When your child is at preschool age, they will begin learning to form their letters for handwriting. You can play a big part in this by exposing your younger preschooler to activities that encourage using pre-writing strokes and line they need for handwriting.
They also will benefit from activities that help support their fine motor skills development in their fingers and hands. Below are some fun ways to help your preschooler practice handwriting and help build their fine motor skills.
Decorate a Box to Hold Their Writing Utensils
Give your child some writing tools like:
- Chalk
- Washable markers
- Crayons
- Pencils
Collect and organize these tools in a box along with some paper. Your child can then use these writing tools to decorate the box they’ll store their tools and paper in.
Practice with Cereal
Give your child Fruit Loops, Cheerios or macaroni and have them practice lacing them on yarn or string.
Watercolors
Your child can use a paintbrush and watercolors to paint the letters of their name.
Counting Game
Have your child-friendly safe tongs or tweezers to pick up little pom-poms or marshmallows and put them in an empty ice cube tray to use in a counting game.
Write on a Bag
Place food coloring and clear hair gel in a sandwich bag. After forcing the air from the bag, seal the bag up tightly using duct tape or packing tape. Then, put the bag down on a flat surface and have your child write on the bag using their index fingers.
Handwriting can be a fun experience for your little one. And, there are more creative ways to do it other than just paper and pencil. If your child has a pediatric occupational therapist, ask them for some fun ideas to encourage your preschooler to use their hands.