Keeping preschoolers engaged and on task can be tricky during the holiday season. There is so much excitement in the air and it seems to be contagious in the classroom with 4 and 5 year-olds! This is the reason that I try to incorporate hands-on learning activities like our Christmas tree alphabet writing tray in my pre-k classroom.
Christmas Tree Writing Tray
The free printable Christmas tree writing tray includes 2 sets of Christmas tree alphabet cards. One set is uppercase letters. The second set is lowercase letters.
Print the set that works for the learning level in your classroom and cut the cards apart on the gray dotted lines. Laminate the letter cards for added durability.
Add the letter cards to a basket or stack them in a pile.
RELATED: Fine Motor Busy Bins
Writing Tray Ideas
To create the writing tray portion of this activity I added the cutest Christmas tree glitter (from the dollar aisle!) to one of our Melissa & Doug wooden trays. We have a bunch of these around my house and classroom.
Whichever kind of tray you use, just make sure the sides are tall enough that the writing tray filler doesn’t spill out when the letters are erased.
Add the glitter, sprinkles, salt to the tray. Little learners just need enough to cover the bottom of the tray.
To play, pick a card and identify the letter.
Set the letter card in the tray or on the table. Trace the letter in the writing tray with your finger or a paint brush. Practice forming the letter correctly, moving from top to bottom and left to right. Sometimes in writing trays, the letter needs to be written a few times to really show up clearly.
After the letter is written, shake the writing tray gently to clear the board. Pick a new card and play again!
Practice writing both the uppercase and lower case letters in the Christmas tree writing tray. Build simple words and write the letters in the tray. And if you aren’t sure where to begin, start with the letters in the child’s name!
Writing trays help strengthen fine motor muscles as well as early literacy skills.
Keep the fine motor practice going with our Santa Fine Motor Busy Bins. They go right along with the Christmas tree writing tray! See some of the busy bins below:
Grab your own copy of the Christmas tree writing tray now!