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Pre-Writing Activities for Hands-On Learning

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Writing is a fundamental skill to learning. Younger preschoolers love to scribble and pretend to write. Pre-writing activities give students the skills and muscle tone they need to write. Writing doesn’t come until later. However, laying the foundation will make learning to write easier. Learning for preschoolers is all about play. Here are five, fun pre-writing activities to start with your student, today.

Playdough Alphabet Mats

Playdough

Playdough is fun and easy to use. Kids love to squish and mold it. Just playing with playdough helps strengthen little hands. It develops fine motor skills and increases muscle tone. Both are very important for writing. Rolling out the playdough into long ropes helps develop pre-writing skills. Then you can make other writing shapes. Make circles, and x’s out of playdough. Roll out a horizontal rope and a vertical rope. Using your finger, trace over the shapes. Use a paintbrush or stick to make decorations on each shape. You can use clean stamps to practice going in a line. Just stamp one after another across a flattened piece of playdough.

Dip & Dot Alphabet Painting Mats

Painting

Who doesn’t love to paint? It’s fun, colorful, and messy. Toddlers love messes. Moms, not so much. Painting is a wonderful pre-writing activity. Making long strokes with a paintbrush develops hand-eye coordination. If you are looking to avoid the mess, try painting with water. You can paint with water on a driveway, brick, or construction paper. The water will change the surface color, however, it is mess-free. Make sure to teach your child how to hold the paintbrush properly. This will help him to learn how to hold a pencil. Paint straight lines, squiggly lines, and loops or circles. Older siblings can join in by practicing letters, spelling words, or shapes.

Sand or Salt Tray

Long before a child can hold a pen, he can use his finger. Drawing with fingers build coordination, fine motor skills, and confidence. Start with a tray covered with sand and salt. Make the sand deep enough to move with your finger. Have the child experiment with moving the sand with just one finger at a time. Practice lines, squiggles, and circles. Once the child is ready, give him a card with a shape, letter, or number to copy into the sand.

Pom-Pom Alphabet Activity Mats

Transferring

A classic Montessori task, transferring is actually an important pre-writing activity. Using tongs or tweezers children transfer objects from one bowl to another. This teaches how to follow a line. It also develops fine motor skills and coordination. Pom poms, beans, marbles, seeds, or acorns are perfect for transferring practice. Really anything can be used. Raid your pantry and get transferring.

Free Alphabet Mat Printables

Stickers

Stickers, they are one of the great joys of childhood. Stickers actually teach pre-writing skills. Moving stickers from the sheet to your page, is an important skill to develop. Once children master putting stickers onto paper, their clothes, or themselves, you can do more complicated activities. Draw a horizontal line and have the child place stickers along the line. You can later progress to shapes and letters. Making lines out of stickers is fun and forgiving. So the child practices tracing the line without getting frustrated.

Try more pre-writing activities using our Fine Motor Task Card Activity Bundle! This helpful bundle includes a variety of different task cards you can use to develop small motor muscles without writing:

  • Fine Motor Task Cards: Symmetry Task Card Activity Pack
  • Fine Motor Task Cards: Alphabet Geo Board Task Cards Activity Pack
  • Fine Motor Task Cards: ABC Brick Activity Pack
  • Fine Motor Task Cards: ABC Play Dough Activity Pack
  • Fine Motor Task Cards: ASL Activity Pack

Click Here for Sample Pages

Alphabet Mat Printables

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These free blank alphabet letter mats make look simple, but they are filled with possibility for your preschool classroom! Blank ABC letters can be filled with a variety of different small motor manipulatives, making them a fantastic secret weapon to pull from of your Super Teacher Toolbox! These boredom busters are not only fun and engaging, but they build letter recognition and fine motor skills too! For extended fun, print a set on colored cardstock and laminate them for reuse in a classroom setting.

Here are 10 creative ways to use Blank Alphabet Mats:

1.Alphabet Dab & Dot

Students can use dab & dot markers to fill in the letters. Dab & Dot markers are like markers but at the end of them is a round surface that the paint comes out when pressed down. Children can create different patterns on the letters using Dab & Dot markers. HINT: Show children they can blend two colors by dabbing layers.

2.Alphabet Pom Poms

Pom-poms are a fun hands-on way for preschool age kids to practice learning and making the letters of the alphabet. This is a great way for children to strengthen fine motor skills, especially if you have them use tweezers to pick up and place the pom-poms. HINT: Have children place the poms in the correct stroke order for proper letter formation.

3.Alphabet Play Dough Mats

Playdough is a fun and interactive way for children to make letters. They are able to play around with play-doh all while learning the letters of the alphabet. Children strengthen their small motor muscles by rolling and shaping the dough into the correct shape. This activity builds estimation skills as children determine how long of a rope they will need to complete each letter.

