Getting in writing practice is often difficult because forming letters is really hard (read: frustrating)! It’s much easier to sneak in fine motor practice and letter formation in other ways, and then when kids need to write, they’ll be able to. I stole this yarn and sandpaper activity from Momtastic, and turned it into a game and, unintentionally, a patterning activity too.
We bought 3 sheets of rough (60 grit) sandpaper from the hardware store, and made it a little sturdier by gluing it onto some light cardboard. Great suggestion, Momtastic!
I added a construction paper border and T suggested decorating it, so that’s what we did. He glued some foam shapes in a pattern around the edges.
They turned out rather nice, I think.
T had more fun cutting the yarn than anything else. Which is a good opportunity to talk about shorter and longer, etc, and is great fine motor practice, too.
We made some game cards out of cardstock and put letters, numbers and shapes on them. We played that whoever could copy the figure on the card first could keep it, and the person with the most cards at the end wins.
Forming the letters was harder than I expected, but overall it’s a good game, and one we will play again.
What do you think of our yarn and sanpaper game?
What are your favorite ways to practice pre-writing skills?
