Handwriting activities are “all the rave” at our house right now. With my oldest going into 1st grade and our middle child starting Kindergarten, there’s a buzz of excitement in the air! So right now is the perfect time to get kids practicing letter writing. Whether it’s writing their name, tracing numbers, or developing their hand muscles through scissor cutting activities, these activities will provide hours of learning fun for your kids!
When I asked my Kid Blogger Network blogging girlfriends to share their posts for handwriting activities with me, I was delighted to see these wonderful activities that encourage writing at all ages… even young children through play and fine motor activities!
Fine motor skills are tasks that utilize the small muscles of the body like those in the fingers. Examples of fine motor activities are: holding a cup, grasping a fork or spoon, stacking objects like blocks, putting small objects into a larger container, zipping, snapping and buttoning clothing, cutting with scissors, plus drawing and writing skills.
Therefore, the pre-writing play activities are vital to learning good handwriting skills!
To start, check out Pencil Grasp Development for Handwriting from Golden Reflections. This occupational therapist gives the scoop on proper pencil grasp and tips on how to help your child learn it!
Writing Activities
Dinosaur Activity Pack Printable from Makeovers & Motherhood. Dig up some prehistoric fun with this pack which not only contains great pre-writing activities, plus a writing page that helps with handwriting and reading/word recognition.
Find and Write Letter Scavenger Hunt from Coffee Cups and Crayons. This scavenger hunt gets your kids moving and learning for some letter fun!
HandWritingWorksheets.com. This site allows you to customize printable sheets for your child to practice writing. You can choose from two types of print styles or cursive and print for FREE!
Monster Activity Pack Printable from Makeovers & Motherhood. This fine motor activity pack has a handwriting page lurking within to work on letter writing!
Monsters University Handwriting Practice from 3 Boys and a Dog. Scare up some fun with Sully and these cute handwriting practice sheets.
Tips for Teaching Cursive Writing from Real Life at Home. I was so intrigued reading how one school taught cursive before printing in kindergarten. Also, great tips on teaching your child the 3 basic hand movements for cursive writing.
Water Painting Handwriting Practice from Coffee Cups and Crayons. This handwriting activity moves learning from the table to the sidewalk!
Pre-Writing & Fine Motor Activities to develop handwriting skills
6 Pre-Writing Activities for Kids from Golden Reflections. These pre-writing lines, shapes, tracing, and task trays will get your little ones working on those fine motor skills.
12 Fun Handwriting Activities for Preschoolers from Golden Reflections. Helping your preschooler master pre-writing lines and strokes will help them to form letters of the alphabet.
Beginner Connect the Dots for Preschoolers from Hands On: As We Grow. This connect the dots is great for those not quite reading their numbers yet and a way to get good writing practice in.
Cursive and Print Letter Matching Duplo Blocks from Life with Moore Babies. Help your child recognize letters in cursive with this matching game!
Form Drawing for Better Handwriting from Real Life at Home. Drawing straight lines and curves as “pictures” first is a great way to introduce the fine motor skills needed to form letters correctly.
Fun With Working on Pre-Writing Skills from In the Playroom. Basic pre-writing shapes aid in both drawing and handwriting.
Handwriting Practice for Kids: Big Rainbow Writing from Coffee Cups and Crayons. Kids trace a letter or number multiple times with different colors to create a rainbow. This activity takes it to the next level by making it BIG!
Handwriting Practice with Dirt and Sticks from Coffee Cups and Crayons. Kids LOVE dirt! So why not add some learning to their dirt play with this pre-writing activity?!
Kindergarten Cutting Activity from Makeovers & Motherhood. Cutting is an excellent activity for developing writing skills! And this activity provides not only cutting fun, but lots of creativity and play opportunities too!
Practical Handwriting Practice: Kid-Made Cards from What We Do All Day. Give your kids some practical writing practice by creating cards for loved ones.
Pre-Writing Practice from Craftulate. Line tracing is a great way to start even the littlest ones working on writing skills.
Preschool Fine Motor Development Activity: Journal “Writing” from What We Do All Day. Journal keeping gives your child a sense of ownership over their “writing”… even if it’s just scribbles at first. Plus, what fun it is to see their progress (and have them see their progress) as their handwriting skills develop.
Rainbow Salt Writing Tray ~ Sensory Play and Learning for Kids from Frogs and Snails and Puppy DogTails. The colorful salt makes this
Sandpaper-like letters DIY – Montessori on budget from Frog in a Pocket. Feeling the grainy texture of the sandpaper letters with fingers gives child a chance to learn motor pattern and proper way of writing each letter.
Superhero Activity Pack from Makeovers & Motherhood. This printable pack is full of pre-writing activities to help your little one feel super!
Tracing Numbers from Hands On: As We Grow. Jamie took the fun down to the floor with painter’s tape and markers as she worked with learning numbers and tracing with her kids.
Here are some great holiday themed writing and pre-writing activities to mix up learning throughout the year! (Remember that scissor cutting activities are a great way to work on handwriting skills. Check out why scissor cutting is so important at Scissor Cutting Skills: why they’re important and how to help your child learn ‘em.)
Christmas Cutting Practice Sheets from Makeovers & Motherhood
Easter Egg Fine Motor Activities Tracing & Cutting from Little Bins for Little Hands
Easter Scissor Cutting Practice Sheets from Makeovers & Motherhood
Printable Holiday-themed Handwriting Practice Sheets from 3 Boys and a Dog
St. Patty’s Day Scissor Cutting Practice Sheets from Makeovers & Motherhood
Thanksgiving Scissor Cutting Practice Sheets from Makeovers & Motherhood
Valentine Activity Pack Printable from Makeovers & Motherhood
Winter-Themed Scissor Cutting Practice Sheets from Makeovers & Motherhood
Your child will love their learning time with these great handwriting activities! Pencils up!
Want more fun activities to do with your kids?
Check these out! You and your child will be thrilled with all these wonderful learning through play resources!
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