments

Alphabet Activities For 3 year olds

alphabet activities for 3 year olds

Painting with letter cookie cutters is probably one of my favorite simple letter activities for 3 year olds. It’s age-appropriate and fun!

alphabet activities for 3 year olds

Alphabet Mail – this is one of the biggest hits in my preschool class. Children love this simple alphabet activity.

alphabet crafts and activities for 3 year olds

Button Letters – hopefully by now your 3 year old has stopped putting buttons in their mouth but if not try this with Cherrios or Fruit Loops. This craft is not only a fun way to work on a letter it works on your child’s fine motor skills as well.

alphabet activities playdough activites

Play dough is perfect for 3 year olds. It not only offers kids a wonderful opportunity to build hand strength,  by adding in a few cookie cutters you have turned it into a literacy activity. This Alphabet Play Dough is a staple in my preschool classroom.

letter activities for 3 year olds

Alphabet Flower Garden – Letters pop up and as your child adds the petals to these flowers they can ask about the letter, recognize it and say something or do nothing at all, heck they can even flip it over so no letter shows.

alphabet activities for 3 year olds

Alphabet Discovery Bottle – my 3 year old students loved this bottle. They searched for their first letters, and then helped friends look for theirs. You can create a matching game for children ready for that or just keep it as a letter finding game for those who are not. Remember all children develop interest in letters at their own pace, our job is to be a buffet full of enticing options.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Letter cookie cutters and slime . This post focuses on letter sounds for older kids, ignore that and just focus on playing with the cookie cutters and squishy slime!

alphabet hunt outside for little kids

Outdoor Alphabet Hunt – do you have a sharpie and some Duplo? Oh, wait you’ll need a dry erase marker too if you want to get that sharpie off. My point is, you don’t need much to create a fun, active activity that your three year old will love.

activities for 3 year olds

Make swirls, circles, or letters with this Salt Tray. It is a wonderfully forgiving way to learn to make shapes and letters. Some three year olds are eager to write ( in my experience once with older siblings especially), and this is a great developmentally appropriate way to encourage that.

alphabet for starters tie dye letters activity

Find the letter and then make it disappear with this fun alphabet activity. These Disappearing Letters can have a bunch of different letters on the filter or just one or two. Meet your child ( or students) where they are and only present challenges that won’t overwhelm.

learning activities for 3 year olds

FREE Printables to use with Letter Cookies – while two of these printables are definitely for more advanced kiddos ( read older, though I am sure some 3 year old out there is ready for them, though not the average one) the lowercase – uppercase match game would work for many older 3 year olds. Heck just getting snacks and treats with letters on them is rad. They help make kids familiar and ready to play with letters, and they are cookies so who doesn’t want them?

gross motor upper and lowercase letter game

Move & Groove Alphabet – get moving and grooving with letters on a rainy day with this great activity!

activities for 3 year olds

Peel & Pick Alphabet Tree – Forget apples, this fall we are picking letters. You can write out the whole alphabet or just use your child’s initials. Whatever works for them!

alphabet activities for 3 year olds from no time for flash cards

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folasade says

May 11, 2017 at 2:59 am

I like the ‘let’s pick letter activity a lot. It really works for my kids .

melissa brock says

April 10, 2018 at 6:00 am

i used to make beaded stuff foe myself and other people till i had my twins which made babies 5 and 6 so i don’t really have much time anymore right now but i also have a 4 and 3 year old and i took an old bottle and did the pick your letter and let them help me make it it was fun they put a few charms and a few other little things they had around i used to noise so for them to shake it don’t bother me and it will be perfect for them to learn how to share a little more and on the go thanks again

[…] For younger learners, choose a smaller set of random letters to choose from, rather than the entire alphabet. For a greater challenge, have your child find the next two or three letters that come before and after the set. […]

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learn to write for 3 year olds

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Teaching Your 3-Year-Old to Write Their Name

learn to write for 3 year olds

Teaching your 3-year-old child to write their name can be a fun and engaging activity that lays the foundation for their future success in writing. Children are charmingly self-centered at this age, and being able to write their name can be a big motivator in getting them to learn how to write their letters. Read on for some tips and strategies you can use to make the process enjoyable and effective!

  • Start with the basics - Before your child can write their name, they need to be familiar with the letters that make it up. Begin by introducing them to the letters in their name and teaching them to recognize them. You can use flashcards, letter blocks, or other materials to help them learn.
  • Use fun and interactive activities - Young children learn best through play and hands-on experiences. You can make learning to write their name a fun and engaging activity by using games, songs, and other interactive methods. For example, you can use a tracing app on your tablet or phone, have them practice writing their name in sand, or play a letter matching game.
  • Emphasize proper letter formation - It's important to teach your child how to form each letter of their name correctly. You can use a tracing worksheet or demonstrate the proper formation yourself. Encourage them to practice by tracing over your letters or using a highlighter to trace their name.
  • Use positive reinforcement - Children thrive on positive feedback and encouragement. When your child makes progress, be sure to praise them and celebrate their accomplishments. This can be as simple as giving them a high-five or a hug, or rewarding them with a small treat or sticker.
  • Practice, practice, practice - As with any skill, writing their name takes practice. Encourage your child to practice writing their name every day, even if it's just a few letters at a time. The more they practice, the more confident they will become in their ability to write their name.
  • Make it a routine - Incorporating writing practice into your daily routine can help your child develop good habits and make learning a natural part of their day. For example, you can set aside a specific time each day for writing practice or incorporate writing into other activities, such as drawing or coloring.
  • Keep it fun - Remember that learning should be fun and engaging for your child. If they become frustrated or bored, take a break and try a different approach. You can also try incorporating their interests into the learning process, such as using their favorite toys or characters to practice writing.

Teaching your 3-year-old to write their name is a nice, light academic activity that they're sure to enjoy. Start with the basics, try a few creative activities, and make it a regular part of your routine, and your little one will be writing those precious letters in no time!

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10 Literacy Activities for 3-Year-Olds

As your child enters preschool, they will be exposed to a new world of learning. And while some kids may take to reading and writing like a duck to water, others may need a little more encouragement. This is where literacy activities come in! Literacy activities are a great way to help your little one improve their abilities to read, write and understand language. They also help develop critical literacy skills, such as phonemic awareness, letter recognition, and early reading and writing. If your little one is starting to show an interest in literacy but could use a helping hand, here are ten fun literacy activities for 3-year-olds.

Start with the basics

Literacy activities for 3-year-olds involve plenty of hands-on learning. One way to get started is to focus on the basics. Have your child identify letters, sounds, and words. You can do this by reading children's books together, writing out simple sentences, or playing word games. You can also try making homemade literacy materials, such as flashcards or literacy worksheets.

Encourage a love of reading

One of the best ways to encourage literacy development is to foster a love of reading in your child. Make reading time fun by choosing engaging books, using silly voices, and making it a memorable bonding experience. You can also try adding in a few literacy activities, such as looking for words that start with the same sound or finding hidden objects in the illustrations.

Get creative with writing

Writing doesn't have to be all about pencils and paper! Writing activities offer plenty of ways to get your child interested in literacy. You can try finger painting with washable paint, making homemade stamps, or using magnetic letters to spell words. Just get creative and have fun!

Make it musical

Songs and rhymes are an excellent way to help your child learn literacy skills. Research has shown that they can improve phonemic awareness, memory, and vocabulary. So make literacy time extra fun by singing songs and reciting nursery rhymes together. You can also try making up your own songs or adding literacy-themed lyrics to familiar tunes.

Play literacy games

Games are a great way to sneak in some extra learning. And when it comes to literacy activities for 3-year-olds, there are plenty of fun options to choose from. You can try literacy-themed memory games, matching games, or even simple board games. Just make sure to choose games that are age-appropriate and focus on the literacy skills you want your child to work on.

Get movin' and groovin'

Movement is a great way to help kids learn and retain information. So get up and move when you're doing literacy activities with your child. You can try clapping out syllables, acting out stories, or even dancing along to literacy-themed songs. Be sure to keep things fun and interactive!

Make it tactile

For some kids, learning is all about touching and feeling. If this sounds like your child, try incorporating some tactile literacy activities into your routine. You can try using Play-Doh to form letters, making homemade books out of construction paper or using shaving cream to write words on a mirror. Feel free to get creative and let your child's senses guide you!

Use technology

Technology can be a great tool for literacy learning. There are tons of literacy apps, websites and games available to help kids practice their skills. You can also find e-books, online stories, and educational videos to watch together. Remember to choose age-appropriate resources that are aligned with your child's literacy goals.

Get outdoors

There's no need to confine literacy learning to the indoors! There are plenty of literacy activities you can do outside. You can try finding shapes in the clouds, writing with sticks in the sand, or looking for words on signs and billboards. Just get creative and explore your surroundings!

Above all, remember to have fun when doing literacy activities with your child. If it starts to feel like a chore, your child will likely lose interest. So keep things lighthearted and make literacy time a memorable bonding experience for the two of you.

By incorporating just a few of these activities into your daily routine, you'll be giving your child a head start on their literacy journey – and having lots of fun along the way too!

At Mrs. Myers' Learning Lab , we specialize in fun, interactive classes for developing readers. Our engaging process leads to students gaining self-confidence, interpersonal skills, and a love for learning that extends far beyond the classroom. Visit us to learn more!

Literacy Activities for 3-Year-Olds

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Nurturing Learning in Three- and Four-Year-Olds: Language and Literacy

The ages of three and four are busy times for language and literacy learning, including developing the ability to comprehend and tell narratives, becoming much more skilled at conversation, and beginning to understand the mechanics of written language.

The ages of three and four are busy times for language and literacy learning! During this relatively short time, children develop their ability to comprehend and tell narratives (i.e. stories), become much more skilled conversationalists, and begin to understand the mechanics of written language. All of these literacy skills are best nurtured when they are embedded in activities and play that reflect children's interests and respect their initiative and curiosity.

Building Oral Language Skills

What children are doing:.

Preschoolers spend lots of time practicing their storytelling and conversation skills. When they describe and explain, they use more and more complex vocabulary and sentence structure. They refine their communication skills during play, when being understood by friends really matters. All of these verbal skills not only help children feel successful in the moment; they also provide a foundation of grammar, vocabulary, and story comprehension that will help later as they learn to read.

What caregivers can provide:

  • Wordless books: books with illustrations that depict stories children can narrate.
  • Photo sequences (in a photo album or displayed on poster board) depicting a class event (field trip), experiment, or project that encourages children to narrate the events from their memories.

What caregivers can say and do:

  • Encourage conversation between children, especially younger or less talkative children who may tend to only converse with adults. Meal and snack times are excellent opportunities to encourage conversational skills such as listening and responding to each other.
  • After reading a familiar story, ask children to imagine a different ending and encourage them to tell their version. "Telling" can be oral storytelling, dictation that adults record, or illustrations that children draw and use to tell the story aloud.
  • Ask children to describe things they've drawn or built ("You've been working on this a long time. Would you tell me about it?"). Ask children to explain how they solved a problem or why they think something happened a certain way. Ask questions that encourage children to elaborate.

Understanding Symbols

One of the biggest accomplishments during the preschool years is to recognize the connection between words that are spoken and words that are written. It's really quite an amazing leap: recognizing that a word that we say out loud can be represented by symbols on a page. One of the first ways that young preschoolers grasp this type of symbolic thinking is by recognizing familiar brand logos (food packages, restaurants, stores) and signs that include print (stop sign). Although they aren't reading the actual word on the sign or logo, they do recognize that it's a label for a particular thing, and that's the beginning of understanding that printed words have meaning.

Empty /clean food packages from brands familiar to children for dramatic play; donated materials with a brand logo from a local restaurant, store, or business to set up a pretend version for dramatic play; traffic signs for use with the trikes or toy cars.

Labels on storage containers for toys and materials that children use frequently. Include both a photo/ picture of the object that goes inside and the written word so children make the connection between object and symbolic label.

Point out relevant written labels/symbols that children encounter during the day: the exit sign in the room, the symbol and word that mean play on the CD or DVD player, the stop sign on the nearby street corner.

Learning about Words and Letters

An even bigger leap is to figure out that individual letters stand for the individual sounds that make up words (called the alphabetic principle). That understanding usually isn't grasped until late in the preschool years. But there are many experiences and teaching strategies that can help threes and fours make connections between language sounds and printed words and letters. And the best place to start is with words that are the most relevant to children - their names.

Lots of opportunities for children to see their own written name (labels on their cubbies, on a classroom jobs/chores chart, on a check in/out list by the door).

Sets of letters that children can manipulate: magnet letters, alphabet puzzles, letter stamps, games that involve spelling words with letter pieces, etc.

Books that make connecting oral and written words easier: books with predictable or repeating text, books that label objects, "First Reader" books with simple plots and vocabulary.

Books that focus on the sounds of language: rhyming books, books that "play" with language sounds, etc.

Incorporate children's written names into activities and routines. Encourage them to notice the differences between how one another's names are written and how they sound. Help children learn the names of each letter in their name.

Write down things that children say aloud. For example, adults can record on large paper or whiteboard individual children's responses to a question. Children can also describe pictures they've drawn and an adult can record their words below the picture. Adults can reinforce the idea that each written word represents a verbal word by reading aloud what is written.

Recognizing the Uses of Writing

Threes and fours are not only beginning to recognize print in their world but they are also becoming more and more aware of all of the ways that writing can be used to communicate. Writing can be used to give a command, label or describe, tell a story, jog memories, make a request, or give instructions. As children see more uses of writing, they are more motivated to learn how to write for themselves. Initially they use "mock" writing - scribbles that resemble writing - but gradually over the preschool years, their writing attempts incorporate actual letters, then words.

Writing materials accessible to children throughout the day and throughout the room. For example, small containers with a pad of paper and a few pencils or markers can be placed in key locations around the room.

Clipboards and attached pencils for use in recording information for specific activities (a survey of children's favorite food; a tally of shapes observed during a shape hunt).

(For older preschoolers) Printed words that are currently relevant to children that they can refer to when writing. These words can be written on cards and placed in a container at a writing center, written on a large piece of paper that children can easily see, or written on cards and taped to a "word wall."

The most important things adults can say and do are: 1) model everyday writing (write notes, lists, instructions, reminders, etc.) and 2) talk about what is being written and why.

Encourage children to communicate in writing themselves. Their messages can be dictated to an adult to write initially but it won't take long before they become more independent.

Encourage children to write their names on their work, even if it's only the first letter.

Once a few children begin showing an interest in writing, create a writing center - an area that is designated and equipped for writing. Keep it organized and well-stocked. Observe children's interactions with the materials and talk to them about their work; then make modifications to further nurture their developing skills.

Recognizing the Uses of Reading

Threes and fours are also becoming aware of many different reasons for reading. When children are surrounded by many different kinds of text that are embedded in the activities they care about, they will naturally develop a desire to read for themselves.

Different types of books that serve different purposes: storybooks for entertainment, informational books to answer questions, rhyming and alphabet books to learn about letters and words, concept books ( Bread Bread Bread by Ann Morris) to explore a topic.

Games, puzzles, and toys that include words (as labels, instructions, etc.). Playing with them shouldn't depend on being able to read, but enough words should be present that children see their purpose.

Print-based props in pretend play, block play, and outdoor play.

Printed step-by-step instructions for activities (simple cooking recipes; planting a flower) that combine pictures and words so children can independently "read" them.

As with writing, the most important things adults can say and do are to model reading in many situations and intentionally talk about what is being read and why.

When children are curious about a topic and ask fact-based questions, suggest finding the answers together in a book, online, or from some other written source, rather than simply answering with the facts.

Keep in mind

The process of learning to read and write is actually quite complex, involving many different but related skills, far more than could be described here. Most of these skills will not be learned by children during the preschool years but it is helpful to understand the whole continuum as caregivers provide materials and experiences to support their emergence. There are several books and resources that describe these emerging skills and offer suggestions for supporting them, such as the book So Much More than the ABCs: The Early Phases of Reading and Writing , by Judith Schickedanz and Molly Collins (available from National Association for the Education of Young Children).

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Hands On As We Grow®

Hands on kids activities for hands on moms. Focusing on kids activities perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Name Writing Practice with 12 Hands-On Activities

Fine Motor Literacy & ABCs Preschoolers Name Resources Writing Activities 29 Comments

Give your preschooler a little boost in school with easy and fun activities to practice name writing!

They’ll be ready to go for the first day of school!

One of the first things your preschooler will learn is how to spell and recognize their own name.

Your little learner will be discovering how to spell it.

And that means writing it down.

Instead of using a name writing practice sheet or worksheet, add a little bit of fun to learning with a writing activity!

Hands-on writing is much more exciting for preschoolers than putting pen to paper and writing the same thing over and over again.

Enhance your preschooler's literacy skills with 12 engaging & effective name writing practice activities.

Plus, preschoolers might not be ready to grip the pencil and be able to write in this way yet.

And that’s okay.

Okay, quick disclaimer, I know that just sounded like I know what I’m talking about, and kind of sounds like it’s from a teacher’s perspective, but it’s not.

I’m a parent, not a teacher. I never have been a teacher.

This is just information that I’ve gathered through experience and through researching for many years on my own.

Get the FREE Learn Your Name Download

Name Writing Practive Can be Fun with Hands On Activities

Making name writing practice a hands-on experience can be so much more meaningful.

Over the years, I’ve done many of these in some shape or form.

I hope you enjoy these 12 fun ways that kids can practice name writing.

Best of all, you can use these ideas at home or school.

It will make learning fun for them without adding pressure!

