Start with Art is a creative approach to support the development of pre-writing skills and an engaging resource to encourage children needing additional support to build their fine motor skills. The activities are enjoyable for all children age 4 years + and can be graded for all abilities.

Children need to be able to draw shapes before they begin handwriting. The letters of the alphabet are essentially made up from combinations of shapes. The ability to copy shapes follows a defined developmental sequence. This book follows this developmental sequence for shape drawing to teach children how to position and draw the shapes with accuracy, through fun arts projects that the children will love!  

Children colour, cut and stick together basic shapes to make a beautiful and fun picture. They then practise drawing what they have made. Through colouring, cutting, manipulating and then drawing the shapes the child is also building the fine motor skills necessary for accurate pencil control for handwriting. Each design comes with the shapes template page, a step by step guide to making the design and a step by step how to draw page.

Written by Ines Lawlor, a trained Occupational Therapist, Start with Art is a resource for teachers, learning support assistants, therapists and parents. It is suitable to use with the whole class or can be used individually for children who require additional assistance with fine motor skills.