Pre-writing lines are the simple strokes a child needs before writing letters: a standing line, a sleeping line, slanting lines, curves and a circle. Every letter and number is made from them. The capital A is two slanting lines and a sleeping line; the number 0 is a circle; the Hindi ग is a short standing line, a curl and a long standing line. On this page your child watches a green dot draw a line, traces it with a finger, hears its name in English and Hindi, and earns a chime and sparkles. Each line ends with "Now write it on paper!" so the screen leads to crayons.
The eight lines on this page
| Line | In Hindi | Which way | Where you see it later |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standing line | खड़ी रेखा | Top to bottom | 1, I, L, T, the stick of b and d, ग |
| Sleeping line | पड़ी रेखा | Left to right | E, F, H, T, 7, the shirorekha of Hindi letters |
| Slanting line | तिरछी रेखा | Top left to bottom right | A, K, M, N, X, Y |
| Slanting line the other way | उल्टी तिरछी रेखा | Top right to bottom left | A, V, W, X, Z, 7 |
| Rainbow curve | इंद्रधनुष जैसी घुमावदार रेखा | Up and over | n, m, h, 2, 3 |
| Zigzag line | टेढ़ी-मेढ़ी रेखा | Up, down, up, down | M, W, v, w, z |
| Wavy line | लहर जैसी रेखा | Smooth waves | S, s, the "3" shape in अ |
| Circle | गोला | From the top, round to the left | O, o, 0, a, d, g, q, 6, 9 |
The order roughly follows how children develop. Most can copy a standing line by about 2 to 3 years, a sleeping line and a circle by about 3, a cross by about 4, and slanting lines and a triangle by about 4 to 5. Slanting lines are harder than they look because the hand must cross the middle of the body.
How to use this pre-writing game
- Pick a line from the row above the board, or start with the standing line.
- Watch the green dot and the pointing finger draw it. Tap Watch to see it again.
- Trace from the green number 1. A wobbly line close to the path counts, and about 70 percent of the way is enough. Tapping along the path also works for very young children who do not drag yet.
- Listen to the line's name, "Sleeping line, पड़ी रेखा", and then draw it on paper.
- Tap Next. After a few lines (4 for age 2 to 3, more for older children, set in Settings), a marble goes into the Goli Jar.
A Left hand button moves the buttons for left-handed children. With calm motion on, the board shows a still diagram with a numbered start dot and an arrow, plus a Done button that also works with a keyboard. The अ+A button in the header changes the language order.
Pre-writing activities for toddlers at home
Young children learn lines with their whole body first. Try these for 5 to 10 minutes, a few times a week.
- Walk the line. Stick masking tape on the floor as a standing, sleeping or zigzag line and walk along it like a tightrope.
- Sand and flour trays. Spread atta, sand or salt on a plate. Draw a line with a finger, shake, and try again.
- Chalk outside. Big chalk on a wall or floor lets the shoulder and arm move freely.
- Car roads. Draw a road (a straight line, a zigzag, a wave) and drive a toy car along it.
- Rain and rainbows. Rain is standing lines, the ground is a sleeping line, a rainbow is a curve, and the sun is a circle.
- Finger painting. Paint on a vertical surface like a wall chart; it builds wrist strength. Try our colouring pages too.
Hand strength and grip
Lines get easier as small hand muscles grow. Play-dough, tearing paper, peeling stickers, picking up chana or rajma, pouring water and using clothes pegs all help. At 2, a fist grip on a fat crayon is normal. Between 3 and 4, most children move to a finger grip, and by 4 to 5 many use a tripod grip. Short, thick crayons encourage a better grip than long pencils. Left-handed children should never be switched; tilt their paper a little to the right.
From lines to letters: what comes next
When your child can trace the standing line, sleeping line and circle, try capital letters made from them: L, T, H, I, E and O on our ABC tracing page. Numbers 1, 4, 7 and 0 on number tracing use the same moves. For Hindi, the sleeping line becomes the shirorekha on Hindi letter tracing. Lines also make shapes, so look at shapes and patterns together.
Worksheet tip: there is no PDF on this site. Make a pre-writing worksheet by drawing dotted lines across a page with a green dot at the left or top, like the board, and a small picture at each end ("help the bee reach the flower").
Keep it gentle
At 2 and 3, scribbling is real progress. Praise the effort and the fun ("You made a long, long line!"), not neatness, and stop while your child still enjoys it. If your child avoids drawing, finds grip hard, or has a motor delay, dyspraxia or autism, keep it playful, use big movements and short sessions, and talk to your paediatrician or an occupational therapist if you are worried. For screen time, sit together and keep it short; for children under 2, crayons, sand and a grown-up are better than a screen.
How to use this page at home
Say it, then find it
Play for a few minutes, then look for the same thing away from the screen: pre-writing lines on the shelf, in the kitchen, on the way to school. A child learns a word properly when they meet it twice, once on the screen and once in their hand.
Ten minutes is enough
Short and happy beats long and tired. Stop while your child still wants more, and come back tomorrow: the same page on five short days teaches far more than one long sitting. Nothing here is scored, so there is no reason to push.
Use both languages
Tap the language button at the top to hear the words in your home language first and the second language after. Hearing the same picture named in two languages is one of the few things research agrees builds attention as well as vocabulary.