12 name writing practice activities for preschoolers

Download the Fine Motor Week of Activities

Activities for Preschoolers to Practice Name Writing:

  • Highlighters are awesome for tracing anything! Add in glue and yarn and it’s a hands-on experience, or triple the name tracing fun !
  • Buggy and Buddy loves to  rainbow write their names ! Writing their name over and over again in different colors to make a rainbow. Make it big and fun!
  • Another twist on rainbow writing is rainbow name painting from NurtureStore! Paint over and over in different colors!
  • Toddler at Play traces letters with paint and Q-tips , put this to their name and the kids will love it!
  • Jen’s OT for Kids uses glitter glue to practice name writing! (Get glitter glue here , affiliate link )
  • Practice writing their name on the chalkboard, but with water to erase it away !
  • Make a sensory bag to practice pre-writing skills to write the letters of their name (from Learning 4 Kids)
  • Fingerpaint their name! This idea from Creative Tots is a great one for kids struggling to grip a pencil yet.
  • Practice writing their name in a salt sensory tray ! Great idea from Bounce Back Parenting. No salt? Try flour!
  • Get out the watercolors and  trace the letters of their name with a paintbrush ! This is a pretty one from Play to Learn Preschool!
  • Teach Preschool has a fun name writing game to do on the whiteboard.
  • When all else fails, break out a can of shaving cream . This idea from Gift of Curiosity always wins! Write their name in a tray!

12 ways for preschoolers to practice name writing

How can I teach my child their name?

Not quite ready to practice name writing yet?

Try some of these name activities to start recognizing and spelling their name first.

There are so many exciting and fun ways to help even toddlers learn to spell and recognize their names .

Download the FREE Learn Your Name Week!

What are your favorite activities to help your child practive writing their name?

These affiliate products are non-worksheet ways for kids to practice writing their name.

  • Use these WikkiStix letters to write their name
  • Try the letter construction set from Learning Resources to build their name
  • Use dry erase markers to write their name on the window
  • Use sidewalk chalk to write their name outside

Here are 10 more ways to prepare your little ones for school (that have nothing to do with academics!), from TheSaltyMamas.com.

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About Jamie Reimer

Jamie learned to be a hands on mom by creating activities, crafts and art projects for her three boys to do. Jamie needed the creative outlet that activities provided to get through the early years of parenting with a smile! Follow Jamie on Pinterest and Instagram !

More Hands on Kids Activities to Try

Start learning letters with your toddler! You'll love these 20+ activities that make it simple to have fun and learn together.

Reader Interactions

29 comments.

marilyn young says

June 17, 2023 at 8:37 pm

Always looking for ideas for Head Start/Early Head Start, thank you!

Seanna says

July 6, 2020 at 4:51 pm

I love this website

Courtney says

August 22, 2019 at 2:11 pm

These are all great ideas! We discussed this topic in my mommy group, the Weecare.co Community Page. I think one of the most basic things when getting started is something another mom from Weecare mentioned: “Keep crayons and paper in her reach at home and practice together.” If it’s there and in front of them all the time, they are more likely to be interested and want to do it. If anyone is interested in the full discussion, here’s the link: https://weecare.co/post/at-what-age-do-kids-learn-how-to-spell-their-own-names-226 .

Suzette Dobbins says

August 19, 2018 at 10:16 pm

One of my favorite ways to practice writing is with water on a chalk board. I have one client who loves to put everything in the mouth, who cares if its a clean brush and water!

Stephanie, One Caring Mom says

July 13, 2018 at 3:14 pm

My youngest will be headed to preschool soon so I would love for him to have some idea of how to write his name. These ideas actually make it look fun. Thank you for getting all of these together!

April 10, 2016 at 1:58 am

I love this compilation. Big help!

Snehal Borkar says

January 15, 2016 at 1:13 am

It’s very good idea……THANKS

Nona T. says

January 2, 2016 at 1:37 pm

I am a preschool teacher with 15 years experience and five master degrees in education. You are absolutely correct about writing names. Your activities are perfect. Thank you for the reminder. School starts up again in a few days and I am going to have my little ones do your activities. So many times adults forget that young children learn best by having playing and fun. Skill sheets are NOT fun!! I wish teachers would sit down with a skill sheet and complete it. It wouldn’t take long before they realize how their hands ache and they stopped processing what they are suppose to learn. Just imagine how a child’s little hand muscles must hurt. Thank you again for the great ideas and reminders of how to help our children.

Claudia Morales says

January 2, 2016 at 9:39 am

Thank you!!! We are doing the Rainbow Writing Name right now! She loves it!

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learn to write for 3 year olds

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learn to write for 3 year olds

Does My 3 Year Old Need Preschool?

I found preschool to be so beneficial for my daughter at this age. The socialization is one of the biggest benefits of a preschool program.

They’ll be exposed to so many new opportunities that may not be available at home like different toys and learning materials, daily structure and routines, learning to respect their teachers, various educational activities, much more.

I don’t believe that preschool at 3 years old is absolutely necessary and your child will be fine without it. However, I would enroll a 4 year old in some sort of program to get them prepared for Kindergarten.

Some schools or daycares offer full day or half day preschool and you can choose whether your child goes every day or a few times a week.

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What You Can Teach Your Three Year Old

If you’re not in the education field, you may be unsure of simple ways to teach your three year old or ways to incorporate new learning into everyday activities.

Below are a bunch of things that you can help your 3-year-old learn and understand. Practice and exposure is the best way to develop new skills with your child so try and make every opportunity a learning opportunity you can.

This list is for children in the 3 year old range up to 4. Not exclusively once they turn three.

Also, always remember that every child develops at their own pace so don’t worry too much if your child doesn’t have all of these skills yet. This isn’t a list of what they should know at this point, but rather a guide to help you understand what they are capable of learning at this age.

learn to write for 3 year olds

1. New Vocabulary

Your 3-year-old will probably be speaking in full sentences or at least long 4-5 word phrases by now. Three year olds should have at least 250-500 words in their vocabulary as well.

Although there are way too many words to give you a full list, here are some of the common words, phrases, and concepts that your three year old should be able to say and understand:

  • Body parts , Animal sounds and names , Friends/Family Names (and their own first, middle, last), Vehicles , Household objects (food, utensils, furniture, clothing, etc)
  • Colors and Shapes
  • Direction words (below, above, next to, on top, underneath, etc.)
  • Days of the week, Months of the year, Seasons, Weather (sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy, snowy, hot, cold, etc.)

If your 3-year-old isn’t talking much at this point or is not trying to speak in full sentences, mention it to your pediatrician. Here are more  tips to get your child to talk  here.

2. Conversational Speech

Your 3 year old should be able to ask and answer simple questions and tell simple stories or anecdotes. They’ll probably be asking a lot of WHY questions as they are curious to learn all about the world around them.

Be sure to answer them with the correct responses and not just ignore their requests for information. Every question is an opportunity to teach your child and you don’t want them to miss out on those experiences.

It’s also important to make corrections in their grammar. When they were 2, some of the things that they said wrong sounded pretty cute. However, now that they’re 3, you don’t want them to get into bad habits of the way they speak.

Whether they’re pronouncing a world wrong, using the wrong tense, pronoun, or grammar, the only way they will learn the right way is if you correct them. So let them know the right way to say the word or sentence and have them repeat it back to make sure that they understand.

In order to get your child to initiate conversation or answer your questions , you can:

  • Ask them about their favorite characters/shows/books/toys. What easier way to get a kid to talk than to get them talking about their favorite tv show or super hero?
  • Ask them about their day , ie. what did you eat for lunch? What did you play with in the bath tub?
  • Ask them for their opinions
  • Tell them to ask you about the above mentioned things

If they still tend to give you one-word answers, ask them more questions to get them to elaborate. The more you ask. the more responses you will get. In turn this will help them to realize that they need to add more detail in their responses.

3. Reading books

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

At 3, your child should understand the concept of “reading” a book. They won’t actually be reading the words , but they should know how to grab a book, hold it the right way, and flip through the page independently.

They should be able to get a good understanding about what is happening in the book by looking at the pictures . They should even recognize that there are letters and words on the page that mean something, but won’t know exactly what they say or mean.

Read to your child everyday to instill their interest in reading. When you are reading to them:

  • Use your finger to follow the words on the page so they start to associate the letters with what you’re saying
  • Read word-for-word what the text says on the page instead of making up words or describing what the pictures look like
  • Ask them questions about what they see on the pages

Your 3 year old may even be able to answer some inferential (why) questions (although this is a tougher skill), but it can’t hurt to try and ask them some of the questions. These are questions that the book doesn’t actually give the answer to, but the child has to think about their own answer or reason. For example, Why is the girl sad in this story? Why shouldn’t the boy have crossed the street? Why did the dog jump over the bone?

Reading doesn’t have to begin and end with books; labels on cereal boxes, words on toys, printed words on street signs, text on the television, or signs at stores are some examples where you can point out words and letters.

Related Post:  The Outstanding Benefits of Reading to Babies and Toddlers

4. Promote Independence

Your three-year-old should be doing many things on their own now so be sure to give them these opportunities to learn, understand, and make mistakes (within limits, of course).

Of course they may not have perfected every skill yet, but the only way a child will learn is by doing it themselves. You can give them a hand completing the task once they’ve finished.

They should be increasing their independence in areas like:

  • Dressing : choosing their own clothes, dressing for the weather (warm items or cool items), taking on/off a shirt, pants, underpants/pull-up, shoes, and socks, and learning the right way to put on items (backwards, forwards), and that shoes are on the right feet.
  • Self-feeding:  using utensils without spills, choosing their own meals and snacks, opening containers, drinking from an open cup with some supervision, and why it’s important to eat healthy. I love these utensils as my 3 year old graduated from her “baby utensils” to wanting to be just like mom and dad- these look like our silverware but are a perfect size for preschoolers.
  • Brushing teeth and hair:  Teach them how to brush correctly on their own (back and forth, top and bottom), putting toothpaste on (with help), and why it’s important to keep our teeth clean. My 3 year old LOVES using an electric toothbrush like this one , especially the ones with their favorite characters.
  • Cleaning up:  wiping up messes, putting toys away, bringing dishes, cups, & utensils to the sink when done, throwing away their garbage, using handheld vacuum to clean, and putting away toys when completing activity
  • Hygeine : Blowing their nose, washing their hands, using a washcloth to wash themselves in the tub. Make washing hands and standing at the sink much easier by using stools and sink faucet extenders .
  • Transitions:  Getting in and out of the car on their own, going up and down the stairs, ending one activity and moving to the next without complaining, turning on/off lights when entering/leaving the room

Be sure to model and show your childhood to do these skills the right way so that they don’t keep practicing something the wrong way.

5. Pretend Play

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

Using their imagination opens up a world of fun and play for your 3 year old. This skill typically comes naturally as they copy and imitate what they see in the real world, in books, or on tv.

They will use a combination of imagination and reality to copy the things they see daily , like these:

  • Cooking in a play kitchen with pots and pans
  • Hosting a tea party for their dolls and stuffed animals
  • Feeding, burping, and changing a baby doll with play spoons, bottles, and diapers
  • Talking on the phone with a play cell phone
  • Playing doctor with a doctor or nurses kit
  • Going shopping with a shopping cart and fake food
  • Driving a car
  • Sweeping, mopping , and vacuuming the floor
  • Dressing up as their favorite princess , super hero, or character

learn to write for 3 year olds

At 3 years old, your child should have moved passed scribbling and be able to make intentional marks on the paper. They should be able to draw a:

  • straight line down
  • straight line across
  • cross ( + )
  • other shapes such as a square or triangle come later, but they can still attempt these, but may need help or the angles won’t be perfect

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

You can also guide them into making drawings using those elements (lines and circles), for example to draw a sun, a person (stick figure), or a flower . Of course, these drawings won’t be perfect, but they’re gaining insight as to how to make their marks on the paper look like something real.

Imitation is the best way to have your child learn to draw at this age, meaning that you draw one line and have them watch and repeat the same thing . This as opposed to copying (where you just show them the picture and expect them to figure out how to draw it).

7. Coloring and Painting

At age 3, your child can start learning how to color a picture correctly. You can guide them by showing them how to:

  • Stay within the lines of a shape, border, or object
  • Finish coloring each section without leaving a ton of white spots
  • Use correct colors for certain objects, ie. coloring a strawberry red and a horse brown, instead of just picking any color that they choose
  • Use different colors for different sections of a picture, ie. Coloring a beach scene with blue for the water, yellow for the sun, green for the palm tree, etc. instead of jut coloring the whole thing one color

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

Be sure that they are holding their crayon with the correct grasp at all times. I highly suggest  these finger crayons  for the young ones.  They are perfect for little hands and promote a good grasp when holding the crayons.

If your child likes markers, but you don’t trust them being alone in a room with them, these Crayola Mess-Free Coloring Sheets are my absolute favorites!

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

The markers come out clear if they are used on any other surface besides the paper. On these special sheets, they’ll turn a color so your toddler sees the masterpiece that they are creating. They have so many characters available so I’m sure you can find a pack that your child will love.

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

Tracing is a great visual motor skill (hand-eye coordination). You can teach your 3 year old to trace lines and letters by:

  • Having them use their finger first to trace the line on the paper
  • Tracing straight lines first and then working toward shapes, zig zags, and curved lines
  • Making sure that they know to stay on the line the best that they can
  • Tracing letters in preparation for writing

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

Cutting is a skill that 3 year olds can begin practicing. They may still have a difficult time, but here are some tips to get your preschooler cutting:

  • Be sure to use child safety scissors so they can’t hurt themselves.
  • Teach them how to hold the scissor correctly with their thumb toward the ceiling on both the cutting hand and helper hand
  • Position the paper in front of them  while they are cutting instead of holding it off to the side or way up high.
  • Make sure that their  arms, shoulders, and elbows are down and relaxed  as they cut right in front of them. As they’re concentrating, children tend to hike up their elbows and cut up high.
  • Once they are able to make small snips on the paper by just opening and closing the scissors, teach them how to cut on a straight line
  • Use sturdier paper like construction paper to make holding and stabilizing the paper easier on them.

10. Numbers and Counting

Your 3 year old may be able to count up to 20 (with some errors at times) from memory and maybe even up to 30 with more practice. They can also work on recognizing and identifying numbers and counting objects.

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

You can practice counting with so many different, everyday objects :

  • count each step while you’re walking up the stairs
  • count the number of blueberries on their dinner plate
  • count the number of toys in their toy bin

Numbers are everywhere so be sure that they are counting whenever they can.

The concept of one-to-one correspondence (one object is one number) should be emerging now. Just show them how to point to each object as they count it and correct them if they start saying 2 numbers as they count one object or skip over objects when counting.

11. Letters and Sounds for Beginning to Read

Your child may already know many of the letters of the alphabet. At this age, they should probably be able to recite the ABC’s from memory (with some errors and help as needed).

Now you can work on recognizing letters, as well as the sounds they make. To make letter learning easier, try these tips to teach your 3 year old:

  • Look at both uppercase and lowercase letters when learning . The lowers case letters are the ones that they will see more often when they read or see words.
  • Point out letters to them everywhere : on cereal boxes, on street signs, on banners, and on snack bags
  • When talking about a letter, always tell them the sound that it makes and a word that has this letter as its starter. For example M: say M says mmm for mom. Always have them repeat you to etch it into their memory.
  • Use different sensory modalities to trace, write, or copy their letters . For example, writing them in sand, placing stickers inside the written letter, tracing the letter written in puffy paint with your finger, erasing the letters from a dry erase board , matching upper and lower case letters , etc. Here are some more fun sensory activities for letter learning .
  • Sing songs that help them to remember the letters
  • Use puzzles with letters for letter matching

learn to write for 3 year olds

These name puzzles from Bloom Owl are a great way to get your child learning the letters of their name. They’ll love playing with the puzzle as they start to recognize the letters they see all the time.

By far my favorite resource for having your child learning letters and letter sounds is the Leap Frog shows on Netflix . They include Letter Factory, Phonics Farm, and more. If you have Netflix you can access these shows! My 20 month old was reciting all of the letter sounds because he loves this show so much!

Once your child has a good memory of most letters and their sounds, you can teach them how to put them together to form short words. At 3 years old, a child may be able to start reading 2 or 3 letter words. Teach them how to use those sounds to read short words from the -at, -et, -it families, such as mat, rat, bat, get, set, let, sit, fit, kit, etc.

Related Post: Sticker Activity for Learning Letters

12. Building

learn to write for 3 year olds

Building helps to improve your child’s hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness. They’ll be able to use their imagination and creativity to create masterpieces and then knock them all down when they’re done.

This Melissa & Doug Alphabet block set  is great to stack and Bristle Blocks are also perfect for stacking, putting together, and taking apart at this age. My 3 year old is also obsessed with Magnetic Tiles – it’s the one toy that just never gets old!

Have them use blocks to encourage imaginative play and see what they can come up with. Building blocks let them problem solve and investigate the world around them. 

13. P uzzles

learn to write for 3 year olds

Puzzles are a great activity for fine and visual motor skills (hand-eye coordination). Having to fit a piece into it’s correct spot by turning and manipulating it is great for visual-spatial awareness.

Your 3 year old should have moved past inset puzzles and can do more complicated interlocking puzzles . Start them out with small interlocking puzzles like these or these , which only have 6-9 pieces per puzzle.

14. Physical Activity, Sports, and Getting Outside

Three-year-olds are known to be pretty wild so you probably won’t need much coaxing to get them active. However, make sure they’re getting plenty of physical activity to learn new gross motor skills . These include:

  • Jumping and running
  • Climb up and down playground equipment or a jungle gym
  • Start learning how to ride a balance bike or a bike with training wheels
  • Throwing/catching/kicking a ball
  • Hop or stand on one foot for a short time
  • Walk backwards

The best way to get them active is to give them lots of outdoor time . Take them to playgrounds to climb on the equipment as they offer so many opportunities for enriching gross motor skills. Take them for a walk and point out all the sights you see.

Your child can also start playing cooperative sports with peers and follow directions by watching someone do a movement. Activities like gymnastics, dance, soccer, swimming lessons, and tee ball are all great organized activities to practice all of the above skills.

