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July 5, 2011 | 15 Comments

Fun Pre-Writing Activities Without Worksheets

handwriting for preschoolersLike reading, writing is a process that brings together a bundle of skills that all need to develop in order for your child to write with ease. Below are some of these skills and easy fun activities that help develop them. Worksheets aren’t the only way and certainly not the first step in teaching your child to write. Some children love worksheets and I think no matter what we are teaching our children if we build on what they love half the battle is won, so do not take them away if your kids enjoy them, just add some of these activities below too.

Write on Vertical Surfaces

Yes, writing on the wall is a good thing, hopefully, that marker is washable! The reason for this is because when kids write on vertical surfaces like walls, chalkboards, and easels their wrists naturally bend back in the proper form for writing.You can:

*Make Your Own Chalk Board

*Write On The Wall with a Mini Mural

Fine Motor Skills

While writing my craft tutorials, I often tag things as a fine motor activity because many crafts offer great fine motor practice.  Fine motor skills start in infancy while picking up finger food to eat but practice is so important as children learn to write. To encourage the proper grip you can try giving your child a small broken piece of crayon, it’s tiny size naturally encourages the proper grip. Also, you can use those tiny pieces! Thanks Teri for the suggestion.Practice doesn’t have to be work. You can:

*Have fun lacing and beading
*Make marshmallow and toothpick house
*Lock and Key Match

Develop Hand, Arm, and Wrist Strength

In order to work the way they want them to your child’s body needs to develop and just like we work out our bodies to work the way we want them to, for endurance and strength. To build strength you can:

*Climb and Play On Playground equipment ( especially monkey bars, climbing walls)
*Use Spray Bottles To Paint
*Cutting – Yes I mean Scissors.  Don’t worry they don’t need to be sharp.
*Ripping is great too.
*Use tongs instead of your hands to pick things up in sensory tubs.

Hand-Eye Coordination

I don’t think this section is given the status it deserves, hand eye coordination is so important and usually the part of the equation that frustrates my beginning writer the most. To work on these skills you can:

*Throw to a target – like we did with our Angry Birds Game.
*Hammer Golf Tees in like a pro!
*Sort things with tools, pour the liquid into containers at a Water Table or while cooking with an adult in the kitchen.

More Pre-Writing Letter Awareness

This is the playing with letters, learning their shapes and understanding their general purpose. You can:

*Make letters out of playdough and draw them in sugar.
*Make Letter Crafts to introduce and play with letters.
*Play Letter Games like memory, fishing games and letter hunts.
*Read.  Yes, reading with your kids will help them with writing. So grab a book!

There are many strategies to help kids get a grasp on writing, these are just a few. Try not to push your young child, usually when they push back it’s because they aren’t ready for what you are pushing, so try a new approach.  Writing is a process and kids develop at different rates. Have fun with it and do not stress about what the kid next door is doing or what your mom says you were doing at your child’s age.

Filed Under: Teaching Your Child To Write, Writing Activities | 15 Comments

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15 Comments

  1. Jenae {I Can Teach My Child!} says

    July 5, 2011 at 6:06 am

    I love it! I see so many Printables floating around, it’s nice to see a pre-writing activity NOT involving printables! Not that their bad…they can just be overused and aren’t necessarily the most effective way to introduce children to writing.

    to Jenae {I Can Teach My Child!}" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jenae {I Can Teach My Child!}'>reply to this comment
  2. Jennifer Smith says

    July 5, 2011 at 6:30 am

    These ideas look wonderful! I have a 3-year-old daughter who is visually impaired & has developmental delays, and these activities will be perfect for her. Thank you for sharing!

    to Jennifer Smith" aria-label='reply to this comment to Jennifer Smith'>reply to this comment
  3. Shonda says

    July 5, 2011 at 9:45 am

    These are wonderful ideas!

    to Shonda" aria-label='reply to this comment to Shonda'>reply to this comment
  4. Janice Erkfitz says

    July 25, 2012 at 4:23 am

    I love it!

    to Janice Erkfitz" aria-label='reply to this comment to Janice Erkfitz'>reply to this comment
  5. Stephanie Park says

    April 17, 2013 at 8:59 pm

    Thank You for sharing all the wonderful ideas. I am sharing them on my latest blog.http://simpleplanner.wordpress.com/2013/04/17/how-to-teach-handwriting-successfully/

    to Stephanie Park" aria-label='reply to this comment to Stephanie Park'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Apple Picks | The Picky Apple says:
    July 10, 2011 at 4:39 pm

    […] Fun Pre-Writing Activities Without Worksheets @ No Time For Flashcards […]

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  2. Fine motor activities says:
    August 1, 2012 at 12:02 am

    […] help develop the crucial skills needed for being a successful writer. We also have a great list of worksheet free writing activities to check […]

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  3. How to Teach Handwriting Successfully | Simple Planner says:
    April 16, 2013 at 11:38 pm

    […] Fun Pre-Writing Activities @ notimeforflashcards.com […]

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  4. Drawing: a Fine Motor Activity for Prewriting | Stir The Wonder says:
    April 4, 2014 at 4:01 am

    […] I wrote all this to say I am content to let Caden develop in his own way and at his own pace as long as he continues to work on his skills. As I have said before in my Everyday Fine Motor Activities post there is no need for elaborate fine motor activities and crafts. Those are just for fun! Mostly my own fun. The more he practices drawing the better his fine motor skills and pencil grip with become. This is laying the foundation for learning how to write and proper handwriting skills. No Time for Flashcards has also written about some great prewriting activities in Get Ready to Write without Worksheets.  […]

    to Drawing: a Fine Motor Activity for Prewriting | Stir The Wonder" aria-label='reply to this comment to Drawing: a Fine Motor Activity for Prewriting | Stir The Wonder'>reply to this comment
  5. 21 Handwriting Activities For Kids Who Hate Writing - No Time For Flash Cards says:
    July 31, 2015 at 2:09 am

    […] Have a pre-writer? Check out our list of pre-writing activities without any worksheets! […]

    to 21 Handwriting Activities For Kids Who Hate Writing - No Time For Flash Cards" aria-label='reply to this comment to 21 Handwriting Activities For Kids Who Hate Writing - No Time For Flash Cards'>reply to this comment
  6. Teaching Handwriting without Tracing Sheets - Fantastic Fun & Learning says:
    February 7, 2018 at 3:00 am

    […] For even more ideas, pop over to No Time for Flash Cards for some additional pre-writing activity ideas. […]

    to Teaching Handwriting without Tracing Sheets - Fantastic Fun & Learning" aria-label='reply to this comment to Teaching Handwriting without Tracing Sheets - Fantastic Fun & Learning'>reply to this comment
  7. Salt Tray Fine Motor Activity for Preschoolers - Toddler Approved says:
    April 17, 2021 at 2:39 am

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  8. Salt Tray Fine Motor Activity for Preschoolers - Toddler Approved - says:
    April 17, 2021 at 2:53 am

    […] I like to draw the different strokes onto notecards and place them on the tray for kids to copy! You don’t need worksheets to learn pre-writing skills! Here are a few ways Allie at No Time for Flashcards shared to help kids develop pre-writing skills while they’re playing! […]

    to Salt Tray Fine Motor Activity for Preschoolers - Toddler Approved -" aria-label='reply to this comment to Salt Tray Fine Motor Activity for Preschoolers - Toddler Approved -'>reply to this comment
  9. School Bicycle Route Testing for School Students – my baby info says:
    May 24, 2021 at 4:57 pm

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  10. Salt pan fine motor activities for preschool children - onBabyWorld.com says:
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