Grade by Grade
Strand A: Foundations of Language and Mathematics · Talking, Listening, Reading and Writing

From Scribbles to Writing My Name

A4.1 A2.2About 20 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can choose to draw and write for fun.
  • I can hold a crayon or pencil to make marks, shapes and letters.
  • I can write my first name.
  • I can label my picture with a letter or word.

Words to know

writing
Putting ideas on paper (or a screen) with marks, pictures, letters and words.
label
A word or letter that tells what something is.
pencil grip
How you hold your pencil or crayon.
name
The word that tells who you are. Your first name starts with an uppercase letter.

Everyone is a writer!

(Grown-up: read aloud, and have paper and crayons ready.)

When you draw a picture and tell about it, you are writing your ideas! Writers start with scribbles, then pictures, then shapes that look like letters, then real letters and words. Every step counts.

o ∧ ⊥Samscribblespicturesletter-likemarkslettersand name
Writing grows in steps: scribbles, pictures, letter-like marks, and then real letters, like a name.

Holding your crayon

Pinch the crayon or pencil near the tip with your thumb and pointer finger. Let it rest on your middle finger. Hold the paper still with your other hand.

Short crayons and broken crayons are great! They help little fingers pinch the right way.

Short and broken crayons in many colours lie on a sheet of paper covered in colourful scribbles.
Scribbles are the first step of writing. Short and broken crayons are just right for little fingers to pinch. AI-generated image

Writing your name

Your name is special. It is often the first word a writer learns.

  • The first letter is uppercase (big).
  • The other letters are lowercase (small).
  • Write from left to right.

For example: Mia (not MIA or mia). It's okay if your letters are wobbly or big at first!

uppercaselowercaseleft to rightnotMIAnotmia
Writing the name Mia on lines: the first letter is uppercase and the rest are lowercase, written from left to right.
Worked example

Let's write the name "Sam" together

We want to write Sam on a drawing.

  1. Say it slowly: /s/ /a/ /m/. Three sounds.
  2. First letter, uppercase S: start at the top, curve around like a snake, then curve back the other way.
  3. Next letter, lowercase a: a little circle with a short line down the side.
  4. Last letter, lowercase m: a line down, then two humps, like two little hills.
  5. Check: S-a-m. Left to right. Uppercase first. Done!

Sam. Uppercase S, then lowercase a and m.

Worked example

Let's label a picture

You drew a picture of your dog. Let's write a label.

  1. Say the word slowly: d-o-g.
  2. What is the first sound? /d/. What letter makes /d/? D!
  3. Write D (or d) next to the dog. That's a label!
  4. If you hear more sounds, write those letters too: dg or dog. A grown-up can write the whole word under yours.

A label can be the first letter (D), some letters (dg) or the whole word (dog). All of these are writing!

Be brave, not perfect

Writing the sounds you hear is called sound spelling or invented spelling. It lets Kindergarten writers write any word they want. Grown-ups: praise the effort and don't correct every letter. For short words like dog and cat, children will also learn to spell every sound (see Reading and Spelling Short Words).

Just for fun

Why are broken crayons secretly the best crayons?

They’re the perfect size for little fingers to pinch! 🖍️ (It’s true: short crayons help you hold them the right way.)

Hands-on activity

Name writing fun

Try writing your name in different ways:

  • Draw it with your finger in a tray of salt, sugar or flour.
  • Write it in the snow with a stick, or on the sidewalk with chalk.
  • Rainbow writing: write it once with each crayon colour, on top of each other.
  • Make it with playdough snakes or dry pasta.
  • Find your name card on the fridge and copy it.

Then draw a picture of something you love. Write a label for it.

Your turn

1

Show me how you hold a crayon.

2

Write (or trace) your first name.

3

What is the first letter of your name? Is it uppercase or lowercase?

4

Draw a sun ☀️. Write the first letter of sun beside it.

5

Make 3 different marks: a zigzag, a circle and a straight line.

6

Draw a cat 🐱. Write a label for it.

More practice: warm-up

1

Draw a big circle in the air with your finger.

2

Is the first letter of a name uppercase or lowercase?

3

Draw a straight line down, from top to bottom.

4

Which way do we write: ← or →?

5

Draw a picture of someone in your family.

More practice: on your own

1

Write the first letter of moon 🌙.

2

Write your name 3 times: once small, once big, once in a colour.

3

Draw a fish 🐟 and write a label.

4

Write the name of someone in your family (you can copy it from a card).

5

A friend wrote DG under a dog picture. Is that writing?

Challenge

1

Write your first name without copying.

2

Draw a picture of a snowman ⛄ and write the sounds you hear in snowman.

3

Write a label for something in your room (like bed or door) and stick it on.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is the right way to write the name Mia?

2.

Which way do we write?

3.

You drew a sun ☀️. Which letter could be the label?

4.

A friend writes dg under a picture of a dog. What should we say?

For parents and teachers

What the curriculum asks: The Kindergarten Curriculum (2026) asks children to create simple texts using letters, words, sentences, pictures and symbols (A4.1) and to form letters correctly (A2.2, practised more in Forming Letters the Right Way). Their own name is usually the first word they learn to write.

Typical stages: scribbles → drawings → letter-like shapes → strings of random letters → first-sound letters (D for dog) → some sounds (dg) → more sounds (dog). Children move back and forth between stages, and all of them are writing.

How to help at home:

  • Keep paper, crayons, chalk and markers where your child can reach them.
  • Make a name card (uppercase first letter, then lowercase) for copying.
  • Ask "Tell me about your picture" instead of "What is it?" Write their words underneath if they want.
  • Build hand strength with playdough, tongs, stickers, beads and tearing paper.

Common difficulties:

  • Writing all in capitals. Common, because capitals are easier. Model the name with only the first letter uppercase.
  • Backwards letters (e.g., S or N reversed) are normal at this age.
  • Fist grip. Offer short crayons or broken chalk, which encourage a pinch.
  • "I can't write!" Tell them: "Writers can use pictures and letters. Write the sounds you hear."