Learning the proper strokes for handwriting formation can take time, but is very important. Once a bad habit is acquired it can be hard to correct.
If you ask a kindergarten teacher how many times they remind kids to start at the top when writing I bet the answer would be a very high number! Tracing letters is a good way to practice proper formation and avoid trouble with handwriting.
Instead of tracing letters with a pencil we decided to use a toy car and make it a gross motor activity. Making the practice big made it easier to practice letter strokes and was fun!
The nice thing about this handwriting activity is that you only need two supplies–a toy car and sidewalk chalk. We started by writing a bunch of letters on the sidewalk with chalk.
Then it was time to trace!
I gave her directions for which way to drive her car. If she started to make a “wrong turn” I would model how to drive the letter while saying the directions for her.
We talked about how for some letters the car “reversed” back up the road and sometimes it got picked up so it could “fly” to the next road. (It was obviously a fancy car!)
There are so many ways to make handwriting feel like fun instead of practice! Another one of our favorites is to water paint chalk letters which would be perfect to do after you drive on them for a while.
More Handwriting Activities:
- Window Letter Painting
- Big Rainbow Writing on a Mirror
- Find and Write Letter Hunt
- Dirt Writing with Sticks
The other Move and Learn co-hosts were busy putting together Move and Learn Activities for kids this week too, make sure to check them out!
Other Ways to Move & Learn this week:
- How to Play Corners from The Pleasantest Thing
- Maze of Numbers Counting Activity from Hands on : as we grow
- 18 Ways to Play with Numbers from Toddler Approved
- Check out all our Move & Learn activities
- Lots of ideas on our Pinterest board!
What a great way to work on letters!
Thank you Deirdre!
Funny was just commenting over at Planet Smarty Pants about reluctant writers and how important correct letter formation is. I love how you’ve incorporated gross motor skills. We’ve done the painting with water but using the cars is a new one. What a fun, active way to practice!