1. Play with big balls from crawling stage

2. Stack plastic cups from 9 to 18 months

3. Use pegboards from 12 to 18 months

4. Simple puzzles with big knobs from 18 to 24 months

5. Thread large beads at 18 to 24 months

6. More complex hand puzzles from 2 years

7. Pour rice from one jug to another, then switch to water

8. Early scribbling

9. Tons of water play

10. Hand, sponge and finger-painting

11. Switch to small balls

12. Small blackboard

13. String macaroni between 2 and 3

14. Fold paper napkins from 30 months

15. Big jigsaws from third birthday

16. Draw inside big writing templates from age 3

17. Then use smaller writing templates

18. Finger-trace over stippled letters

19. Polish shoes between 3 and 5

20. Copy own name by fourth birthday

21. You write her first story, and child writes over it

22. Help her write shopping lists

23. Play writing games on home computer

24. She 'explodes' into writing before 5

GORDON DRYDEN & COLIN ROSE, FUNdamentals Guidebook. Published by Accelerated Learning Systems, England.

Note: Most activities are to develop prewriting skills.