15. Music, Dance, and Rhythm

Children love rhythm and music so get them singing, dancing, and exploring their bodies with music. Put on music for them to dance to, sing along to their favorite songs with a microphone , or make their own music with  toy instruments like maracas, xylophone, tamborine, etc .

You can also make musical ‘instruments’ with so many household objects , like shaking pill bottles, banging wooden spoons, or filling plastic Easter eggs or water bottles with uncooked beans or rice.

Do the Hokey Pokey to get them moving and learning body parts. Imitating movements that they see you doing is a great way to develop body and spatial awareness , as well.

Singing songs and doing dances are also a great way for your preschooler to learn and memorize new words and concepts like the days of the week song, months of the year song, head shoulders knees and toes, finger family song, etc. They’ll know their days of the week s quickly if you just put a tune to it!

16. Potty Training

Around 3, many children will be fully capable of using the toilet. If you haven’t started yet, give it a try! Your child may do better than you think.

If they’re already potty trained, make sure that they are fully independent with pulling their pants and underwear up and down, wiping themselves both back and front, and washing their hands afterward.

Be sure to wait until they’re ready and don’t force it on them. Here are some great tips on potty training your child here.

17. Sense of Time

Of course your three year old will not be able to tell time, however you can still teach them a basic sense of time, including:

  • Understanding morning, afternoon, and night. They should understand the concept of when they wake up it’s morning, lunch time is the afternoon, and before bedtime is night. They can also understand this better by seeing outside when it’s light or dark.
  • Recognizing the numbers on a digital clock . If they can identify numbers, they should be able to see the first number and say it’s 7 o clock. With my daughter, we tell her that 7 o clock is bedtime so when she sees 7 on the digital clock, she knows it’s time to go to bed.
  • Knowing when they have 1, 5, or 10 more minutes left. They still won’t have a true sense of how long these increments of time are, but you can try to make them aware that 1 minute is quick, compared to 10 minutes or 20 minutes.
  • Days of the week. They may be able to get a sense of what day it is today, what it will be tomorrow, and what it was yesterday

Before they fully have a sense of time, try setting an audio or visual timer when you need to show them when time is up. For example, when you say clean up in 5 more minutes, set a timer for 5 minutes to ring when it’s time.

learn to write for 3 year olds

We love the Time to Wake clocks for my little ones. They let them know when it’s time to call for mom or get out of bed by simply turning a different color when it’s almost time to get up or when they should leave their room.

This is a great visual way for them to “see” and understand time.

Of course, safety is a crucial lesson to teach your child. This is the age where they will probably have no fear or understanding of dangerous situations. The following practices need to be taught to your 3 year old as they may not just come naturally:

  • not running away in public
  • not running out into a parking lot
  • stranger danger
  • staying close to mom or dad
  • being cautious when crossing streets
  • holding hands when in public or outside
  • sun safety: applying sunscreen, wearing hats
  • being careful of hot items: kitchen appliances, flames, etc.

Speaking of safety for your little ones, the Whystle App is a great resource for all parents to have that tracks all safety information that’s important to your family. This includes product recalls for toys, food, and more that could promote dangers into your home. Download this app free on your phone and then there’s a free trial for the subscription so you never miss an important safety warning.

19. Manners and Respect for Others

Understanding how to properly treat others is a valuable trait to instill in your child. This goes for respecting both adults and other children. It’s important to teach your children how to use polite words and actions to show manners.

At this age, they are still testing their boundaries and exploring new ways of getting what they want. Instill rules for respecting others even through times of frustration.

  • Saying  excuse me  when needing someone to move or get their attention
  • Patiently waiting  for a parent to finish talking to another parent before chiming in
  • Saying  please and thank you  shows consideration and appreciation
  • Making  eye contact  when speaking to others
  • Apologizing  when you do something wrong
  • Ask questions  to others about how their day is or how they are feeling
  • Compliment  others on their clothes, hair, or something they did
  • Share  their toys or items that belong to them
  • No pushing, hitting, biting, or pulling hair to hurt others in any way

20. Staying Healthy: Good Hygiene and Eating Well

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

Teaching your 3 year old to practice good hygiene and healthy eating is great to start young . Build-in their hygiene routine throughout the day and they will become accustomed to this regimen. Eating healthy foods early on to set them off for a healthy diet for the rest of their life. These include:

  • eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and proteins. Avoid: processed foods, unhealthy snacks, and sweets
  • washing hands after meals and potty
  • brushing teeth morning and night
  • bathing daily or every other day
  • keeping their clothes and body clean while they eat or play
  • covering their mouth when they sneeze or cough
  • blowing their nose into a tissue
  • wiping their own privates after going potty

Complying with:

  • brushing and combing hair
  • cutting fingernails and toenails
  • cleaning inside ears with a  child safety q-tip

Related Post:  How to Get Your Picky Toddler to Try New Foods

21. Acting Appropriately in Public and Understanding “No”

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

Preschoolers are very ego-centric (only care about themselves). It’s totally normal for them to only think about how things will affect them. This almost always leads to inappropriate behaviors as they learn what behaviors get them what they want.

Don’t always give in to every cry  and teach them that sometimes they can’t get everything that they want. Don’t always give them the cookie that they’re begging for or the new toy at the store. If they must get the object that they desire, make them earn it.

Teach your 3-year-old how to act appropriately to avoid tantrums in public. Try  putting rules in place  when you are out so they know what is expected of them. Always have a way to redirect or distract them when you see a tantrum starting (using something else they are interested in). Lastly, just avoid situations that could set them off.

This is a great article about  Tips for Cry-Free Shopping with Your Toddler

22. Empathy and Compassion

From a young age, you want to fill your child with compassion and empathy for others . Teach them about emotions and to be conscious of other people’s feelings.

  • If they see someone crying, ask what’s wrong.
  • If they see someone alone, go over and play with them.
  • If they see someone that looks different than them, treat them equally.
  • If they hurt someone, apologize and make it better

It’s never too early to talk to your children about race , ethnicity, disabilities, and recognizing differences between others.

23. Structure and a Routine

learn to write for 3 year olds

Your 3 year old probably already has some routine in place throughout their day . However, you want to ensure that they are consistently doing what is asked of them so that they could even do it on their own if needed.

The more structure that your child has in their day, the more they will start to understand time and a daily schedule.

I love using a  routine or responsibility chart (like the blue/green one on the right) so my toddler can have a visual cue of everything that is expected of her. Use  one with pictures  instead of just words, ( like this Mickey Mouse chart ), so your toddler actually understands what it’s for.

Here are some examples of day-to-day routines that you can create a specific pattern for:

  • Bedtime: Brush teeth, go potty, wash hands, put pajamas on, read a story, go to sleep
  • Morning: Go potty, wash hands, brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast
  • Before naptime
  • Pre-dinner wind-down time
  • Cleaning time
  • Getting ready for school/daycare : Packing their backpack, putting their jackets and shoes on, getting themselves into the car

Related Post:  Why Your Child Needs a Daily Routine and How to Make One

24. Staying on Task

A 3 year old’s attention span is still quite short, although it should have increased a lot since toddlerhood. It’s only reasonable to ask them to focus on a task for around 6-10 minutes at this age.

However, it is important for them to be aware that once they start a task they should finish it to completion. My daughter loves to grab a puzzle and put in 3 pieces and walk away or sit down and read 2 pages and then walk away.

The goal of teaching your child to stay on task is to complete what they start.  Here are some tips:

  • While playing with your child, make sure that they complete the entire activity, ie. puzzle or read through the whole book, before they get up and run around.
  • If they’re coloring or building a tower, keep them engaged in that one activity for as long as possible before you let them move on to the next.
  • During mealtimes make sure they remain seated and finish their meal before getting up and playing.
  • Make sure they clean up one activity before moving on to the next

25. Be a Helper and Doing “Chores”

Little kids LOVE to help grown-ups. They want to do everything that you’re doing because they’re starting to gain this growing confidence and independence. Invite them to perform tasks that they may not be able to do independently, but that they can help you with.

  • Get the mail
  • Take the trash out
  • Refill the toilet paper roll dispenser
  • Help with cooking: mixing, adding ingredients
  • Carrying in bags or groceries
  • Fill the dog bowl
  • Entertain a younger sibling
  • Cleaning up their toys
  • Cleaning up after themselves: throwing their dishes in the sink garbage in the trash can
  • Wiping down the table or floor when they make messes

26. Technology

Technology or screen time should be  limited  for preschoolers to no more than 2 hours a day, but it is still important for your child to learn how to use these devices. The fine motor skill of swiping, clicking, and sliding to nagivate through tablets and smart phones are something that your 3 year old can easily learn.

Ipad  educational games like  ABC Mouse are great to sharpen a lot of the educational skills listen above, as well as practice using a tablet or smart phone. There’s a great curriculum based on age and developmental level that teaches them so many new skills.

Get 30 Days Free of ABCmouse.com!

My 3 year old loves  ABC Mouse because of the wide variety of games and fun. She’s learning how to trace letters, numbers, make new sounds and words, etc.

Leapfrog Laptop  is also a fun interactive computer that little words can learn letters and typing on.

learn to write for 3 year olds

27. Sorting and Comparing

Sorting and comparing is a skill that you can teach your 3 year old. Make them aware of how objects are the same and different. Some of the criteria that they can use to sort is by:

  • size (big, medium, small)
  • categories (fruits vs. vegetables, farm animals vs. ocean animals)
  • pattern (stripes, polka dots, solids)

Not sure if you're ready to send your 3 year old off to preschool just yet? Here are some learning skills that you can easily teach your 3 year old at home to help them develop language, vocabulary, fine/gross motor skills & social skills, and cognition in preschoolers

This sorting pie from Learning Resources is a great way to practice sorting and categorizing objects by the features mentioned above.

28. Follow Multi-Step Directions

Your 3 year old should now have progressed from only understanding and following 1-step directions (i.e. put your shoes on) to following 2-3 step directions (i.e. get your shoes from the closet, put them on, and go wait by the car).

Practice with 2 steps at first to make sure they can focus on the direction given, process it, and carry it out. Then you can try adding in another step to see if they can still follow.

At times, your little one may be distracted to get all the distractions, and that’s ok since their attention span is still short, but as they approach 4, they should really be listening to you intently and follow your commands.

29. Rhyming Words and Opposites

You can teach your 3 year old some rhyming and opposite words at this age, as well. Short words that sound alike (ie. rat, bat and sky, tie) should be easy for them to catch on to.

Opposite words, for example in-out, up-down, should also be learned at this age as they use these words all the time. They should already know the words, but now understanding the meaning and how they are opposites of each other will really get their mind stimulated and understanding these concepts.

30. Sight Words

The first sight word that your preschooler may be able to spell and recognize is their name. Teach them how to spell their name and how to recognize it when it’s written. Those name puzzles shown above are great for practicing this!

Although your child isn’t expected to know sight words until later on, it can’t hurt to expose them to it now. Sight words are words that may not sound the wya they are spelled so they will have to just memorize the way the word looks.

These are typically commonly used words, for example, like, the, and my. As you read to your child, you will probably come across these words several times.

Point out the words to them and tell them what they say. If you tend to read the same books over and over, they should quickly pick up on what a word looks like and say it as you read. Not only soul you point these words out in their favorite book, but wherever you see it whether it’s a cereal box or sign.

Flash cards are also great for learning sight words, however they are a bit young for this.

31. Days of the week/Months of the Year/Seasons

By going over the calendar daily or singing songs, your 3 year old can learn the days of the week and months of the year pretty quickly. They still may not get a true sense of how these time periods work, but they can memorize a list of these items.

Most of these skills listed above can be accomplished at some point while a child is between three and four, but every child develops at their own pace.

This article is not intended to skew your mind into thinking that your child MUST know these concepts. However, if you are looking for activities to do with your child, ways to engage their mind, or knowledge to teach them, these are some great tips. Your child is NOT behind if they can’t adequately do all of these things, but if you are concerned, please speak to your pediatrician.

Have fun teaching your three-year-old and enjoy watching them blossom this year. They’ll be growing and developing before your eyes so don’t blink! Here are some more great activity ideas to do with your little one.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Related posts:

How Wee Learn

Out of the box learning ideas, playful art, exploring nature, and simple living - that is How We Learn!

Teaching Letter Recognition – What Order to Introduce Letters

February 12, 2024 by Sarah 66 Comments

Wondering about the order for teaching letters to your little ones? I’m on it!

I feel as though I am always writing about waiting to teach letter recognition. Wait and let little hands get strengthened by other activities. Wait until little minds have had ample time to hear different words and sounds . But a day will come when you SHOULD teach your little ones their alphabet letters, of course.

Whether it is when they are 3, 4, 5, or 6, at one point or another, they will be ready, and teaching letter recognition will be the name of the game. So, when they are ready, what is the order for teaching letters?

Don’t worry—I have an opinion on that too!

In fact, I have an entire learn-to-read program that includes letter recognition! How Wee Read covers it all, from rhyming to reading in 60 sequential, simple, and beautiful lessons:

  • Step One: Phonological Awareness (7 lessons)
  • Step Two: Letters, Sounds, and Blending (12 lessons)
  • Step Three: Special Rules (5 lessons)
  • Step Four: Familiar Readers (36 lessons)

You can grab a FREE Sample of How Wee Read, including beautiful letter cards that focus on the first grouping of letters—s, a, t, i, p, n—right here:

WAIT! Don't Teach the ABCs (at least not in that order)

What Order to Introduce the Alphabet Letters

When I was in the Kindergarten classroom, I did not teach letter recognition in alphabetical order. I began with “name letters” as these letters hold a very important meaning to children. So for “Sammy,” he learned all about s, a, m, and y.

Once children know their name letters well, I would introduce the other alphabet letters (and sounds) in this order: 

learn to write for 3 year olds

At first, relatively quickly, I would introduce the first row of letters, maybe over a week. Then we do lots of activities playing with those letters: their sounds, shapes, and names. Once they are mastered, we add in the next row. Building and growing, slow and steady.

Starting with the lowercase is helpful, and something I have begun doing—though I haven’t always. Clearly, little ones need to know both upper and lowercase letters, but since so much of the print in our everyday lives is lowercase, I find it beneficial to start in that way.

The letter order is similar to the way the letters are taught in the Jolly Phonics Program. By teaching the letters in this manner, children are able to begin forming words very quickly. After learning the first six letters, kids can make words in the “at,” “an,” “it,” “ip,” “ap,” and “in” word families.

  • s, a, t, i, p, n
  • c, k, e, h, r
  • l, f, b, q, u

Introducing the letters and letting little ones begin to make words almost right away creates a huge sense of pride. And since you waited to introduce the letters (you did wait, right?) they are absolutely ready and will be catching on right away, grasping those letter names and sounds easily. If not, perhaps wait a little longer.

I know it is hard (trust me, I know!) but waiting until your little one is ready will save you both mounds of frustration, and ensure your little one loves learning. There is no rush.

Of course, ideas and games for introducing letters can be found all over How Wee Learn!

Games to Help Little Ones Learn Letters

Ready to start helping your little ones learn their letters? Here are some great ideas and fun games that will have those letters mastered in no time!

Digging Up Letters – Grab some dump trucks, diggers, and pebbles and “dig up” some letter-learning fun with your preschooler! This post shares more information about the order for teaching the letters.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Flying into Letter Recognition – This fun one just requires painter’s tape and construction paper . Pop that first group of alphabet letters (s, a, t, i, p, n) on the ground using painter’s tape and let those little ones throw paper airplanes to learn their ABCs!

flying paper airplanes to identify letters

Swat the ABC Balloons – We love using balloons for fun learning games. This alphabet activity is absolutely perfect for preschoolers as it engages the whole body. And we all know 3-year-olds LOVE to learn with their whole body.

Awesome alphabet recognition game for preschoolers! Great way to practice letters and sounds in hands-on ways! #alphabet #preschool #grossmotor

Zoom and Sort the ABCs – All you need is painter’s tape and some toy cars for this one. This one uses painter’s tape in a different way; the painter’s tape forms the road while the cars hold the letters. This letters activity for preschoolers is great for introducing capital and lowercase letters. 

playing with cars and racing to sort the letters is a fun way to practice the abc's!

Pipecleaner and Popsicle Stick Letters – Forming letters with pipecleaners and popsicle sticks on a homemade sticky board  – popsicle sticks can be used for so many purposes!

An awesome alphabet activity for preschoolers! This one uses popsicle sticks and piecleaners to make letter shapes.

Skeleton Bone Writing (bending Qtips!) – We use Qtips a lot over here for learning games like this one. Bending those Qtips is a great way to make the curvy parts of the letters. Having children manipulate objects to form letters is a very powerful learning opportunity.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Re-useable Alphabet Paper Chain Games – We use construction paper a lot to make simple paper chains. I like to add velcro to make these chains reusable again and again. Little words can be built and played with all day long. 

how we learn, how wee learn

Building a Name with Blocks  – Duplo building blocks are a favourite here, and they are perfect for this name-building game.

name activities for preschoolers

Mail Play! – Mailing friends their “name letters” is a great way to practice letter recognition! Matching letters of the alphabet is a great place to start with letter recognition. First, little ones recognize which letters match, then they can practice forming the letters from a sample, and finally, they can produce it on their own. The order for teaching letters can be the same for all of these steps. 

learn to write for 3 year olds

Dinosaur Bone (Well, Letter) Excavating – Magnetic alphabet letters can be used for so many learning activities, like this fun dinosaur letter excavation!

a learning uppercase and lowercase letter matching game

An A-MAZE-ing Letter Learning Game – Grab that painter’s tape once more! This time we made a fun maze for learning our alphabet letters. 

Learning letters game with running and fun!

Now that you are armed with some fun games, have an idea about the order for teaching letters, and have waited for your little one to be ready… it is time to let them learn those letters!