4. Mini-Eraser Play Mats

Have you heard of mini erasers? Teachers use them in their classrooms for small student rewards, but they can be used for many more classroom projects. In this case, students can use them to fill in their blank alphabet templates to make cute patterns.

5.Alphabet Blocks

Blocks are a fun and easy way for your child to learn each letter. Preschoolers can also practice making different patterns with the blocks. These particular blocks are square with different colors, making them just right for filling in our alphabet mats. You can try legos, Cuisenaire blocks, pattern blocks or any other block you might have on hand.

6.Alphabet Sticker Mats

Do you have any extra stickers laying around, maybe even a bunch leftover from a recent garage sale? Well, put them to use! Preschool kiddos love playing with stickers so dig them out of the junk drawer and have your preschooler use them to fill in these blank alphabet letters. There is lots of fine motor work peeling the backing off of individual stickers, and more as the carefully place them on the mat.

7.Alphabet Links

Keeping your preschool classroom stocked with engaging manipulatives is a great way to encourage some spontaneous learning. Links are an inexpensive resources that you’ll want to have on hand. These links are fun to play with and even more fun to make letters out of. Your preschool student can use these links to create different letters by joining the links to form a chain.

8.Alphabet Popsicle Sticks

Mini-Popsicle sticks are another great manipulative you can use to fill in these letter mats. These popsicle sticks come in a rainbow of colors are are about half the size of standard popsicle sticks. Their smaller size lends them the ability to be useful for making the uppercase the lowercase letters of the alphabet.

9. Alphabet Stamps

If you have a set of alphabet stamps available in your classroom, then this is another great way to fill up your blank letter mats. In fact, you can have students stamp the uppercase and the lowercase letters onto the correct letters.

Alphabet Tracing Mats

Use simple page protectors, or laminate the alphabet mats so they can be used with dry-erase markers, Students can practice stroke order and letter formation for all of the letters of the alphabet.

Free Alphabet Templates

These Alphabet templates are currently FREE in our TPT store! Head over to grab this awesome freebie and while you’re there check out our Fine Motor Letter of the Week Bundle. It’s filled with hundreds of activities and resources you can use to build fine motor skills while learning the alphabet.

How to Set Achievable Goals for your Preschooler

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By the time your curious preschooler reaches the age of 3 or 4, their learning development has grown exponentially! They will hit many milestones, but sometimes it’s not clear what and how many milestones you should expect. Knowing what pre-reading skills to focus on will help you identify how to set achievable goals for your preschooler.

What Your Preschooler Needs to Know:

During the preschool stage, you’ll notice a strong desire for independence, along with a ton of exploration. It’s important to determine typical cognitive goals to ensure they are ready for the next BIG step — Kindergarten!

Preschool Readiness: Color Recognition

One of your preschool goals should be to teach the basic palette of colors. By four, children should be able to identify basic hues like red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black, and brown. Your child should also be able to name, match and identify these colors. For example, can your preschooler match a brown chair to a similar brown construction paper?

Preschool Readiness: Math Skills

Early childhood education is a perfect time to introduce simple math concepts. It helps build a foundation for their next challenge with each passing new year. Preschoolers can develop a keep sense of math for identifying numbers and communicating a variety of sizes and shapes.

Another goal is to introduce math activities that include names of shapes and manipulate shapes as well as numbers and counting.

Preschool Readiness: Letter Recognition

Recognizing letters is an important key to pre-reading during the preschool phase. Alphabetic recognition prepares preschoolers to begin decoding words associated with their everyday language development. There are many letter recognition activities through hands-on learning.

Some pre-reading skills for preschoolers would include naming each letter, matching the letter name on paper, and identifying upper and lower case letters.

Preschool Readiness: Oral and Phonics

Wondering how to prepare your preschooler for reading? There are a few skills your child should master before beginning to read, besides letter recognition. Knowing what signs to look for will help identify the best time for teaching how to read.

Oral communication is also key to begin reading. Simply reading to your child for 15 to 20 minutes a day and asking questions for comprehension awareness prepares your child for narration. Reading aloud to your child daily makes a huge impact on their communication with others.

Practicing phonics awareness is also an essential step to reading. Taking simple words like ‘cat’ and changing the letter to ‘hat’ gives your child rhyming skills. Nursery rhymes and memorizing poems are wonderful tools for increasing their word playing.  

Preschool Readiness: Fine Motor Skills

Giving your child opportunities to practice writing the alphabet is a great way to strength fine motor skills. Yet, there are also other tools in your tool belt to build these critical muscle movements.

While many daily activities like dressing, eating, and playing require these small but special skills, there are other intentional ways to prep your child.
Always have these tools available: colored pencils for writing, safe scissors for cutting, glue for pasting, games using computer mouse, or playing a musical instrument. All of these activities contribute to fine motor skills including muscle strength and coordination.

