The Preschooler

Label Drawings

When your child was very young and just starting to take an interest in books, you probably noticed that your child’s library consisted almost entirely of thick board books that contained brightly colored pictures with very few words.  In general, toddlers have not yet made the connection between the words on the page and the story they are telling.  However, parents are able to help them make that connection by reading the labels and pointing to the pictures.  It doesn’t take long before the youngster is doing the same.

Once your child is a bit older and beginning to make drawings of his own, you can use this opportunity to reinforce the connection between printed words and the meaning they hold.  By labeling your child’s pictures, your child will see that what he says can be written with symbols (letters) to convey a message.  At first, keep the labels very short.  One or two words at most.  Prompt your child to tell you about the picture he has created.  If your child’s answer is very short and concise, such as “It’s a car.”, simply write the word “car” near the drawing.  If, however, your child begins to deliver a lengthy story, such as “It is a car that is driving on it’s way to Uncle Kevin’s house so that the kids in the car can see his dog, Mack.”, write the story at the bottom of the page, but be sure to go back and help your child lable the picture.  You may reply to your child, “This is a very nice car” as you write the word “car” next to it.  Ask your child if there is anything else in the picture he would like you to label.  Often children will add something just so that you can add another label.

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Written by BRWI Staff on March 14, 2011