Have fun with this big step with your little ones. And remember, slow is always better. Follow your child’s lead and keep it light and fun. This is the beginning of a lifetime of learning and a love of reading.

For absolutely everything you need to teach your child to read— from rhyming to reading —check out How Wee Read:

https://shop.howweelearn.com/ pages/how-wee-read

Let's take the mystery out of learning to read. From Rhyming to Reading in 60 Simple Lessons. Discover How Wee Learn.

Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend!

"Mom, you're the BEST!"

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June 28, 2015 at 9:40 am

Very helpful article!How do you know when your child is ready to learn letter recognition?

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June 29, 2015 at 1:41 pm

Very glad you found this helpful Jessica. A great way to know when little ones are ready is when they start asking questions about letters, asking what signs say, and generally begin to show an interest. Another way is to begin with a child’s name letters slowly. If they pick them up quickly, and remember them, then they are probably set. A lot of individuals who follow the Waldorf education philosophy believe it is best to wait quite a long time, regardless of whether little ones are ‘ready’ or not, allowing them to experience and develop in all the other important areas first. Letters are not introduced until first grade with that curriculum. There are all different views, all with positives and negatives. You just need to listen to yourself and your child to find out what will work best for your family. Hope this is somewhat helpful! Thank you for reading.

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July 26, 2015 at 2:42 pm

hi Sarah, I was just wondering if you would teach the alphabet this way to all students. Do you find it is easier for them?

Thanks so much for posting this,

July 26, 2015 at 8:13 pm

Hi Eunice, Thank you for reading! So glad you find it helpful. I do (personally) introduce letters in this manner – both to my own little ones, and to the children in my classroom. I begin with name letters, and then move through the letters in this order. I introduce sounds as well and have little ones build words and practice phonetics right from the get go. Hope this helps!

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June 12, 2022 at 9:14 pm

As a pediatric Occupational Therapist who consults with teachers about how to best teach letter FORMATION, this is not accurate. Children learn how to write letters in a developmental pattern. Horizontal and vertical lines first, then curves, then diagonals. Also, there are several more strokes when writing lowercase letters, so this is why uppercase letters (combination of only 4 strokes) should be taught first. When teaching children how to write their letters, the research is quite different than what you are suggesting.

July 5, 2022 at 9:47 pm

This is a great point, Sarah! I believe in delayed writing, and am encouraging this method for teaching letter recognition, not formation. With these games and activities children practice letters and also practice building those important fine motor skills, pincer grip, and hand strength. Once children are ready to hold a pencil they will be strong and capable and will be able to print without any trouble. I believe children struggle to learn to print because they are being asked to write too young, or before hand muscles have properly developed for a number of reasons. Would you agree?

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September 8, 2015 at 7:20 pm

Great resource to teach ESL students the alphabet in English. Thanks!!

September 13, 2015 at 10:00 pm

Very glad it is helpful Adriana, thank you for commenting.

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September 28, 2015 at 12:25 am

Thanks for this, it’s great! I’m about to start letters with my 4.5yo daughter and I just wondered if when you teach the name letters you use a capital letter for the first letter and lower case for the following letters?

September 30, 2015 at 10:57 pm

Hi Carly! Yes, that is how I would recommend it. I have done both ways, all uppercase and only the first letter uppercase, but I think for a name it is nice for little ones to be able to easily recognize it as it will be written in their environment 🙂 Hope this helps! Good luck and have fun Mama!

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September 30, 2015 at 12:41 pm

Love this! I used Jolly Phonics when I taught kind and it’s awesome! What would you recommend for second grader who speaks no English to start with? The first group, or ABC order? He speaks only Portuguese and is nearly deaf in both ears, so it’s hard for him to even repeat sounds, let alone remember them. He is also not literate in his native language, so I have no foundation to start on.

October 14, 2015 at 7:50 pm

Well this is beyond my knowledge base I’m afraid Jenny! I would suggest talking with other ELL/ESL teachers. Personally, I see no reason to teach in ABC order … What a feat – best of luck to you and your little student!!

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October 1, 2015 at 8:47 am

Is there a special way to teach the letters and sounds to a high functional autistic child. My son is in kindergarten and falling way behind his classmates.

October 3, 2015 at 10:22 pm

Hi there, Thank you so much for your question. I have taught children with autism before, so I in fact do have a suggestion or two. Perhaps you could email me at [email protected] and I could offer a suggestion or two and give you some helpful links. I can say that for many, many children (with special needs and typically developing) they need a lot of time to play and explore with letters and sounds before they are ready to grasp ‘learning’ them. My daughter started learning to read at 4, whereas my middle son is still learning his letter sounds at 5. Thank you for reaching out and I hope I can be of help!

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October 3, 2015 at 1:36 pm

I just found your site, I love! Thank you.I will be ordering your book!

October 3, 2015 at 10:13 pm

Wonderful! So happy you found me – and I hope you love my book!Thank you for taking the time to comment.

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December 21, 2015 at 8:23 pm

Wow!! I am so inspired by these activities. My son is four, and his teachers are on my case about him not knowing his letters and numbers. I personally agree with you — I just think he is not interested right now. However, I do have to work with him on it to keep him caught up and googled some ideas. I absolutely LOVE you excavation game!! And your use of tape!! I cannot wait to try these out with him. Thank you so much for these creative ideas.. I wish they were being implemented in my son’s classroom! I find he is a kinesthetic learner — do you have any more suggestions that will really help in dig in and get his hands on the letters? Thanks again!

December 21, 2015 at 10:02 pm

Oh I am so happy you like this post! My two little boys are also kinesthetic learners so oodles of my posts, past and upcoming, will hopefully be a fun way for your little one to play with letters. For my little ones we are still focusing on tons of reading aloud, rhymes, and songs. And, in fact, I am just nearing the end of a book exactly on this topic! I will be sure to email you an advanced copy to check out when it is ready 🙂 Thank you for reading How Wee Learn!

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January 15, 2016 at 1:51 am

Have a 4 1/2 yr old grandson in preschool not yet showing readiness to read but loves being read to. My son is anxious for him to start. With some dyslexia on both sides of family I tell my son not to worry or push him, just be patient and keep reading to him. I’d love to send his folks your book, is it on Amazon?

January 19, 2016 at 9:55 pm

I completely agree Ruth. Parents just need to read, read, read until their little ones are ready to read, read, read! And thank you for passing along my book – it is on Amazon – here is the (affiliate) link: http://amzn.to/1Ovo0E0

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February 19, 2016 at 10:42 pm

This is an excellent article! I’d love to share this on my blog!

February 22, 2016 at 7:37 pm

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March 10, 2016 at 11:10 am

My son will be 5 on March 17. He is in a private school in a 4k program. He is having trouble remembering his letters and doing work on his own without teacher assistance when expected. I am having huge anxiety over the school implying this may mean he should not go to 5k which I disagree with. I am going to start using your methods with him at home but wanted your opinion on whether this is a reason to hold him back from 5k???

March 12, 2016 at 10:27 pm

Hi Lynn, I am sorry to hear you are having issues with your school. I am afraid I cannot offer much guidance as I am not sure the extent of any issues. I am a very large advocate for giving children time and delaying academics. However, there are certain developmental milestones that should be reached when a child is 4. For me, a child not knowing his letters or numbers at age 4 is certainly not an issue whatsoever, but I am not in the classroom with your little one. I would strongly encourage you to express your concerns and talk very openly with the teacher about expectations the school holds to be sure they match developmentally appropriate expectations. 4 is very, very little, and the most important thing is that he feels good about himself and his abilities. You should feel very proud of yourself for questioning things and ensuring decisions made are made with careful consideration. I wish I could be more helpful, but I hope you find answers and your little one gets the time he needs.

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July 30, 2016 at 7:40 am

I am a teacher and have my own little ones at home, l really love your post and method,I use jolly phonics to teach and I can see this is so close to it. I will adopt some if your activities here in class and at home. Thank you for you work.

August 2, 2016 at 9:13 pm

So happy you found it helpful. Thank you for taking the time to let me know!

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August 2, 2016 at 7:28 am

Our school has what they call “kindergarten round up” where next years kinders get used to the school once a month the entire school year before. What we’re finding out is that they are cutting, playing alphabet bingo and are fully expected to go in (the year before mind you) recognizing both upper and lower case! Going into this round up my daughter is ready to begin learning, but my son is still not really ready (they’re twins). It almost makes me want to home school! Thanks for this great resource!

August 2, 2016 at 9:12 pm

Wow. I am always so interested to hear how other school systems work and what the expectations are. They are so varied and the differences are amazingly vast. Some little ones would be ready for that of course, but others would be no where near ready! Homeschooling is so much more prevalent than you might expect … It is certainly not right for everyone, but it is a really valid option.

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August 17, 2016 at 8:58 pm

Hi Billie, just wanted to say how much I sympathize with you as our situations are so similar. When my now 5th grader was in kinder we had missed the “roundup” so we didn’t find out until the first few weeks of kinder how much farther “behind”she was. She was so excited and full of confidence going in and made great progress within the first quarter, but was being pushed so hard to catch up to the other kids (and staying late every day for a teacher recommended catch-up class, and homework each night [seriously?]) that she quickly became overburdened, insecure, and lost her spark. By the second quarter she had regressed and wasn’t even interested anymore. It was devastating. We finished out the year and decided to homeschool 1st grade, just to catch back up without the pressure and strain of 26 (yes, 26!) other kindergarteners to be compared with. It worked out so much better for us that 5 years later we’ve never looked back. However, it took years to regenerate that original spark again in regards to reading. It was nerve-wracking to have a 1st, then 2nd, then 3rd! grader that was not interested or “on grade level” in reading. But, even in 3rd grade, we just stayed chill about it and didn’t push. All of a sudden during summer between 3/4 she blossomed, all on her own, and now at the start of 5th grade she is reading at an “end of year” 6th grade level. Simplified classics mainly. It was a miracle. Anyway, ALL that to say – I understand, I agree, the pressure on your teeny tiny little boy is real and *can do damage, though not necessarily. Just wanted you to feel heard and be able to see at least one reallife potential outcome to your situation. Now with our 4 year old, I’m so so so not concerned. I’ll be able to see if he’s ready for kinder next year. If not, whatevs. Hope this helps 🙂 (P.S. we love homeschooling and certainly recommend it for a million different reasons in addition to academics, but it’s cool if it doesn’t work for everyone. Life’s not black and white. )

August 19, 2016 at 9:12 pm

I love this response Elizabeth. Thank you very much for your kindness and support. I am so thrilled you were able to follow your daughter’s lead and give her the time she needed to thrive. Thank you for sharing your story.

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January 8, 2017 at 9:39 pm

I have one November born 4 year old who does not recognize the letters in his name I was delighted, relieved, etc. to find your suggestions to answer the question “what next.” The order you have given for introducing the Alphabet after letters in your name gives me a place to start. What story, how to do small groups ,what to present during large group meeting time… will become apparent to me as I look at the needs of my children. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you…This is serious stuff…Thank you, I had no real idea of “what next”

January 22, 2017 at 7:38 am

This comment has put a huge smile on my face. I am so happy to be able to offer suggestions you find helpful. Thank you very much for taking the time to let me know!!

January 8, 2017 at 9:45 pm

My “thank you” is because, thanks to your suggestion, I have a plan for the rest of the class – those that recognize the letters in their names.

January 22, 2017 at 7:37 am

Wonderful! SO happy this was helpful.

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September 21, 2017 at 10:08 pm

Hi, my daughter is 5 1/2 and a spirited, outgoing, delightful child. She started kindergarten a month ago and her teacher is admonishing her because she doesn’t know all her letters yet. My daughter is clearly discouraged and “losing her spark” as someone said above. We are working hard with her on her letters but she just says “I don’t remember them” and gets frustrated. Any suggestions?

October 18, 2017 at 3:07 pm

I am so sorry to hear this. My suggestion, though I know it is really not helpful, is to give her time. Many little ones simply aren’t ready or interested in learning their letter at that age. Here in Ontario, where I teach Kindergarten, we are a purely play based program. However, since time might not be an option, I would suggest starting with her name letters. Practice them nice and slowly and don’t introduce anymore until she is SUPER confident with them. Once she really, really knows those letters, add in “S”, “A”, and “T” and again learn them nice and slowly. Pop them on the stairs and jump up them saying the letters before bed, pop them on the wall and high five them as you call them out as you walk past. I have so many playful ideas for learning letters on the blog – please feel free to use my search bar for more simple ideas. The biggest thing I can suggest is to go very, very slowly. We want that little munchkin to be super confident. Please email me if I can be of any further help [email protected] . Good luck Mama!

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October 10, 2017 at 10:51 pm

I have a 3 year old who loves to be read too. He asks a million questions while we are reading, loves taking picture walks throughout books and will read with me for long stretches. He asks what words are and tracks the sentences with his finger as we read. He will ask what letter something is or wants to know what anything written says. However when ever I try to help him learn his letters he fights it. We have recently started working on his name. We do crafts, make shapes with our bodies, on walks I try to have him find certain letters in the signs we see, and he has fun doing it. Lots of variety, but as soon as I ask what a specific letter is he will not do it or even try to say. I feel he wants to learn to read, But just not from me. Any advice on what I can do to help him better?

I love the ideas I will be trying a lot of these out. Thank you

October 18, 2017 at 2:55 pm

Hi Michelle,

Thank you for taking the time to write! It seems like you have one very smart little guy in your home! It sounds like you are doing so many wonderful things. All the time you are spending with him reading is huge, and is so, so beneficial. I actually have an eBook I have written entirely about this topic as it is one that keeps coming up again and again (for good reason!) It is called Play into Reading Readiness and is a step by step guide for playfully teaching children phonological awareness skills (which are needed before children can read), letters, sounds, and even outlines how to teach children to read. It is $8 and can be found on my “Books” page right here . Best of luck and please let me know if I can help in any way – I am just an email away [email protected]

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June 2, 2018 at 8:56 am

Hi Sarah, I was wondering if I could teach the Satpin order to children who are 2.5 years old? I had another questions, is that when we sing ABCD would it confuse the child if we teach them in the satpin order?

July 5, 2018 at 7:46 pm

Hi Jessica! Thank you so much for your question. 2.5 is pretty little to begin teaching letter names and sounds, unless of course your little one is very interested in this topic. There are oodles of phonological awareness activities to be playing with children before they learn letter names and sounds which will give them such a strong foundation that learning names and sounds comes so easily. I go by child readiness more so than age myself. I am happy to chat with you more about this, please shoot me an email: [email protected] Thank you!!

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September 11, 2018 at 1:03 pm

Hello my 5 year old just started kindergarten and will be 6 in December. I just found out that she is behind majority of her classmates. She is not having an easy time recognizing her letters. She is great at comprehension, but when it is time to learn her letters it is taking longer to get her there. I just purchased ABC mouse, and she is seeing a resource teacher 30 mins each day while at school. Is there any other advise you would suggest we do at home? How would I be able to tell if it is something else that may be holding her back?

October 5, 2018 at 8:33 pm

Hi Trina, Thank you for reaching out. Five is very young! I know, being a Kindergarten teacher, that the pressure to teach little ones more and more at a younger and younger age is a big issue in the classroom. A really large part of learning to read is knowing phonemic awareness. This really is the starting point for all other literacy to grow on. A strong foundation is what our little ones need to start with. I have written an eBook all about this and feel it would be very beneficial to you and your daughter. You can find it here: https://www.howweelearn.com/reading-readiness-preschoolers/ If you have any questions, or if I can help you in any way, please email me at [email protected] . Hang in there Mama, xoxo

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October 21, 2018 at 9:34 am

Laptop’s Fridgephonics songs are great and I also apply the Tucker hand signs for the sounds provide good recall for the Development all Preschool program I work in. We do lots of rhymes and reading and games as well with thematic plans. I stay away from worksheet.

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January 9, 2019 at 11:33 pm

Hello. I have a bit of a quandary. like Sarah, my 26 month old twin grandsons are very, very interested in letters, sounds, letter patterns, and even grammatical symbols like commas & exclamation points. We were aware that they recognized their names (& each other’s), but it appears that they are recognizing words “out of context” i.e. without pictures, both alone & in sentences. And they point out letters & say the sounds often throughout the day. We did do the library “read 1000 books before kindergarten” in two months, so they enjoy books a lot. If they recognize 40+ words, are they actually reading? How do we make sure they continue to enjoy letters & words? How do we know they won’t be bored with preschool or kindergarten if they are reading very early? Should we be trying to slow them down somehow?

January 22, 2019 at 8:38 pm

Wow this is very fascinating. I would love to chat with you further about this. Could you please email me: [email protected] Thank you,

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January 20, 2019 at 3:12 pm

Hi Sarah! I love your site and lifestyle and also the helpful content you share here on your website. My name is Sarah as well and I live in Portland, Oregon. I’m currently trying to get pregnant, so no kids here yet but I will bookmark your site for the future. I recently started a site that shares gift ideas for kids that are either eco-friendly, long-lasting or inspire creativity and/or make learning fun. Perhaps once it grows into something bigger (I just launched it this month) we could talk about doing some guest posts :).

Here’s the site if you’d like to take a look: https://happylittletadpole.com/2019/01/05/wooden-abc-blocks/ – I linked to the ABC block post as it’s related to yours. I’ll bookmark your site for now and maybe we can chat in the future! 🙂

PS: Love the hats you make for your chickens!

January 22, 2019 at 7:59 pm

Thank you for taking the time to comment and introduce yourself. I had a look at your blog and it looks beautiful. I look forward to following along as you start your blogging journey! Please feel free to email me anytime 🙂 Sarah

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February 25, 2019 at 6:25 pm

I am lucky to have just found your site and I love it. I have been yearning to know more about the appropriate methods of teaching letters to the kids. I will appreciate those resource materials and videos that can help me out. I have a school in Nigeria and have been searching for who/materials to teach/help me out. Read through your comments and I am really blessed.

