Gullu
Guide · updated 2026-11-13

Pre-Writing Strokes by Age: Which Lines and Shapes Come Before Letters

Short answer: Pre-writing strokes are the lines and shapes children draw before letters, such as straight lines, circles, crosses and squares. The CDC lists drawing a circle when shown how by age 3, and the American Academy of Pediatrics describes copying a circle and tracing a square at 3. Exact ages for every other stroke come from charts, not from these official checklists.

By the Gullu team at SyntyAxis · Sources are linked in the text and listed at the end.

What are pre-writing strokes?

They are the simple marks that letters are built from: lines down, lines across, circles, slanted lines, crosses and basic shapes. The term is used by teachers and occupational therapists. The official sources we read do not use the phrase, but they describe the same thing.

Zero to Three, a US nonprofit focused on babies and toddlers, describes a stage it calls "lines and patterns" at about 2½ to 3½ years. Children imitate the lines, curves and repeated patterns of writing, and their drawings may contain parts of letters such as lines, dots and curves (Zero to Three).

An NHS occupational therapy worksheet from England puts it simply. Before forming letters, children need to have success with pre-writing shapes (West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust).

Which strokes come at 2, 3, 4 and 5?

Here is everything the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Zero to Three say about lines and shapes at each age. It is a shorter list than most charts online, because it holds only what these sources state.

Age What the sources say Source
15 months to 2½ years Random scribbling with large arm movements Zero to Three
2 to 3 years Controlled scribbling: repeated circles and vertical, horizontal, diagonal and curved lines Zero to Three
30 months A tip, not a milestone: draw a straight line and see if your child copies it. When lines go well, show a circle CDC, 30 months
3 years Draws a circle when shown how CDC, 3 years
3 years Copies a circle, traces a square AAP
3 to 5 years Pictures built from shapes, such as a sun with rays or a person with a round head Zero to Three
4 years Draws a person with three or more body parts CDC, 4 years
4 to 5 years Traces or copies geometric shapes such as stars and diamonds AAP
5 years Writes some letters in their name CDC, 5 years

Zero to Three says its age ranges are approximate and that children move through the stages at different speeds. The CDC describes its milestones as things most children can do by that age.

What about crosses, squares and triangles?

Many charts online give an exact age for each one: a cross at one age, a square at the next, a triangle after that. The CDC checklists we read, from 2 to 5 years, name only one shape, the circle at 3. The AAP adds tracing a square at 3 and copying shapes such as stars and diamonds between 4 and 5. Neither gives an age for a cross or a triangle.

We could not open an official source for those individual ages, so we do not repeat them here. That does not make the charts wrong. It means a chart is a rough guide, not a deadline, and a child who draws a square before a cross is not doing anything out of order that these sources would flag.

What the sources agree on is the general direction:

  1. Scribbles
  2. Lines, up and down and side to side
  3. Circles
  4. Shapes with corners, and shapes joined into pictures
  5. Letters, often starting with the child's own name

Why do shapes come before letters?

Because letters are made of the same lines and curves. Zero to Three describes children drawing parts of letters, such as lines, dots and curves, before they draw letters themselves. Later, at about 3 to 5, they begin to use real letters, often the ones in their own name, mixed with "pretend" letters.

The Raising Children Network, an Australian parenting website, describes the same order. Toddlers begin with back-and-forth marks, then try lines and curves. Preschoolers usually start to draw straight and circular lines, put them together into people and objects, and may start to form letters and numbers (Raising Children Network).

It also explains why one stroke gets special attention. Practising circles that start at the top and go anticlockwise matters because, in its words, that is the pattern we use to form letters.

How do you practice strokes with coloring and drawing?

Keep it playful and short. These ideas come from the sources above.

  • Copy me. Draw one straight line and see if your child copies it. When lines are easy, show a circle (CDC, 30 months).
  • Color and draw lines and shapes together. This is the CDC's own tip at 3.
  • Trace a path. Draw a top-to-bottom or left-to-right line and give it a story, such as helping a puppy find the way home (Raising Children Network).
  • Circles from the top. Suns, wheels, faces and bubbles all start at the top (Raising Children Network).
  • Go vertical. An easel or paper taped to a wall makes downward strokes easier for toddlers (Raising Children Network).
  • Draw big without a pencil. A finger or stick in sand, or a wet paintbrush on a wall or fence (West Suffolk NHS worksheet).
  • Play dough lines. Roll "snakes" and bend them into circles and letters. The CDC notes that play dough builds hand and finger muscles for writing.

Coloring pages fit in as shape practice in disguise. A child coloring a ball goes around a circle, and a child coloring a house follows straight edges. Simple outlines work well, such as the shapes pages, and later the alphabet and numbers pages.

On a screen, the Gullu app has a Shapes land with 24 pages. Its "Draw it" mode shows a dotted guide one part at a time for the child to trace. We make no claim that this teaches writing. It is one more way to follow a line, and a finger on glass is not the same as a crayon in the hand. For a fuller look at tracing, see is tracing good for kids.

Should a 4-year-old be writing letters?

Not necessarily. The CDC lists "writes some letters in her name" as a milestone at 5 years, not 4. Zero to Three places letter and word practice anywhere from about 3 to 5, which means some 4-year-olds write several letters and others are still happily drawing shapes. Both fit what the sources describe.

At 4, the CDC milestones are about the tools and the picture: holding a crayon or pencil between fingers and thumb, and drawing a person with three or more body parts.

If your 4-year-old is interested in letters, the first letter of their name is a natural place to start. If they are not, shapes and pictures are doing the groundwork. See when should a child write their name and pencil grip by age.

When should you ask the teacher or doctor?

Ask whenever you are worried. You do not need a reason from a chart. The CDC advises talking with your child's doctor and asking about developmental screening if your child is not meeting one or more milestones for their age, has lost skills they once had, or you have other concerns (CDC milestones).

For drawing, the listed points are a circle when shown how by 3, a finger-and-thumb hold and a simple person by 4, and some letters of their name by 5.

A preschool or kindergarten teacher sees many children the same age draw every day. They can tell you what they notice and whether they would suggest anything. Neither this page nor a stroke chart can tell you whether something is wrong. Only a professional who has seen your child can.

FAQ

What is the order of pre-writing strokes?

The sources we read describe a general order: scribbles, then lines, then circles, then shapes with corners and pictures, then letters. Detailed charts list more steps with ages, but the CDC and AAP pages do not give them.

At what age should a child draw a circle?

The CDC lists drawing a circle, when shown how, as something most children do by 3 years. The AAP also describes copying a circle at 3.

At what age should a child draw a cross or a square?

The AAP describes tracing a square at 3 and copying geometric shapes between 4 and 5. Neither the CDC checklists nor the AAP page we read gives an age for a cross.

Is tracing or copying better for pre-writing?

The sources we read suggest both: the CDC suggests copying a line you draw, and the Raising Children Network suggests tracing lines. We found no official source that ranks one above the other.

Do worksheets help with pre-writing strokes?

They are one option. The NHS worksheet we read notes that correct letter movements are often not learned from copying and tracing alone, and suggests adding large movements such as drawing in sand or in the air.

When do kids start scribbling?

See when kids start coloring for milestones from ages 1 to 7.

Sources

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