Emergent Writing in Early Childhood: Developmental Patterns in Drawing, Scribbling, and Letter-Like Forms

This study explores the development of emergent writing skills in preschool children through a six-month, classroom-based educational intervention conducted in an urban kindergarten in Greece. The sample consisted of 42 children aged 4–5 years, including both monolingual and bilingual learners. Using a longitudinal design, children’s writing development was assessed monthly through a structured rubric designed to capture both foundational representational skills (scribbling and drawing) and emerging symbolic writing abilities (letter-like forms and phonological representation). The intervention integrated authentic, developmentally appropriate writing experiences into daily classroom routines, emphasizing writing as a meaningful communicative practice rather than a formal instructional task. A total of 199 writing samples were collected and evaluated across two domains and ten sub-dimensions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and repeated comparisons over time, complemented by paired-sample and independent-sample t-tests to examine developmental change and gender-related patterns. Findings revealed steady and statistically significant improvement in scribbling and drawing skills, reflecting gains in fine motor control, symbolic representation, and visual communication. In contrast, development in letter-like forms and symbolic writing showed greater variability and less consistent progress. These results highlight the non-linear nature of emergent writing development and underscore the importance of sustained, context-rich writing opportunities in early childhood education, particularly for supporting the transition from graphic representation to conventional symbolic writing.