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May 1, 2019 at 6:02 pm

Hi I just found your site and wow! Do you happen to have a list of words to teach along with the letters? I don’t want to miss any as I am highly interested in this teaching method with my child care.

November 16, 2019 at 4:36 pm

Hi Cailie, Thank you for your message! A list of words to go along with this post is coming your way soon – thank you for the idea!

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May 2, 2019 at 3:30 pm

Hi. I am teaching my four year old nephew he is learning his alphabet he does know the song and sings it and does write his letters and name. He is however autistic so it’s a little harder for him to focus. How can I make learning more fun for him to be able to teach him?

May 30, 2019 at 10:24 pm

Hi Nicole, Thank you for your message. How wonderful that you are teaching your nephew! I have many resources that will be helpful to you. This free printable is a great place for you to start. I also have an eBook that would be ideal. Please feel free to email me any questions: [email protected]

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August 23, 2019 at 2:23 pm

Hi. I really enjoyed this post and I’m looking forward to implementing it when I start “school” with my almost 4yo in a few weeks. I love the idea of starting with teaching her the letters in her name but was wondering why you don’t recommend teaching letters in alphabetical order? I kind of feel, like someone else said above that it would be confusing to teach them out of order but still sing the ABC song. I could however see kids just memorizing the order verses actually learning the letter but I would be really interested in hearing your reason as to why you teach them out of order.

December 1, 2019 at 9:22 pm

Hi Angela, That is so exciting that you are about to start school with your daughter! You will have so many special memories and adventures ahead. The main reason I suggest the s, a, t, i, p, n order is because it helps little ones begin to read right away. They can immediately form small words like: sat and pat. There is a lot more information about this within the post above. Please email me any other questions and I will be very happy to help: [email protected]

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May 3, 2020 at 1:14 pm

Thank you so much for your weekly packets. I am using the preschool packet during this time of school closure. I appreciate your kindness so much. Thank you.

May 3, 2020 at 9:39 pm

You are so welcome Orpita! I am very happy the printable bundles are helpful to you (and for those of you reading this comment and perhaps wondering about the bundles, you can see them here: School Closure Bundles

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July 2, 2020 at 1:34 pm

I’m starting the letters over again with my preschool class and I’m using this format when teaching them this time. They love learning new letters, all my kids love the letters of the day songs. Thanks for all the fun helpful tips

July 9, 2020 at 8:51 pm

Please keep me posted, Becca! I am so glad that my blog is helpful to you. Thank you so much for the encouragement!

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January 18, 2021 at 10:50 pm

Thanks for the video. While I never sit down and watch videos, I listen to them when cleaning the kitchen, folding laundry, and doing other exciting mom tasks. Then I peek back at your blog if I have questions. The videos add a lot to your already excellent blog. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

January 20, 2021 at 7:58 pm

Thank you so much for your encouragement Sara! I appreciate it very much and it is also helpful for me to know how parents are using the videos – doesn’t make me feel nearly as nervous to know I am just being listened to 🙂 Thank you very much for your kind comment xo

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June 2, 2022 at 4:26 am

Hello 🙂 thank you for helpful info and tips. I have a question though – is this recommended order universal for all languages? Or it wouldn’t make sense for other languages than english? Thank you.

June 5, 2022 at 7:51 pm

Great question, Alexandra! This is the order so word families can begin to be built, so it is really only relevant to the English language.

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June 3, 2022 at 4:22 pm

I work in a private preschool in a two year old room. We are expected to introduce them to letters and we’ve always followed along alphabetically. Would you say this method to be appropriate as a simple introduction? I strive to do things age appropriately.

June 5, 2022 at 7:50 pm

In my opinion 2 is too young to be focusing on letters, for the vast majority of children. So I would suggest you keep it crafty, hands on, and focus more on the process of creating the shapes with their hands, then focusing on the letters themselves. The order really doesn’t matter at this age, as the letter knowledge won’t be retained deeply. I suggest starting this order when children are 3-4. Thank you for asking!

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November 22, 2022 at 4:23 pm

Thanks for this resource! I’m starting next week with my littles ♥️

December 4, 2022 at 9:16 pm

Wonderful! Please let me know if you have any questions at all. xo

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learn to write for 3 year olds

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9 Pre-writing activities for 3 year olds

learn to write for 3 year olds

Pre-writing activities for 3 year olds can help your child get ready to learn to write in a fun way that provides stimulation to their growing minds. This list of activities has been hand-selected to be perfect for three year olds. You may use this list as a whole, or use parts of it to create your own pre-writing activity book. Get started exploring some great pre-writing activities that will keep your child engaged while they learn and grow!

1) Coloring

2) telling stories, 3) playing with puppets, 4) playing with sand and water, 5) bubble wrap letters, 6) drawing with chalk, 7) tracing patterns, 8) drawing with a paint brush, 9) play-doh letters, pre-writing activities for 3 year olds: final thoughts, pre-writing activities for 3 year olds.

Here’s my quick list of 8 pre-writing activities for 3 year old children.

Coloring is a very basic activity that will help your child learn the skills they need to draw. Use coloring books designed for preschoolers, or grab coloring pages online or in printable coloring books. They will color pictures and numbers and letters, which will help them get familiar with the shapes and forms of these shapes.

Additionally, coloring will help them learn about color, or the way that different colors fill the world around them. As they learn about creating shapes with their crayons, they will also be building their fine motor skills. Use crayons and other art supplies to get them started on this fun activity, and then let them use their imaginations to color pictures to their heart’s content.

Telling stories is a creative activity that allows you to get creative with your child, while they are still learning. One of the easiest ways to do this is by using a basic storybook. Point at each picture, and tell them the story that you see. If the story is about someone waiting for the bus, ask them what their favorite bus is.

As your child gets older, you can start putting together simple story books for them to put their own stories into. You can use basic shapes or stickers to help them create their own characters and story lines. The more your child practices, the better they will get.

Puppets can be a lot of fun for young children and provide them with a great way to learn and grow. You don’t need expensive puppets, and you can even make your own. The point of this pre-writing activity is to help your child get used to dialogue, and also help them build their fine motor skills.

One of the best ways to build fine motor skills is through play. Getting ready to write involves fine motor skills, and you can use puppets to help your child learn these skills. They reach and wave, and gesture and point, which will help them to build these skills.

Playing with sand and water is a fun activity for children of all ages. Your three year old can use water to help them learn about how water is shaped and shaped by things it touches. For example, they can dump a pile of sand onto the water and see what happens. They can also use water to touch the sand and make things even wetter.

This help your child get ready to learn the basics of physics. Even though they are still three years old, it’s never too early to start to learn about how objects interact in the world around them.

Every child (and most adults) love popping plastic bubble-wrap. You can easily write a letter onto the bubble-wrap and have your child only pop the bubbles that are connected to the letters you draw. This will help them learn the basics of letter formation, and it will be loads of fun!

Getting 3 year olds accustomed to letters early is a good idea, and you can get started today. Bubble wrap is perfect for this activity because everyone loves to pop it, and you can easily throw away the mess after you’re done with the pre-writing activity.

Drawing with chalk is similar to coloring. It will help your child get used to the movements to write, and develop how to form letters with their fingers. It will also help build their fine motor skills, which are crucial to learning how to write.

You may not have a lot of space in your house, which is where sidewalk chalk comes in. It’s small, so you can easily carry it outside and have your child draw letters, shapes and pictures in the sidewalk. This is also a fun activity to do in the park, letting your child express their creativity without making a big mess at home.

It can be hard for young children to pay attention, but the tracing patterns pre-writing activity will help with that by keeping your child engaged. First, you should make a large, clear pattern. They can trace along the lines with a dry erase marker, or a crayon.

As they get older, you can provide them with a large, clear mirror. They will see the letters reflected in the mirror, and practice tracing the letters in the same way that they would see it in a mirror. This will help them to get used to the mirrored images that they will see in their own handwriting.

Paint brushes are an amazing tool to help your child learn how to write. They are fun and easy to use, and they can help your child get ready to write by helping them to develop their fine motor skills. Your child can use a paint brush to paint letters, shapes and pictures with water.

They can also use a paint brush to get used to the way that it feels to move their fingers in a sweeping way across a flat surface. This is similar to the way that they will feel when they write with a pen.

Creating letters out of Play-doh is a great way to help your child learn how to form letters with their fingers. You can form letters and then have your child create their own letters based off of yours. This will help them to learn how to form letters.

This is also a great activity for fine motor skills. Your child will need to learn how to move their fingers with precision to build their letters. Doing this will pay off in more than one way and will help to get them ready to write. And if there’s any mistakes, you can roll it up and start again.

Feel free to use any of the pre-writing activities on this list and change them to make them your own. This list is merely an inspiration for getting you started. If you want to help your child learn how to write , you can start today. Try one of these fun pre-writing activities today, and you will see the difference in the way your child thinks and feels about writing. Be sure to check out our Facebook group for even more!

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3-Year-Old Child Development Milestones

Your child’s growth and development at age 3

  • Language and Cognitive Milestones
  • Movement, Hand, and Finger Milestones
  • Emotional and Social Milestones

How to Help Your 3-Year-Old Learn and Grow

How to keep your 3-year-old safe.

  • When to Be Concerned

3-year-olds are funny, thoughtful, creative, loving little creatures. Your child has moved past the baby and toddler stage and into the preschool stage, which is a super fun time. You will start to feel like you have a real little kid now, and you’ll be able to interact with your child in new and exciting ways.

Many parents feel relieved to move past the “ terrible twos ” phase, and hope that their child will become a little easier to manage and less prone to meltdowns. But 3-year-olds can still be difficult to parent at times, as they learn to control their emotions and sort through their big feelings. So if you are finding this phase challenging, you are not alone.

Let’s take a look at what developmental milestones to look forward to at 3-years-old, how to nurture your child and keep them safe, and when to be concerned about your child’s growth and development .

3-Year-Old Language and Cognitive Milestones

When your child was 2, they began saying more words and stringing them into short sentences. At 3, your child’s speaking abilities should start to explode. They will be talking in longer sentences of about 4-5 words, and will be able to start having real conversations with you.

Your child should be able to ask for items by their name, understand simple instructions, and make eye contact with others, says Emily Rooker, speech language pathologist at Bright SpOT Pediatric Therapy . “If they are difficult to understand or appear frustrated over not being understood, an evaluation [by a speech language therapist] may be beneficial,” Rooker recommends.

As your child’s curiosity about the world around them increases, so will the kinds of things they want to talk about. You can expect a lot of “why” and “how” questions now, as your child soaks in everything there is to know about how the world works, and their place in it.

Language and Cognitive Checklist

  • Speaks well enough for most strangers to understand what they are saying
  • Says their own name and the names of their friends
  • Is learning correct use of pronouns (“I,” “me,” “we,” “you”) and how to pluralize words
  • Can do a puzzle with 3-4 pieces and can count about 3 objects
  • Can retell the story in a book they were read

3-Year-Old Movement, Hand, and Finger Milestones

If you are noticing that your 3-year-old just won’t stop moving, you are in good company. 3-year-olds have a ton of energy, and they are also learning new skills and new ways of moving their bodies.

There are a couple of key gross motor skills you might notice at this age, says Caitlin Sanschagrin, an occupational therapist at Bright SpOT Pediatric Therapy . These include pedaling a tricycle, walking up and down stairs one step at a time, and running and jumping more easily.

There are also some fine motor skills your child should start to master at this age, says Sanschagrin. They should be able to build a tower with about 6 or more blocks. You should notice their ability to draw, using a pencil, marker, or crayon. They should also be able to start copying vertical/horizontal lines and circles at this age, says Sanschagrin.

Physical Milestone Checklist

  • Is learning how to get dressed and undress themselves
  • Can wash and dry their hands
  • Is able to feed themselves with a spoon
  • Can throw a ball
  • Can balance on one foot for at least a second

3-Year-Old Emotional and Social Milestones

Again, don’t be surprised if your child is still having tantrums and meltdowns at times. This is totally normal for this age. This is partly because 3-year-olds often experience intense emotions, and are still learning to self-regulate.

“They have a wide range of emotions that they are learning to verbalize,” says Rooker. “3-year- olds may also get upset with big changes to routine.”

At this age, you’ll also start to notice changes in the way that your child plays. Their imagination is really starting to take off, Rooker says. “They enjoy playing house, and other simple make believe activities,” she describes.

Your child is also starting to learn how to play with others . This will sometimes be a bumpy ride. Your child is just learning about sharing and taking turns, but may also still be very possessive of their toys, which can lead to meltdowns during play.

At the same time, your child is starting to learn empathy. For instance, they may go to comfort their friend if they see them crying.

Other Milestones for Your 3-Year-Old

After 3 years of seemingly endless diaper changes, most parents of 3-year-olds are looking forward to their child being potty trained . Keep in mind, though, that potty training doesn’t have a specific end date, and all kids are different.

While most 3-year-olds are ready to begin the process of potty training, not all 3-year-olds will complete the process by their fourth birthday. While most 3-year-olds are able to stay dry all day, some still have accidents. Staying dry all night doesn’t usually happen until a child is 4, or even older.

It’s important to muster up as much patience and compassion as you guide your child through the process. A healthy sense of humor helps immensely as well. Always check in with your pediatrician if you have any questions about how potty training is going.

3-year-olds are prone to having very big feelings, and they don’t always know how to manage them besides acting out or melting down . As a parent, you might not know what to do in those types of situations.

Besides trying to remain calm yourself, you can try helping your child conceptualize and better understand how they are feeling. You can do this by assisting your child in naming their feelings (“sad,” “mad,” “frustrated,” etc.) and reassuring them that these feelings are normal.

While your child is in the middle of a tantrum, there are a couple of methods you can consider to help manage the situation. You can try redirection, which is where you try to distract your child by suggesting a fun activity or offering them a favorite toy. You can also try giving your child options. For example, rather than saying, “No, you can’t climb up on the counter,” you can say, “Would you rather go outside and play on the slide, or have a dance party?”

Finally, it can be helpful to try and stay on top of your child’s meltdowns by making sure they get enough sleep and eat regular meals. A hungry, tired child is much more likely to have a meltdown than one who is fed and rested.

While your 3-year-old isn’t growing quite as quickly as they did as an infant, there is still a lot of growing at this age. Your child will gain about 4-6 pounds this year, and grow about 2-3 inches. You can encourage healthy habits at this age by making sure your child gets adequate sleep (usually about 11-13 hours, including one nap), adequate exercise, and eats a healthy diet.

Children this age can be picky about what they eat, but as long as they eat regularly and are growing well, you can be assured they are fine. Contact your pediatrician if you have any questions about your child’s physical growth, overall health, or eating habits .

As your child becomes more independent, you may start to become more lax about supervising them while they play. But they are still too young to play unsupervised, especially outside. Now is a good time to teach your child important outside play tips, such as never running into the street to catch a ball, keeping away from streets while riding a tricycle, and the basics of stranger safety.

When to Be Concerned About Your 3-Year-Old

All children are different, and reach milestones at different rates. For example, Amy Graber PT, DPT , a physical therapist at Family Fit Physical Therapy , says that kids can vary considerably when it comes to mastering motor skills. While milestones are helpful ways to check on your child’s progress, they shouldn’t be thought of as “firm endpoints” for assessing your child’s development, she says.

“Exposure to certain skills, variability in size or stature, and general motivation for play may vary among kids and this can impact developmental progression,” Graber notes.

Still, there are certain warning signs for developmental delays you might want to take note of, Graber warns. “Major red flags would be loss or regression of any prior skills (unable to walk or jump as was previously able), frequent falls or injuries, any excessive delays (i.e. not running or jumping at all), and fatigue with activity that seems to limit participation in play or other social activities,” she describes.

If you notice any of these, or if you have any questions about your child’s development, speak to your pediatrician. If they think there may be an issue worth exploring, they will refer you to a specialist for a developmental screening.

A Word From Verywell

Many parents expect things to get easier after their kids exit toddlerhood, and may be taken aback when they find that 3-year-olds can still be quite a handful . You can be rest assured that this is normal, and that if your child seems to be testing limits more than ever and exhausting you on a daily basis, you haven’t done anything wrong as a parent.

Thankfully, many of these stressors are balanced out by the fact that 3-year-olds are inquisitive, energetic, and affectionate. There is never a dull moment when you have a 3-year-old, and there is plenty of joy mixed in with the hard stuff.

Swanson W. Top Tips for Surviving Tantrums . American Academy of Pediatrics.

Children’s Health of Orange County. Development Milestones for Your 3-Year-Old Child .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Important Milestones: Your Child By Three Years .

Nemours KidsHealth. Your Child’s Development: 3 Years .

Stanford Children’s Health. Is It Time for Toilet Training?

American Academy of Pediatrics. Everybody Gets Mad: Helping Your Child Cope with Conflict .

American Academy of Pediatrics. Developmental Milestones: 3 to 4 Year Olds .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preschoolers (3-5 years of age) .

Stanford Children’s Health. The Growing Child: 3-Year-Olds .

By Amy Morin, LCSW Amy Morin, LCSW, is the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind. She's also a psychotherapist, an international bestselling author of books on mental strength and host of The Verywell Mind Podcast. She delivered one of the most popular TEDx talks of all time.

Activity: Story mountain

Complete the story mountain to plan your story with a beginning, middle, and end.

Perform a poem activity

Activity: Perform a poem

Read the poem, talk about what it means, and perform it to an audience.

5. Find story inspiration

You can find fun story ideas anywhere! Why not raid your kitchen cupboards or hunt through the attic to find lost treasures? Anything from an old hat to a telescope will do the trick. What could the object be used for? Who might be looking for it? What secrets could it hold? Suggest different genres such as mystery or science fiction and discuss how the item might be used in this kind of story.