We hope this preschool checklist will give all preschool moms and teachers a simple guide on what to expect for your preschooler. Don’t be surprised how fast they learn in some areas, while others are more difficult.

Remember, all children learn at their own pace. It’s our job as parents to make sure that the learning process is fun and exciting for them throughout their preschool journey!

Preschool Mom has a TON of free and frugal resources to help you stay on track with your preschool objectives. Don’t miss out on these preschool readiness resources!

Should I Homeschool my Preschool Child?

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As your child enters the preschool stage, panic may start to set in as the question looms, “Should I homeschool my preschooler?” While it’s true that there are benefits to homeschooling your preschooler, there are also legitimate concerns on focusing too much on academics at an early age.

Here are some points to consider when answering the question on whether you should homeschool a preschooler. Every child has unique learning abilities, and that’s the beauty of being a parent — you make the decision that is perfect for your child!

Preschool Homeschooling is already LIVE at Home

Believe it or not, preschool is already happening in your home. Whether they are independently playing with blocks, putting together puzzles, or you are singing the ‘ABC’ song, they are already living in an educational environment. It’ doesn’t have to be a formal or classroom setting.

Homeschooling allows the flexibility to what works best for every situation. Plus, it can be tailored to changing circumstances at any time. Remember, your child is getting a one-on-one learning experience with positive surroundings.

Parents are in control of Education

Whether you want your child to get dirty all day outside or quietly sit while drawing at the table, you are in charge! Preschool kids need to learn to do both. They can explore and discover the possibilities outside, and practice control while sitting quietly in their chair doing hands on activities.

Preschool Homeschooling is Low Cost Education

Since parents are in charge of education, they also determine the homeschool budget. If you would send your child to a private preschool, you’re forking over hundreds of dollars. At home, however, you can buy free and low cost supplies online and at stores. In addition, you can preschool your child for just a few dollars. And, I’ll show you how below.

Preschool Families have a Flexible Schedule

Families who like to travel or have inconsistent schedules, enjoy the flexibility when preschooling their child. One perk is going on vacation during the off peak season — it’s affordable and less crowded. In addition, this gives the family more time together and opportunities for field trips and appointments during the day.

Based on these key points, have you answered the question — should I homeschool my preschooler? Every family must answer this question based on their situation, but here are some questions to ask:

  1. Am I able to carve out less than an hour to focus on teaching preschool activities?
  2. Is following instructions and print out worksheets for my child an issue for me?
  3. Can I provide homeschool materials for my child like paper, crayons, colored pencils, markers, and pencils?
  4. Do I have a clean environment for my child to work at like a desk or a space at the table?

If the answers to all these questions is a resounding ‘yes’, you may have the answer. If any of your answers are no, you may consider what it would take to reach these goals if you are serious about homeschooling.

Hundreds of Free Preschool Themes for Homeschooling

Is my child ready for preschool? Find out if your child can begin with these 5 developmental signs.

For children ready to begin pre-reading skills, parents have the choice to begin with basics. In just a few minutes a day, your child can begin practicing writing their letters and numbers. There are so many available tools online with affordable prices for budget minded families!

Learn Letters & Sounds with our Alphabet Curriculum

Preschool Pre Reading Resources

If you are considering homeschooling your preschooler,some subjects to prepare for are reading, writing, and math. Homeschooling during the preschooling stage is a perfect opportunity to evaluate your child’s readiness for reading. Some children are motivated to read early while others are not. Parents have the choice to delay those children who need more time before beginning. This is completely normal for some students to be ready while others are not.

Wondering where to get started with homeschooling preschool? There are a TON of free and frugal online resources including preschool printables that will save you a ton of money!

With just a little prep using a 5 step process, your child will know all his letters! In this article, I share with you the easy stages involved in starting using letter a week, that’s it!

Develop Fine Motor Skills

Build PreWriting Skills with our Fine Motor Activity Book

Preschool is a good time to develop those fine motor muscles that students will use for writing. It is important to strengthen these small motor muscles in preparation for the amount of writing students will be expected to complete in the coming years,

Preschool Pre Math Resources

Now that we’ve discussed readiness for reading, is your child ready for counting? Try our number a week program that is a no-prep, print and go lesson plan coordinating wonderfully with the letter a week program.

Homeschooling your preschool child takes just a few minutes a day. It’s a great time to assess whether education at home is right for your schedule, lifestyle, and family. With just a little preparation and organizational skills, you’ll be a homeschooling parent before you know it!

Would you like more information about homeschooling? I have a great resource that will help you equip yourself to be a Homeschool Ninja!

How to Choose the Right Preschool Curriculum

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As your child reaches school age, it begins a bittersweet journey to more independence! It’s exciting to examine all the learning tools and possibilities for your inquisitive,exploring child. Yet, the choices and decisions to make for your preschool child can be somewhat daunting! Here are 4 tips on how to choose the right preschool curriculum for your child!

