When my kids were little they loved grabbing pencils and crayons to “do school” with the big kids. Although we take a very relaxed approach to school for our younger kids, I always encouraged prewriting activities to help strengthen those fine motor skills.
The best part of prewriting activities is that many of them seem more like playing than work. You can use playdough to develop their fine motor skills and what kid doesn’t love using playdough! Little boys driving cars on playmats and roads is great for fine motor skills. And let your girls dress their dolls and brush their hair to encourage fine motor activity.
Helping them develop those fine motor skills organically and naturally through play, makes it easier to transition to prewriting activities on paper. While there is no harm in letting them explore handwriting, you should be mindful of proper pencil grip so they don’t develop bad habits.
Help your little ones develop and strengthen their fine motor skills with these prewriting activities geared toward preschoolers.
10 Montessori Prewriting Activities | Mama’s Happy Hive
Prewriting Activities for Preschoolers | Days with Grey
The Sand Tray | To The Lesson
Squeezing Activities to Improve Fine Motor Development | Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds
Practice Prewriting Skills with Sticks and Stones | Little Pine Learners
Fine Motor Activities for Kids | And Next Comes L
Push Pin Pre-Writing Activity For Kids | Planning Playtime
Prewriting Activity: Cotton Swab Painting | Lessons Learnt Journal
Shaving Cream Pre-Writing: Connect the Dots | School Time Snippets
Simple Sprinkle Sensory Bag | Active Littles
Shaving Cream Writing | A Dash of Learning
Sensory Writing Ideas for Preschool | Finding the Golden Gleam
Calming Lavender Prewriting Tray | And Next Comes L
Fine Motor Activities that Develop Pre-Writing Skills | No Time For Flash Cards
Play Dough Writing Tray | Fantastic Fun and Learning
Salt Tray Writing Practice | Play to Learn Preschool
10 Hands-On Ways to Practice Pre-Writing Lines | Growing Hands-On Kids
Dirt Play Dough + Rocks Writing Tray | Frugal Fun 4 Boys and Girls
Tracing Letters with Water | This Little Home of Mine
Playdough Learning: Prewriting for Toddlers | Kids Activities Blog
Magnetic Prewriting | Days with Grey
I like to use a mixture of printables and activities to encourage fine motor skills and handwriting development. Sometimes we do both on the same day and sometimes we just concentrate on one or the other if they’re really doing well and making progress.
Prewriting Handwriting Lines – Activity Mats | love teach and learn (TpT)
Valentine’s Day Pre-Writing Strips | Totschooling
Touch and Feel Prewriting Cards | Teach me Mommy
Dinosaur Pre-Writing Free Printable | Powerful Mothering
Easy No-Prep Prewriting Practice Printables (FREE) | 3 Dinosaurs
Fall Prewriting Activities | Inspire the Mom
Pre-Writing Activity Pack | Totschooling
Rain Cloud Pre-Writing Tracing Cards | Frogs-and-Fairies
Preschool Line Tracing Worksheets: The Weather | Yes! We Made This
Free Beach Prewriting Cards | Stay at Home Educator
Summer Prewriting Activities | Inspire the Mom
Fall Prewriting Activity with Squirrels & Acorns | Totschooling
Free Printable Shape Tracing Strips | Powerful Mothering
Spring Themed Prewriting Activities | Inspire the Mom
Christmas Reindeer PreK Handwriting & Math Pack | In All You Do
Valentine’s Day prewriting activities | Planes and Balloons
In All You Do has quite a few PreK/Tot packs that include prewriting practice pages. You can find all her Tot Packs here, but in the meantime check these out…
Find more homeschool resources on my Pinterest boards!
Annette has been married to her husband and best friend since 2003. Together they are raising their six children to follow the Lord’s will, no matter what. Annette longs for the day when she will meet her angel babies who have entered heaven before her. She enjoys creating UNIT STUDIES and FREE PRINTABLES for homeschool families. You can follow her crazy life at In All You Do where she blogs about homeschooling, homemaking and marriage while trying to maintain her sanity. She is also the owner of Thrifty Homeschoolers where she shares her tips on homeschooling without breaking the bank.