Real-world facts can also be a great source of inspiration. For example, did you know a jumping flea can accelerate faster than a space rocket taking off into orbit? What crazy story can your child make out of this fact? Newspapers and news websites can be great for finding these sorts of ideas.

Story idea generator activity

Activity: Story idea generator

Mix together a genre, character, and setting to think up an imaginative story idea.

Character profile activity

Activity: Character profile

Come up with lots of interesting details about the lead character in your story.

6. Draw your ideas first

If your child isn’t sure where to start with a story or even a piece of non-fiction, it can sometimes be helpful to sketch out their ideas first. For instance, can they draw a picture of a dastardly villain or a brave hero? How about a scary woodland or an enchanted castle?

Your child might also find it useful to draw maps or diagrams. What are all the different areas of their fantasy landscape called? How is the baddie’s base organised?

What your child will learn

In Year 3 (age 7–8), your child will work towards being able to:

  • Discussing writing similar to that which they are planning to write in order to understand and learn from its structure, vocabulary and grammar
  • Discussing and recording their ideas.
  • Composing and rehearsing sentences orally (including dialogue), progressively building a varied and rich vocabulary and an increasing range of sentence structures
  • Organising paragraphs around a theme
  • In narratives, creating settings, characters and plot
  • In non-narrative material, using simple organisational devices (for example, headings and sub-headings).
  • Assessing the effectiveness of their own and others’ writing and suggesting improvements
  • Proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary to improve consistency, including the accurate use of   pronouns   in   sentences .
  • Proof-read for spelling and punctuation errors.

Handwriting, spelling, grammar, and punctuation are all important aspects of writing too. You can find out more about them on our dedicated pages:

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Handwriting in Year 3 (age 7-8)

Find out more about handwriting in Year 3 at Primary School.

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Spelling in Year 3 (age 7-8)

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Grammar and punctuation in Year 3 (age 7-8)

Find out more about grammar and punctuation in Year 3 at Primary School.

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15 Best Learning Activities for Your 3 Year Old Preschooler

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5 Fun Developmental Activities for 3-Year-Olds

5 indoor activities for 3-year-olds, 5 engaging art activities for 3-year-olds, how educational activities transform kids’ lives.

Toddlers are very active and always on the go! As a parent, it can be tough to keep up with their energy levels. However, it’s important to find ways to keep your toddler occupied and engaged and learning!

Here are 15 activities for 3-year-olds that are both fun and educational:

A screenshot of the online phonics game

1. Recognizing Letters and Sounds

Learning activities for 3-year-olds are most fun when they are dressed up as family games, pretend plays, or become parts of our daily activities and observations. Recognizing letters and their sounds is one such activity that can be done in several ways.

Things you need:

A whiteboard or chalkboard, some colored markers or chalk. You can also use letter cards, board games, or online games for kids .

How to play:

You can play games where you write a letter on the board and teach your child to read it. Preschoolers can start learning both uppercase and lowercase letters . If they get it right, give them a point. If not, give them a clue and let them try again.

You can also play the “sound it out” game. Write a letter on the board and ask your child to make the sound it makes. Again, if they get it right, give them a point. If not, give them a clue and let them try again.

Pointing to letters written somewhere as you go about your day—a cereal box, a signboard, a magazine, etc.—is also an easy activity to help your child learn to read them. Children can also trace letters with their fingers on the sand, match uppercase and lowercase letters, erase letters on a chalkboard, etc. 

If you are busy, play some alphabet songs for your toddler to dance or let them play some online English games .

Skills your preschooler will learn:

Letter recognition, phonemic awareness, letter sounds

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2. Reading with Your Child

Reading books with your child is one of the best things you can do for their development. Not only does it improve language skills, but it also helps them learn sight words, develop their imagination, and understand the world around them.

Books that are appropriate for your child’s age and interests, such as picture books, easy readers, etc.

Sit down with your child and read a book together. You can take turns reading the pages or have your child read the whole book to you.

Books for toddlers should be short and have many pictures supporting the story. This will help keep their attention span, and they will be more likely to understand the concepts in the book.

Read word by word, pointing to each word with your finger, and ask inferential questions based on how, why, what, when, and where to encourage the thinking skills in kids .

Language skills, sight words , attention span, comprehension, memory, imagination

3. Making Up Stories

Children love to listen to and tell stories, and this is an activity that can be done anywhere, anytime. It’s the perfect thing to do in a car while traveling, at bedtime, or even while waiting in line at the grocery store.

None! Just your child’s imagination

Have your child make up a story, either on their own or with your help. Encourage them to use their imagination and be as creative as they want. If they get stuck, you can prompt them with questions or ideas. You may also correct their grammar along the way, but it’s important to let them be creative and have fun with this activity.

If your child is stumped, set an example by asking them for three or four words and make a story that uses all of them. For instance, if they give you the words “cat,” “green,” “ball,” and “tree,” you could make up a story about a green cat that climbs a tree to fetch a ball.

Eventually, you can give words to your child and have them make up a story using those words.

Creativity, imagination, storytelling, communication

4. Playing a Number Game

Offline and online, math can be fun for kids if it’s taught interactively and creatively. Playing the number sense games is one such activity that will help your child learn numbers, counting, and basic arithmetic operations in a fun and engaging way.

A whiteboard or a chalkboard, some colored markers or chalk. You can also use games focusing on numbers and counting, such as board games, card games, etc. Online math games are also available.

There are many games that you can play with your child to help him learn numbers and math concepts. One such game is the “guess the number” game. Write down a number between 1 and 10 on the board, and ask your child to guess it. If he gets it right, give him a point. If not, give him a clue and let him have another try.

You can also play the “greater than or less than” game. Write down two numbers on the board, such as 3 and 5, and ask your child which number is greater. If he gets it right, give him a point. If not, give him a clue and let him try again.

Numbers , counting , and basic arithmetic operations include addition , subtraction , multiplication , and division .

5. Sorting Activities

Sorting is a fun activity that helps children learn about different attributes such as size, shape, color, etc. It also helps them develop problem-solving skills.

Various objects can be sorted according to size, shape, color, etc. You can use blocks, balls, toy cars, berries, buttons, etc.

Let your child choose a few objects and ask him to sort them according to size, shape, color, etc. For example, they can sort blocks by size or toy cars by color. As they sort the objects, help them identify the attribute they use for sorting.

Sorting, categorizing, and problem-solving.

Check out the best sensory activities for 3-year-olds you can try!

A little girl drawing something

One of the favorite preschool activities for 3-year-olds is drawing. At this point, the artistic skills of a child are not really important. Drawing is a fun activity for toddlers to express themselves, work on their fine motor skills, and have fun!

Paper, crayons, markers, colored pencils

Sit with your child and encourage them to draw whatever comes to mind. You can also give some drawing ideas to kids , such as “Draw a picture of your family,” “Draw a picture of your favorite animal,” etc. You may make a drawing and ask your child to trace it or copy it.

Creativity, fine motor skills, imagination, attention span

7. Building with Blocks

One of the easy, no-mess activities for 3-year-olds at home is to let them build with blocks. It is amazing how much fun and creative they can be with this simple activity.

Blocks are also a great way for children to learn about shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns.

Blocks of various shapes and sizes

Let your child play with the blocks freely or give him or her some challenges, such as “build a tower as tall as you can,” “make a house for your favorite stuffed toy,” etc.

Creativity, imagination, problem-solving, eye-hand coordination, shapes, colors, patterns

8. Paper Cutting with Safety Scissors

Children feel empowered with a tool in their hands. And they are so proud of themselves when they can cut the paper!

Paper, safety scissors, craft supplies like pom poms, googly eyes (optional)

Give your child a piece of paper and let him or her cut it any way they want. If you like, you can also give some challenges, such as “cut out a circle,” “make a snowflake,” etc. You can help your child decorate the cutouts with craft supplies if desired.

Fine motor skills, creativity, imagination, attention span

*Please note that only safety scissors should be used for this activity. Regular scissors are too sharp for little ones.*

9. Doing Daily Chores

You’ll be surprised at all the things your toddlers can do if only you let them try. Giving them some simple chores to do not only helps them learn some valuable life skills but also makes kids feel proud and accomplished.

Chores that are appropriate for your child’s age and abilities, such as making their bed, dusting furniture, setting the table, etc.

Choose a chore that you would like your child to help with. Then, show them how to do it and let them try it themselves. Some of the chores that a 3-year-old can do may require some assistance or supervision, but it’s important to let them explore their capabilities and try new things.

A toddler can easily be overwhelmed with too many chores, so it’s important to start small. Choose one or two simple tasks that you know your child can handle. As they get older and more capable, you can give them more chores to do. Remember to praise them for a job well done!

Daily living skills, responsibility, independence, pride, satisfaction

10. Role-playing

What’s funnier than seeing a tiny toddler acting like a fat aunt or an old grandpa? Role-plays are one of the best activities for 3-year-olds as they help them learn about different emotions, people, and situations.

None! Just your child’s imagination. A few props like a walking stick, a hat, a lady’s purse, or a wig could come in handy to help set the scene.

Have your child choose a character that he or she would like to play. It could be anyone—a family member, a friend, a cartoon character, an animal, etc. Then, encourage them to act out the part. They can speak differently, use props, and do whatever they want to bring the character to life. Children learn to observe people around them and understand their emotions in this way.

Creativity, imagination, emotional intelligence, communication, problem-solving

Check out the best outdoor activities for 3-year-olds here!

A little girl wearing an astronaut costume

11. Playing Dress Up

Dress-up games are not gender-specific. Most children love them! This activity helps 3-year-olds use their imagination, learn about social norms and roles, and have lots of fun!

Old clothes, hats, scarves, jewelry, etc., can be used as dress-up items. You can also use old sheets or towels to make capes or skirts. You can also use actual costumes if you have them.

Let your child choose what they want to be, and then help them get dressed in the appropriate clothing. If you like, you can also act out a play or story together with your child in their new costume.

Creativity, imagination, role-playing, problem-solving

12. Making Music with Household Items

This is one of the fun activities for 3-year-olds that can be done with items that you already have around the house. It’s a great way to introduce your child to music and help them develop a sense of rhythm.

Household items that can be used as musical instruments, such as pots and pans, plastic containers, wooden spoons, etc. You can also use actual musical instruments if you have them.

Let your child choose what he or she wants to use as an instrument. Then, encourage them to make music with it however they want. You can also sing along or dance to the music!

Music skills, sense of rhythm, gross motor skills, creativity, imagination

13. Making Art with Thumb , Hand, or Foot Impressions

Most toddlers do not know how to go about making an art piece. But they love to play a role in helping make one! This activity allows them to do just that, resulting in a beautiful piece of art that you can hang on your fridge or wall.

Non-toxic paint, paper, and something to use as a stamp (such as potato, carrot, or eraser)

Let your child choose what paint color he or she wants to use. Then, help them make a thumbprint, handprint, or footprint on the paper. You can also make patterns with stamps by carving a shape into a potato, carrot, or eraser. Once the paint is dry, you can hang up the artwork!

Creativity, imagination, fine motor skills, color recognition

14. Creating a Collage

A collage is a great way for toddlers to express their creativity. They can make amazing birthday cards with photo collages, make wall-hanging art, or have fun tearing up paper and gluing it back together!

Paper, safety scissors, glue, and any other materials you want to use for the collage (such as tissue paper, construction paper, feathers, buttons, ribbons, etc.)

Let your child choose what they want to use for their collage. Then, help them cut out the paper or other materials into small pieces. Once they have a good pile of pieces, they can glue them down onto another piece of paper. You can help them with this if needed.

Creativity, imagination, fine motor skills, color recognition, pattern-making

15. Drawing with Chalk on the Sidewalk

If you live in a safe neighborhood, your children can display their artistic skills outside the home by drawing with chalk on the sidewalk or driveway. This activity is great for gross motor skills and allows you to teach your child about shapes, colors, and patterns.

Chalk in various colors

Let your child choose what color of chalk he or she wants to use. Then, help them draw a picture or make patterns on the sidewalk. You can also join in and create your own chalk masterpiece!

Educate children about different cultures where making art to decorate entrance gates and doorways is a tradition. Indians make rangoli, Chinese make a dragon or zodiac animal drawings, while in the Philippines, it is common to see people painting on bamboo mats called banig . In this way, you can introduce your toddlers to other cultures.

Creativity, imagination, gross motor skills, shapes, colors, pattern-making

Happy girl on a trampoline in the park

A study on Chinese children found that organized extracurricular activities (EAs) are strongly associated with early reading, math, and social skills. Another study indicated that the involvement of parents in preschool children’s learning activities at home during the COVID-19 pandemic was beneficial to kids’ learning behavior and emotional health. 

These studies seem to suggest that any activity that encourages learning, socialization, and creativity would benefit our little ones and shape them into more confident, woke, and aware individuals. 

Some benefits of educational activities for 3-year-olds are:

  • They help develop cognitive skills, including problem-solving, memory, and attention span.
  • EAs also nurture social skills such as cooperation, empathy, and communication.
  • These activities can also boost self-esteem and confidence in children.
  • Fun and educational activities are also great for developing gross and fine motor skills.

So go ahead and try out some educational activities with your 3-year-old today! You might just be surprised at how much they enjoy it—and how much they learn from it too.

Explore more online educational resources for kids to aid their learning experience.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to choose a good educational activity for my 3 year old.

When choosing an activity for your 3-year-old, it is important to consider their interests, abilities, and attention span. You also want to ensure the activity is developmentally appropriate and safe. If you are unsure whether an activity is appropriate for your child, you can always consult their pediatrician or a child development expert.

How can I get my toddler to sit still and focus on an activity?

This can be a challenge for many parents! One tip is to try to find activities that your child is interested in and that they enjoy doing. Also, make sure you provide plenty of breaks during the activity so that your child doesn’t become overwhelmed or frustrated. Finally, praise your child when they display good behavior so that they know that you are pleased with their efforts.

How to help my toddler express their creativity?

There are many ways in which you can help your toddler express their creativity. One way is to provide plenty of opportunities for them to explore different materials and mediums, such as crayons, paint, clay, etc. You can also encourage them to sing, dance, or act out stories. And finally, make sure to praise their efforts and creativity, no matter what the outcome may be.

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Imagination Soup

50 Best Books for 3-Year-Olds

A re you looking for the best must-read picture books for 3 year olds to read aloud? These are my top picks for three-year-olds that toddlers and preschoolers will love!

Of course, remember that any book you read aloud to your kids builds literacy skills. In other words, any book you read with a child can be rewarding and become their next favorite book. As far as development at this age, you are teaching children about story structure and characters to make the connection that those black squiggly lines are words that mean something, as well as holding a book correctly, among other things.

Kids at age three can read to themselves by looking at pictures and narrating what they think is happening in the story — to themselves or you.

At age 3, children love read aloud books about other kids, animals , cars and trucks , silliness , potty time , friends, bedtime, and family.

Popular children’s book authors for the three year old age group include Jan Thomas Eric Carle, Oliver Jeffers, Anna Dewdney (Llama Llama), but this list primarily shares more contemporary books for 3 year olds that you might not know about.

I hope this list of beautifully illustrated stories helps your 3-year-olds to read more books and learn that stories are wonderful. Help your children enjoy reading at an early age so they become readers when they’re older. Use this list of books to find new ideas for a bedtime story or a book to read aloud any time of the day.

Happy reading.

PRINTABLE LIST

(ALSO READ: Best Books for 2-Year-Olds  and Best Picture Books for 4- and 5- Year-Olds )

DON’T MISS: Recommendations for the best learning GAMES for preschoolers .

Also read: Best Toys and Gifts for 3 Year Old Boys and Girls

Best Books for 3-Year-Olds

Atticus Caticus by Sarah Maizes, illustrated by Kara Kramer

A boy and his adorable cat friend have a fun day together in this rhythmic, darling story with hilarious made-up words and a sweet relationship.  “ Atticus Caticus jumps…/SPLAT-a-tat-taticus! ” From waking up to breakfast all the way to bedtime where the cat sleeps on his head, these two best friends always have fun.

Not Now Cow by Tammi Sauer, illustrated by Troy Cummings

Perfect for preschoolers, this funny take on the seasons shows the farm animals celebrating each season…with a clueless Cow dressing in the wrong outfits for each season’s weather . It’s spring and Duck is helping things grow, Sheep is flying a kite, and Cow is wearing a hat, mittens, and scarf. “ Oh, Cow. Not now,” Rooster tells him. Each season is the same — the playful animals do seasonal activities and Cow shows up wearing something not quite right…3-year-old kids will love this!

I Am NOT a Chair by Ross Burach

Poor Giraffe! All the other animals think he’s a chair — no matter what he does. He even tries to tell the hungry lion sitting on him (because he has to pee!) but the lion is so scared to hear a talking chair that he runs away. Will the giraffe ever get the others to see him as an animal? The light-hearted and silly humor will keep your preschool-age kids giggling.

Three friends try to do amazing things to impress each other . . . all while balancing apples on their heads. It’s very silly and playful.

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by Vashti Harrison

Zuri’s daddy helps her see how her hair lets her be her unique self. When she wears her hair in braids with beads, she is a princess, or when she wears it in two puffs, she’s a superhero. One day, Zuri decides to do her hair herself. Daddy helps her learn. But it’s pretty tricky at first but then Daddy gives Zuri the perfect supergirl style. I LOVE so much about this book — the celebration of culture, the dad with long hair and a tattoo, and that a dad that does his daughter’s hair.

Group Hug   by Jean Reidy, illustrated by Joey Chou

A celebration of kindness , friendship, and (consensual) hugs to help friends feel better.  When Snail, Mouse, Skunk, and Squirrel need hugs, Bug gives them all hugs — and they give each other a big group hug. The animals make room for everyone in the hug until Bear scares everyone away. Everyone except Slug. Slug offers Bear a hug because she knows that hugs make the hugger and the hugged happier! Then, all the others come back for another group hug. 