Early Childhood Education & Learning Styles

Each child is prone to a particular learning style. The three typical learning styles are: visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning.

Visual learning, or spatial learning style, is a way of process information through images. With this particular learning style, your child should see expectations first before beginning an activity.

This style is actually the easiest to teach since you can use workbooks, books and videos to stimulate their learning skills. However, the downside is they are easily distracted by shiny objects and squabbling siblings! Having a quiet area to work in is ideal.

An auditory learner’s strength lie within their listening skills. They depend mostly on remembering through speaking whether its themselves talking or receiving information through instruction. Auditory educational tools include read alouds, audio books, memorization through songs, and conversations.

A kinesthetic learner easily understands concepts using a multi-sensory approach. They enjoy hands on activities, constantly moving, and new experiences. You may notice they can’t sit still, do not enjoy reading, and have difficulty spelling.

Some of the best resources for kinesthetic learners are manipulatives, drawing materials, computer based programs, and clay. You’ll want to look for anything they can physically touch or use most of their senses.

Teaching Styles and Life Situations

Before deciding on the best choice for preschool curriculum, you must review your current lifestyle. It takes a considerable time commitment to teach your preschooler. There is planning, execution, and maintenance required for homeschooling at any age. You should not expect to run your homeschool along the rigid standards of a standard preschool classroom.

Ask yourself these questions before reviewing potential preschool curriculum:

  1. How much time do I have during the day to teach my child?
  2. Am I a creative person and do I get inspired to create new things or assemble activities?
  3. Would I enjoy organizing and maintaining a schedule using calendars, check lists, and planning field trips?
  4. Am I willing to change teaching methods if they don’t work on my child?

If most of the answers are yes, you may consider reading books about how to design your own curriculum. Or, peruse the web for a plethora of ideas on crafts, hands-on activities, learning centers, and more! In fact, we’ve collected many homeschool preschool ideas for you.

However, on the flip side — if most of the answers are no, you may want to consider buying a prepacked curricula. Thankfully, there are a TON of resources available for busy moms today.

Buying a complete set of curriculum should be on your short list of priorities. This goes especially for moms who have very little preparation time. Many experienced homeschool veteran moms and teachers have already paved the way and have done the work for you!

Preschool Programs: Goals and Standards

Have you thought about goals for your child going into the preschool stage? Do you want to instill a love for learning? Is learning the bible a priority? Will play time be a part of his/her day? How about play dates or structured activities? Whether his/her education is learning how to count, prereading, or letter recognition and writing, write all of your expectations down on paper.

Do you have a budget in mind? Maybe you are on one income, and money is tight. There are several free and frugal resources online. You would be amazed at the premium preschool products available online that fit any budget!

Preschool Child’s Interests

How interested will your child be in learning their preschool milestones? If a child is not excited about the subject they are absorbing, both of you will become frustrated quickly! Avoid any rigid lessons, instead, look for exciting and inviting programs! They should also include several hands-on activities, read alouds, sensory play, and nature adventures.

Unit studies or thematic units are a perfect option for young students. They focus on one topic, but include a variety of subjects like math, science, geography, and more! You can find any subject your child loves online.

As you determine your priorities and expectations with preschool development, consider all of these factors. This will help you choose the right preschool curriculum for your budget, your situation, and your family. Preschool is a fun and wonderful age for exploratory learning! Giving your child the tools they need to prepare is key to their education in the future.  

Preschool Math without a Workbook

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Preschool should be about learning in a fun way. That’s why you should use hands-on activities whenever possible when teaching math! Not only is preschool math without a workbook more fun, but hands-on learning is a great way to help your preschooler remember important skills. This post describes just 5 simple activities you can try! Use them, and then see what other ideas you can come up with to replace worksheets whenever possible.

Preschool Math Curriculum
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Where to Find Printable Math Games

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When teaching preschoolers math, make sure everyone is having fun! The more fun kids have, the more willing they’ll be to learn important skills. That’s why it’s great to have printable math games on hand. Not only will your kids love playing these math games, you’ll love how convenient it is to download with a click of a button.

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5 Homeschool Tools for Your Preschool Classroom

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Various tools are needed to enrich your children’s learning. These resources can be practical, allowing you to plan your kids’ weekly schedule. They can also be fun, combining play with learning. Popular homeschooling tools can serve a dual purpose as well. They can also be used in a preschool classroom, making them practical for homeschool parents and preschool teachers alike. Here are five homeschool tools for your preschool classroom that you can also use in a preschool classroom….

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Reading Before Writing

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Learning to read should be an adventure for kids. It’s so important to foster a love of reading even before they start formal schoolwork. That’s why you should focus on teaching reading BEFORE writing. There are so many ways you can teach your students to read, all without needing them to pick up a pencil for writing.

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