One Big Pair of Underwear  by Laura Gehl & Tom Lichtenheld

You’ll laugh your way through this  silly “ counting ” picture book which also includes subtracting and patterns . So much silliness and a great reinforcement for big kid underwear.

This celebration of the natural world is a lullaby for young scientists as they get ready to slumber. “ While mossy carpets stretch out wide, tree limbs yawn up high. ” I llustrations show kids preparing for bed with science posters on the walls and hands-on science materials in their bedrooms.

Are You a Monster? by Guilherme Karsten

This will be a new read aloud favorite — it’s a fun, funny, and interactive story! The monster hopes you are also a monster and that together, you can do scary things. He’s horrified to learn you don’t have a long pointy tail, or big yellow eyes — but you show him your big teeth and loud growls and he gets interested again. In fact, you’re so good at being scary, you might just scare away this monster!

Silly, silly, silly, and fun– just perfect for 3-year-olds. The story is supposed to be about a bear, but where is he? Duck hopes Bear stays missing so he can be the main character of the book, so he goes to extreme lengths…and it will crack up your kids!

Up, Up, Up, Down!  by Kimberly Gee

Lyrical and repetitive, this relatable storyline captures  a day in the life of a talkative toddler and a stay-at-home dad  with evocative, diverse illustrations. Sure to bring a chuckle to both you and your growing reader when you read it aloud.

People Don’t Bite People  by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Molly Idle

Kids will crack up at this hilarious rhyming read-aloud! Don’t worry, this book is about NOT biting–unless it’s food. “ People don’t bite people. It’s no fun being chewed! A friend will never bite a friend. Biting is for food!”

Amara’s Farm  by JaNay Brown-Wood, illustrated by Samara Hardy

Read this picture book for the fall harvest season and  learn about pumpkins with a girl named Amara who needs to harvest pumpkins.  As she searches the farm, we learn about the features of pumpkins with our own search and find and  compare and contrast . Can you spot the pumpkins?

Footprints Across the Planet  by Jennifer Swanson

Stunning photographs show animals’ and people’s feet and footprints of all shapes and sizes. We see footprints from dinosaurs, the astronauts on the moon, and footprints of people who stood up for change.

Forty Winks: A Bedtime Adventure  by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Lita Judge

This large mouse family’s bedtime routine feels familiar and sweet.  They get ready with rituals of reading books, whispering prayers, tucking in tight, goofing around, and procrastinating, and it’s a picture book read-aloud delight!

The Rice in the Pot Goes Round and Round  by Wendy Wan-Long Shang, illustrated by Lorian Tu

Sing along with this cheerful and exuberant best books for 3 year olds that rewrites the words to the familiar “Wheels on the Bus” song,  making it a story about a large, multi-generational Chinese family sharing a meal together. “ Ye Ye eats noodles going slurp, slurp, slurp. ” Seeing the yummy foods will make you hungry for some rice, noodles, and dumplings yourself.

100 Dogs: Playful Pups to Count   by Michael Whaite

“ Small dog, tall dog, playing with a ball dog, big dog dig dog, burying a bone. ”  You’ll love seeing all the different kinds of dogs  in this colorful, inviting best book for 3 year olds that is sure to be a favorite read-aloud!

The Bear’s Song by Benjamin Chaud

We adore this oversized picture book for 3 year olds. Follow the baby bear in gorgeous and detailed illustrations when Little Bear wanders off and Papa Bear searches to find him. Can you find Little Bear on every page?

Big Dog Little Dog by P.D. Eastman

Meet best friends Fred (Big Dog) and Ted (Little Dog). Though one is big and one is little, and one loves green, and one loves red, these pup pals prove that opposites can be the very best of friends . My children LOVED this book!

  Red House, Tree House, Little Bitty Brown Mouse by Jane Goodwin, illustrated by Blanca Gomez

Fall in love with the simple, lyrical story showing the colors of a little girl’s world around her illustrated with bold graphic-style pictures.

How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?   by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague

Gentle rhymes and captivating illustrations ask readers if they are like the dinosaurs who misbehave when going to bed then contrast those questions with well-behaving dinosaurs. Sweet, wonderful, hilarious, and perfect.

Counting, rhyming, culture, and community in a playful rhyming story with stunning illustrations, this is a fantastic book that celebrates the country and people of Zanzibar.  A boy named Musa travels by bus to the beach. But even though the bus feels full to him, his Dada says there’s always room for more people. As the daldala continues the trip, more people, animals, and things climb aboard. The passengers wiggle and squish to make room for more.

Mouse can’t go to sleep because it’s too QUIET. His mom helps him listen to the many sounds of the night.When Mouse opens his window, it’s very loud…too loud. The sounds repeat, each time getting louder (and bigger type size). Now, it’s too LOUD! An exasperated Mouse bellows for the night noises to be quiet so he can fall asleep…which he does, when it’s quiet again. Sure to be a new read aloud bedtime story for your toddlers!

Playful and musical, this is a perfect read aloud for preschoolers ! Little Worm is looking for who put the “shimmy shimmy, no-sashay ” song in his ear which he calls an ear worm. He asks his friends if they know but they all have their own songs stuck in their heads. His friends share their own songs with exuberance — which is a blast! Eventually, Little Worm goes home and is surprised to find the answer to his question.

Grumpy Monkey

Jim Panzee wakes up and nothing seems right. His jungle friends suggest that he might be grumpy. Yet Jim insists he’s NOT grumpy. Do you know any kids like this? As Jim stomps around, bunching his eyebrows, not swinging, he yells at the other animals that he is NOT grumpy. Later that day, Jim sits with Norman. “ For now I need to be grumpy, ” he explains finally. To which Norman responds, “ It’s a wonderful day to be grumpy.”  

One-osaurus, Two-osaurus by Kim Norman, illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby

Play hide-and-seek. The rhyming text and sound words make this a delightful book to read aloud.

Although there is no shortage of truck books , this rhyming truck extravaganza is sure to delight truck-loving 3-year-old readers. Fans of Staake’s illustrations will recognize (and love) his distinctive retro, graphic illustrations.

I love the message of this picture book — that it’s okay to make mistakes. In fact, not only will this book remind 3-year-old kids that making mistakes is totally normal and okay, but maybe it will help remind us as parents, too.

All the Elephant and Piggie books are hilarious, but this one is our favorite. Piggie has never been to a party before, so she relies on Elephant’s help. Which is the silliest help you can imagine. A best author and book for 3 year olds.

Don’t Push the Button

There’s only one rule in this book — DON’T PUSH THE BUTTON. But that button does look enticing, right? Kids will crack up through this silly, interactive picture book. In fact, you may even wear out your pages when you do push the button!

Bob doesn’t fit in with the other rhyming dust bunnies, which makes this book a total crack-up! Because he’s trying to warn them that there is a vacuum coming. Too bad his fellow Dust Bunnies ignore his warning. Will they get all vacuumed up?!

The tree stands tall throughout the seasons. Each of the tree’s changes brings a new peek through illustrations of animals and bugs in its foliage until it snows. Bright illustrations and peek-throughs entice young readers as they read this beginning nature book.

One Day in the Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus Tree  by Daniel Bernstrom, illustrated by Brendan Wenzel

When a snake eats him, the boy makes a plan from inside the snake’s tummy and encourages the snake to eat more.  From grapes to a beehive, . . . the snake keeps eating until a small fly makes the snake burp everything all out. Phew.

Inside Cat  by Brendan Wenzel

Repetition and rhyme with short, punchy words and phrases depict Inside Cat’s observation and expertise on Outside as he observes it through the windows.  Inside “ Wanders. Wonders. Naps. Knows what’s hiding in the gaps. ” Outside is full of color while inside, only the cat is full of color. Cat thinks he might know it all — until. Oh. The last page shows him walking outside into a beautiful, amazing world that is ready for exploration. 

This is a fun book for 3-year-old children to observe. Each page asks a question that requires a close study of the illustration. For example, on the page “ Who the all the jam? ” you must find one character with jam on his face and body.

I Am Dog! written by Peter Bently, illustrated by Chris Chatterton

Playful rhyming, simple text shares a day in the life from a dog’s perspective. “ I am a dog. Dog is me. I like walkies. I like tree. ” Dog likes to chase, splash, dig, and bark.. among other things like searching for the smell he sniffs which makes a big mess! The illustrations are essential to this story of the dog’s day — and what is really happening. This is the perfect read aloud for 2 – 5 year olds!

Little Bear is having a hysterical adventure with his underwear –much to his parents’ exasperation. Rhyming, giggle-inducing text pairs perfectly with comedic, expressive illustrations. “ Under where? / Underwear. / Under there? UnderWEAR, over THERE. / Over where? / On the Chair. ” Potty training 3 year old kids will be able to relate to this story about a little bear who has a lot of *fun* with his underwear.

Tap the Magic Tree

What 3-year-old doesn’t love an interactive picture book? The tree is bare, tap it four times and turn the page. Leaves! Tap it again, and more leaves. Rub, jiggle, shake, knock, clap, and pat your way through the four seasons of an apple tree’s growth cycle. Impossible to resist!

Luna Loves Library Day

Luna’s parents live apart. On library day, her mom drops her off to meet her dad. She and her dad look at books and read books and play. Luna loves library day. There’s a sweetness in Luna’s family situation as well as a playfulness around books that make this a jewel of a book that shows a mixed-race family. Love, love, love everything about this preschool book.

Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson

Rabbit has a problem — his carrot collection is overflowing his burrow and he can’t fit there anymore. His animal friends offer their homes but he and his carrots destroy everyone’s houses. What can Rabbit do? Share his carrots with friends. A meaningful lesson for 3-year-olds.

Enticing cartoon-like illustrations invite you into this delightful counting adventure. The Pickwicks leave the city in their trusty pickup towards the shore . As they do, they’re passed by 2 blue scooters, 3 squeaky jeeps, and more vehicles until they all get to the box-girder bridge.  Which is closed! But don’t worry, the Pickwicks unload their picnic on the road and have a wonderful time. 

B is for Baby by Atinuke, illustrated by Angela Brooksbank

A mischievous baby in West Africa stows away in the banana basket on Brother’s bike. As Brother rides, he passes a baobab, baboon, bus, and other words that start with the letter B before arriving at Baba’s. When Baba looks in the basket, out pops Baby! Gorgeous illustrations.

The Color Monster a Pop-Up Book of Feelings  by Anna Llenas

Monster’s colors are all scribbly and mixed-up which means his emotions are, too. The little girl helps Monster separate his feelings on each page with brightly colored pop-ups. I love the green calm page showing Monster in a hammock. The next-to-last page has pull-up tabs to peek inside each of the feelings jars. Feelings are an important subject for 3-year-olds.

After the Rain  by Rebecca Koehn, illustrated by Simone Kruger

What can you do after the rain?  Levi plays boats and splashes in puddles until he meets Polly who doesn’t want to share her river. A battle begins. But the water starts to leave so the two declare a truce and cooperate to build a dam and a lake to play in together.  A delightful picture book with simple, playful text, perfect for the preschool set to learn about friendship.

Firefighter Flo!  by Andrea Zimmerman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

Firefighter Flo is a brave firefighter to leads the other firefighters. They rush off on the big red truck to a fire that they put out and rescue the family’s pet. Eye-catching bold artwork and fun-to-read sound words. One of the best read aloud books for 3 year olds.

This book has the most perfect cadence for reading aloud! This sleepy bear wakes up and is confused about who he is– is he a bird or a fox or a squirrel? Not only is this a fun introduction to the creatures of the woods, but it’s a sweet story culminating with the bear returning to his cave and going back to sleep.

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The post 50 Best Books for 3-Year-Olds appeared first on Imagination Soup .

Are you looking for the best must-read picture books for 3 year olds to read aloud? These are my top picks for three-year-olds that toddlers and preschoolers will love!

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35 Excellent Nonfiction Books for 2nd Grade, 7-Year-Olds

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Don’t forget about 2nd grade nonfiction books for 7-year-olds! It’s also fun to read informational fiction with fictionalized elements to learn facts, too– which are gateway books to straight nonfiction.

When you read nonfiction with your growing readers in the primary grades, especially in second grade, teach them about text features that make nonfiction books different than fiction books.

nonfiction books for 2nd grade 7 year olds

Notice the text features of nonfiction together. Look for what makes nonfiction different than fiction. Things like:

  • table of contents
  • titles and subtitles
  • bolded words

Here are my top recommendations to keep your 7-year-olds in 2nd-grade reading nonfiction at an appropriate reading level.

Let your kids pick books about things that interest them– it’s very motivating to have a choice of reading material!

Nonfiction Books for 2nd Grade, 7-Year-Olds

learn to write for 3 year olds

We Dig Worms!  by Kevin McCloskey I love this Toon Early Reader  with eye-popping illustrations and one sentence of text per page that explains something about worms. The art is painted on recycled grocery bags which makes for a gorgeous, earthy feeling throughout.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Go Wild! Pandas  by Margie Markiarian This book is a beautiful way for younger readers ages 6 to 9 to learn about pandas with easier text and plenty of photo support and captions.

learn to write for 3 year olds

How Birds Sleep   writtenby David Obuchowski, illustrated by Sarah Pedry Read about 20 different birds and where they sleep. From the Black-legged Kittiwake who sleeps on the choppy waves of the ocean to the Sandhill crane who sleeps on one leg while others in the flock watch for predators, this is a fascinating book about interesting birds and their sleeping habits. Add to that beautiful blue-colored illustrations, and you’ll feel cozy and sleepy while reading about these sleeping birds.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Go Wild! Sea Turtles  by Jill Esbaum for National Geographic Kids Use this new Go Wild! series with your early elementary readers to learn how to read nonfiction text for information.  Full-color photographs, labels and captions, and colorful and readable text.

learn to write for 3 year olds

All About Plants: Ada Twist, Scientist The Why Files  written by Andrea Beaty and Dr. Theanne Griffith Packed full of information, this informational book hits the right spot for primary ages.  Full-color photographs, diagrams, labels, cartoons, and informational text answer big questions like “ How do they eat? ” and “ Do plants need air like me? “  I like this book — the writing and format are excellent. However, I wish this book include a table of contents and a glossary.

nonfiction books for 2nd grade 7 year olds

Mars: Earthlings Welcome  written by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Stevie Lewis Not nonfiction per se but informational fiction, this first-person narration from  Mars ‘s perspective shares all its many features of Mars.  Like two moons and 37 more minutes in a day! It’s funny, entertaining, and very informative. I would love to use this in a writing class to teach  voice ,  point of view , and even organization.

nonfiction books for 2nd grade 7 year olds

Fox Explores the Night  written by Martin Jenkins, illustrated by Richard Smythe A  nocturnal  fox searches for food in a busy city. She finds supper in someone’s backyard then returns home. It’s a purposefully simple book with guided questions in the back such as “ Can you find examples of different light sources in the book? “

learn to write for 3 year olds

Not a Monster  written by Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, illustrated by Laura Gonzalez As you learn about the not-a-monster axolotl, you’ll also learn the color words in Spanish .  Watch the egg to growing fins, the color roja, then swim under a moon the color blanca. See the axolotl search for food among the roots of flowers rosados. Readers will read about these adorable salamander creatures, their behaviors, and how pollution is affecting their canal habitat in Mexico City. Bravo for this lovely picture book that does triple duty — entertains kids, educates us about the axolotl , and teaches us about los colores!

learn to write for 3 year olds

Stone Age Beasts  written by Ben Lerwill, illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith Kids will love this interesting oversized book about the cool creatures from the Stone Age.  Each two-page spread is filled with a mesmerizing illustration and accompanied by fascinating descriptions of the creature along with a sidebar of facts, including a world map of its location. For Siberian Unicorn, the author writes, “ Unicorns in fairy tales are normally dainty and elegant, but this spectacular real-life beast was a gigantic mass of fur and muscle. ” Read about the Wolly Mammoth, Elephant Bird, Wonambi, Saber-Toothed Cat, Cave Lion, Dire Wolf, and more! A new favorite!!

learn to write for 3 year olds

What’s Inside a Caterpillar Cocoon? and Other Questions About Moths & Butterflies  by Rachel Ignotofsky Just wait until you see the gorgeous illustrations throughout this book. I could frame them all!  Learn all about moths and butterflies , starting with their differences, their life stages, their metamorphosis, their anatomy, and more interesting information about their diet, mating, and spreading pollen.  Kids will love reading about these important insects. Perfect for primary-grade classrooms and homes.

learn to write for 3 year olds

The Indestructible Tom Crean  by Jennifer Thermes Kudos to author/illustrator Jennifer Thermes!  She’s made Tom Crean’s biography into a mesmerizing, heart-pounding adventure of a story — which it was.  Tom’s a sailor who takes three trips to Antarctica, the most perilous being the famous Endurance voyage with Captain Shakelford. Their ship freezes and sinks. Survival seems unlikely. But somehow, the crew makes it to land, where they climb through a glacier range to get help. Incredible writing with stunning illustrations.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera  written by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann Amazing,  gigantic illustrations give us a bees-eye view of a honeybee’s life  from her birth to the days of working in the hive, guarding the hive, and searching for nectar. Beautifully written and illustrated, this book accomplishes being an informative book about the life-cycle of bees that sensitively ends with a reflection of our honeybee’s accomplishments (“ She has visited thirty thousand flowers…Her work is done .”), her final flight in the warm air, and the birth of a new honeybee.

learn to write for 3 year olds

The Toad: The Disgusting Critters Series  by Elise Gravel Visually captivating with interesting, easy-to-read text that is informative and sometimes hilarious. I’m a fan of this kid-friendly nonfiction book series! (also read:  The Worm ,  The Fly ,  and  The Rat )

learn to write for 3 year olds

Fly Guy Presents Scary Creatures!  by Tedd Arnold Get 5 books in 1 in this large-sized book filled with these level 2 titles:  Sharks, Dinosaurs, Insects, Bats , and  Snakes .  Fly Guy and Buzz visit places like the aquarium or the museum to learn about different creatures.  Colorful drawings and photographs illustrate the topics about which they’re learning with an appealing layout. The text of facts and conversation bubbles are just right and comprehensible for growing readers.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Pizza: A Slice of History  by Greg Pizzoli Pizza fans, check out these tasty tidbits, history, and facts about your favorite food.  Where did pizza originate? Greece or Persia? Or Naples, Italy when a man named Raffaele Esposito created a pizza with tomatoes. One or two sentences per page, this informative book hits the right spot for ages 4 to 8 year olds.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Over and Under the Canyon  written by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal A mother and son take a hike in a desert canyon where animals shelter from the hot sun.  Overhead the kestrels glide and eagles dive, along the walls tarantulas creep and geckos scoot. The pair see a roadrunner devour rattlesnakes, a mule deer gallop away, and wildflowers blossom. When the sun fades for the day, mom, dad, and son eat supper and crawl into their tent while coyotes howl and the insects sing a desert-night lullaby. Informative while being interesting and magical.

learn to write for 3 year olds

The World’s Best Jokes for Kids Volume 1  by Lisa Swerling & Ralph Lazar Each of these jokes is illustrated with I really love because it gives struggling or new readers extra picture support for decoding and comprehension. This series ( volume 2 is here ) shares jokes that will make your kids laugh, groan, and share with all their friends.

learn to write for 3 year olds

My Little Book Manatees  written by Hope Irvin Marston, illustrated by Stephanie Mirocha Perfect for early elementary-age readers,  read all about the life of a mother and baby  manatee  as he grows with his birth, behavior, food, and problems with pollution and speed boats.  Vivid verbs and lots of sounds words throughout make this extra engaging. “ Munch! Her huge teeth looked like crinkle-cut french fries. She chewed very fast. Every day she chomped down one hundred pounds of plants. ” Very well-done!

learn to write for 3 year olds

Shall We Dance?  by Robin Page You’ll love these creatures who high-step and tap off the pages with vivid verbs, informational facts, and colorful illustrations. “ Turtles tickle… Eagles cartwheel… Crabs wave. ” Each page features a creature and its strut, spin, or shimmy, plus an informational paragraph. Fun, exciting, and fact-filled!

learn to write for 3 year olds

Plants Fight Back   written by Lisa J. Amstutz, illustrated by Rebecca Evans What a well-done, fascinating book!  On each two-page spread, clever rhymes show how plants protect themselves and more non-rhyming text explains and elaborates on that information.  For example, “ Some plants deliver a peppery punch to mammals who might try to much them for lunch. // Rabbits like to eat most garden plants. But they don’t touch chili peppers! That’s because chili seeds taste very hot to mammals. The hot seeds don’t bother birds. “

learn to write for 3 year olds

What Do They Do With All That Poo? written by Jane Kurtz, illustrated by Allison Black There’s potty humor, and then there are books literally about poop. Learn about the poop of different zoo animals — pandas, hippos, elephants, hyenas, bats, and more. You’ll read what’s in each animal’s poo, the shape and color, and other pertinent facts. “ Each rhino’s poop has its own unique smell. Rhinos smell dung to gather information about one another. ” Then, the book answers the title’s question –what does the zoo do with so much poop? Well, they put it in trucks and dump it into landfills, send some to scientists, or make compost.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Sun and Moon Together  by Ethan Long Long’s created a community (Happy County) with  silly cartoons and stories that explain factual information while engaging the reader’s attention.  Learn about the Sun and the Moon, the water cycle,  the solar system , and delight in stories about characters like Wilbur and Orzo Bright whose hot air balloon pops and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. There’s so much to learn, see, and do in this entertaining book.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Beginners United States Atlas National Geographic Kids (2020) A MUST-OWN BOOK! Updated for 2020, this is a gorgeous, easy-to-use oversized atlas perfect for ages 4 to 12. Each state gets a two-page spread with a large map, a small map showing full-color photographs, the state’s location in the U.S., important facts, land and water features, history about the state. Organized by region, it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. The text is simple and readable, perfect for primary grades like 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades.

learn to write for 3 year olds

All the Birds in the World  by David Opie As the narrator talks about what makes birds birds, the kiwi bird asks “ What about me? ” on every page. Eventually, we’ll learn the answer to the little bird’s question…even though she doesn’t fly, has no tail, and has a beak with nostrils, she  is  part of the bird family. It’s a  wonderful, inclusive book with gorgeous illustrations of birds of all kinds.  Valuable back matter gives readers a key to the names of the birds on each page.

learn to write for 3 year olds

The Blobfish Book  by Jessica Olien I LOVE how creative this book is with a cartoon-like blobfish with a big personality who interjects said personality during the book’s photograph and textual information about life in the deepest parts of the ocean. Perfect text-to-picture ratio (aka. not too much!) makes this a nonfiction home run!

learn to write for 3 year olds

BUGS! Animal Planet Amazing Animal Facts Chapter Books  by James Buckley, Jr. The Animal Planet chapter books are in full color with photographs, illustrations, and kid-friendly design. The text size itself is perfect for elementary readers, it’s slightly bigger than typical nonfiction books of this length with decent white space in between the lines and around it. Finally, I’m impressed with the way this book series delivers factual information without dumbing it down or making it too difficult to read. Amazing Animal Facts Chapter Books is a stellar, highly recommended science chapter book series just perfect for elementary classrooms and libraries.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Creep, Leap, Crunch! A Food Chain Story  written by Jody Jensen Shaffer, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal The first half of this book is a cumulative food chain story that starts with the sun and the plants, then continues to the smallest prey, a cricket that eats grass.  Each page adds on a predator who eats the prey — the mouse eats the cricket, the snake eats the mouse, all the way up to a brown bear eating the fox. Back matter explains more about the forest and the animals.  This is a perfect  STEM read aloud  introduction to food chains and  forest biomes .

learn to write for 3 year olds

Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals  by Jess Keating These aren’t your princess pink variety of pink animals. No! In fact, these are gelatinous blobfish, hairy tarantulas, naked mole rats, and more — that just happen to be pink. Great writing pairs perfectly with photographs and cartoons. I love this book!

learn to write for 3 year olds

The Brain Is Kind of a Big Deal  by Nick Seluk Kids will learn so much about the brain in this  well-done, humor-filled book  with pacing and flow that will hold readers’ attention. Plus, they’ll love the cartoon panel illustrations and the text-to-picture ratio.

learn to write for 3 year olds

The Wing Wing Brothers’ Math Spectacular!  by Ethan Long I’m a big Ethan Long fan, and this book blew me away, it was so funny and educational. (Hard to do.) Plus, it’s a bedtime favorite, which I found, well, surprising. Math for bedtime? In this book, we meet the performing Wing Wing brothers: Willy, Woody, Walter, Wendell, and Wilmer. Cartoon illustrations depict their antics in three acts.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Caterpillar to Butterfly  by Laura Marsh Simple text matches each beautiful photograph. These books are bright, colorful, and informative — just perfect for any beginning reader.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Courageous Creatures and the Humans Who Help Them I Survived True Stories  by Lauren Tarshis ANIMALS Four compelling stories of animals and humans will keep readers engaged.  From carrier pigeon hero of WW I to cheetah cubs adopted by a human, these will share true stories for any animal lover. Filled with lots of black-and-white photographs and factual information that supports each story. For example, read about echolocation related to the dolphin story and general information about marine animals. Highly recommended.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Dogsledding and Extreme Sports: A nonfiction companion to Magic Tree House #54  written by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce, illustrated by Carlo Molinari I learned a lot from this little nonfiction book; it’s packed full of interesting information about many extreme sports , such as open water swimming, the Iditarod, and the X Games.  SEE ALL of the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Books .

learn to write for 3 year olds

You Can Be a Paleontologist! National Geographic Kids  by Scott D. Sampson, Ph.D. Each section of information begins with a question like “How do you find fossils” then answers the question using text, photographs, and informational insets. Dinosaur fans will be excited to learn just how scientists find, store, study, and figure out more about the dinosaurs they study — all from the bones. Clear information with enticing photographs make this an excellent choice for 7 year old dinosaur and science enthusiasts.

learn to write for 3 year olds

Hockey Then to Wow! Sports Illustrated Kids Whenever I volunteer in the school library, I see groups of kids huddled up reading sports facts books just like this one. From the beginnings of hockey to the present day , readers will learn about old style skates to current skates, gear including the outfits, famous players, coaches, and teams. For hockey players and fans, this is a nonfiction must read series.

nonfiction books for 2nd grade 7 year olds

More Book Lists:

Books for 5- and 6- year olds Books for 2nd Graders, 7-year olds Books for 3rd Graders, 8-year olds Books for 4th Graders, 9-year olds Books for 5th Graders, 10-year olds Books for 6th Graders 11-year olds Books for 7th Graders, 12-year olds YA Books

Nonfiction Book Lists by Age

Picture Book Biographies

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Melissa Taylor, MA, is the creator of Imagination Soup. She's a mother, former teacher & literacy trainer, and freelance education writer. She writes Imagination Soup and freelances for publications online and in print, including Penguin Random House's Brightly website, USA Today Health, Adobe Education, Colorado Parent, and Parenting. She is passionate about matching kids with books that they'll love.

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    learn to write for 3 year olds

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  1. Preschool Learning Videos for 3 Year Olds

  2. Best Educational Videos For Kindergarten

  3. Preschool Learning Videos for 3 Year Olds

  4. Teaching Writing 1 to 10 for Preschool -Counting for Kids Learn & Fun

  5. Preschool Learning Videos for 3 Year Olds

  6. Preschool Learning Videos for 3 Year Olds

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  1. Learning to write (ages 3-5)

    Learning to write (ages 3-5) Young children can sometimes recognise and read letters but still find it difficult to write them. There are many ways you can help your child to develop the skills needed for writing. Fine motor skills

  2. Teaching Children to Write Begins as Early as Age Three

    The study, published in the journal Child Development, showed that children actually start to learn writing skills as early as age three. Previously, child development experts had assumed that children learned how to write only once they learned what sounds each letter represented.

  3. How To Teach A 3 Year Old To Write

    Make Letters With Playdough - squish, squeeze and form letters with this fun playdough activity. This is a great 3 year old writing activity. It's great for 4 and 5 year olds too. Glue Tracing Letters - squeezing glue bottles is hard and a great hand workout too. Playdough Bug Fossils - push the bug in and carefully peel it out.

  4. How to Help 3 & 4 Year Olds Learning Handwriting

    Although three and four year olds are (typically) not developmentally ready for handwriting skills, a myth has formed that handwriting and letter formation is, in fact, a preschool skill. This myth is in large part due to a shift in academic standards asking children to learn/do more earlier in life (Almon & Miller, 2011).

  5. Writing skills at different ages

    Hold crayon in clenched fist Understand that crayons are used for making scribbles Preschoolers (ages 3-4 years) Draw wavy lines across the page that look like lines of text from a book Make distinct marks that look like letters and that are separated from each other Write some actual letters, especially the letters in their name

  6. Learning to Write and Draw

    For very young children, there are four stages of learning to write that you may see as your child grows from 15 months to 3 years old.

  7. Your 3 1/2-year-old: Writing skills

    But writing is one of those developmental milestones that varies greatly from child to child. Don't stress out if your child isn't even interested in writing. A lot depends on fine motor development. Your child may have a clear dominant hand by now (or it may not be clear for another year or so). But it's still hard to control a pencil to make ...

  8. 5 Pre-Writing Activities For Your 3-Year-Old

    While your 3-year-old probably isn't ready to write a full sentence (or even a single word), there are several activities you can do to help her get ready for writing. The following activities are simple, require very few supplies - and are a great way to spend quality time with your child.

  9. Teaching the alphabet to your 3-year-old

    Pinterest 31057 Are you teaching the alphabet to your 3-year-old? Follow along with us! Plus, you'll find lots of hands-on activities (including free printables!) along the way. Just click on the image to take you to each letter. Letter A activities for 3-year-olds Letter B activities for 3-year-olds Letter C activities for 3-year-olds

  10. Reading: Age 3-4 (Early years)

    Phonics Age 3-4. This Progress with Oxford activity book will help your child learn the sounds of each letter and understand how those sounds make words. Picture clues show young children how to complete activities with minimal support, and a progress chart, stickers, and a lively character all help make learning phonics fun.

  11. 350+ Free Handwriting Worksheets for Kids

    Helping a child learn to write is a lot of fun. There are a few things you can do to help your student learn to write. First, make sure you help your child hold their pencil correctly. We have a fun Alligator trick that works well and children love for helping a child hold their pencil correctly.

  12. Alphabet Activities For 3 year olds

    Here are 12 of my favorite playful alphabet activities for 3 year olds. Painting with letter cookie cutters is probably one of my favorite simple letter activities for 3 year olds. It's age-appropriate and fun! Alphabet Mail - this is one of the biggest hits in my preschool class. Children love this simple alphabet activity.

  13. Literacy: Writing at Age 3

    Playing video games with your child has both social and educational benefits. Try these games! Shows. Play. Thrive. Videos. Learn & Grow. by age. 2.

  14. Teaching Your 3-Year-Old to Write Their Name

    1 / 19 The award-winning audio system that engages kids with multisensory stories, music and skill-building. Learn More Should My 3-Year-Old Still Be Taking Naps? Teaching your 3-year-old child to write their name can be a fun and engaging activity that lays the foundation for their future success in writing.

  15. 10 Literacy Activities for 3-Year-Olds

    Literacy activities for 3-year-olds involve plenty of hands-on learning. One way to get started is to focus on the basics. Have your child identify letters, sounds, and words. You can do this by reading children's books together, writing out simple sentences, or playing word games. You can also try making homemade literacy materials, such as ...

  16. Nurturing Learning in Three- and Four-Year-Olds: Language and Literacy

    The ages of three and four are busy times for language and literacy learning! During this relatively short time, children develop their ability to comprehend and tell narratives (i.e. stories), become much more skilled conversationalists, and begin to understand the mechanics of written language.

  17. 12 Name Writing Practice Activities for Preschoolers

    Writing Activities Give your preschooler a little boost in school with easy and fun activities to practice name writing! They'll be ready to go for the first day of school! One of the first things your preschooler will learn is how to spell and recognize their own name. Your little learner will be discovering how to spell it.

  18. 31 Things That You Can Teach Your 3 Year Old

    1. New Vocabulary Your 3-year-old will probably be speaking in full sentences or at least long 4-5 word phrases by now. Three year olds should have at least 250-500 words in their vocabulary as well.

  19. Teaching Letter Recognition

    In fact, I have an entire learn-to-read program that includes letter recognition! How Wee Read covers it all, from rhyming to reading in 60 sequential, simple, and beautiful lessons: Step One: Phonological Awareness (7 lessons) Step Two: Letters, Sounds, and Blending (12 lessons) Step Three: Special Rules (5 lessons) Step Four: Familiar Readers ...

  20. 9 Pre-writing activities for 3 year olds

    Pre-writing activities for 3 year olds. Here's my quick list of 8 pre-writing activities for 3 year old children. 1) Coloring. Coloring is a very basic activity that will help your child learn the skills they need to draw. Use coloring books designed for preschoolers, or grab coloring pages online or in printable coloring books.

  21. Development Milestones for Your 3-Year-Old Child

    This is totally normal for this age. This is partly because 3-year-olds often experience intense emotions, and are still learning to self-regulate. "They have a wide range of emotions that they are learning to verbalize," says Rooker. "3-year- olds may also get upset with big changes to routine.".

  22. Writing in Year 3 (age 7-8)

    This is great practice - it stretches your child's creativity, gets them thinking about plot, character, and dialogue, and is a big confidence boost once they've finished and have an amazing story to look back on. Age 5-6 (Year 1) Age 6-7 (Year 2) Age 7-8 (Year 3) Age 8-9 (Year 4) Age 9-10 (Year 5) Age 10-11 (Year 6) Grammar ...

  23. How to Teach Your 3-Year-Old to Read

    Help your 3‑year‑old learn to read with Reading Eggs! Reading Eggs is the multi‑award winning reading app that helps children aged 2⁠-⁠13 learn how to read. Designed by experienced educators, the fun‑filled program is the perfect way to build your 3‑year‑old's phonics and phonemic awareness skills at home. Free Trial. Around ...

  24. 15 Best Learning Activities for Your 3 Year Old Preschooler

    Here are 15 activities for 3-year-olds that are both fun and educational: 5 Fun Developmental Activities for 3-Year-Olds 1. Recognizing Letters and Sounds. Learning activities for 3-year-olds are most fun when they are dressed up as family games, pretend plays, or become parts of our daily activities and observations.

  25. 50 Best Books for 3-Year-Olds

    Sing along with this cheerful and exuberant best books for 3 year olds that rewrites the words to the familiar "Wheels on the Bus" song, making it a story about a large, multi-generational ...

  26. 35 Excellent Nonfiction Books for 2nd Grade, 7-Year-Olds

    Nonfiction Books for 2nd Grade, 7-Year-Olds. We Dig Worms! by Kevin McCloskey. I love this Toon Early Reader with eye-popping illustrations and one sentence of text per page that explains something about worms. The art is painted on recycled grocery bags which makes for a gorgeous, earthy feeling throughout. Go Wild!

  27. Mom of child seen giving bikini waxes is arrested: TN police

    There is no reason why a 5 year old should be waxing grown women's private parts. — 3/5 ️ (@itsKARY_) February 20, 2024 A 5 y/o tho. Waxing grown women? You don't see the issue there?