How to make writing fun: Pre-Writing Activities for Preschool

Fine Motor Skills

What are pre-writing skills? Well, before you begin any handwriting activities, your toddler will need to strengthen their hands and bodies. So many other skills need to be strengthened before your preschooler will be ready for handwriting. Here are my favorite ways to build those fine motor skills and strengthen little hands:

1. Sensory Play:

Sensory play is a fun way to develop fine motor skills like grip, hand-eye coordination, and pouring. And, it’s a fun way for preschoolers to use their fingers and hands in a focused way. Be sure to grab my sensory bin guide so you can develop your own sensory bins for your preschooler!

Image shows rainbow rice with assorted small letters and primary colored objects. This sensory bin is a pre writing activities 4 year olds will love — Sensory bins are a great way to build fine motor skills that your preschooler needs to build those pre-writing muscles!

And if sensory bins scare you (I know, I know…the mess!) be sure to check out this blog post!

2. Playdough:

There is a reason why you see playdough in nearly every preschool classroom…and it’s because it is such a great tool for building hand muscles. It takes strength and focus for your preschooler to roll, tear, and create with playdough. It’s also pretty easy to make at home- you can grab my playdough recipe and other fun sensory recipes in my Sensory Recipes Book!

3. Tearing Paper:

This is probably the easiest fine motor activity to set up. Simply give your preschooler strips of paper and let them tear them. Here are some mediums your preschooler can tear (in rough order of easiness)

Streamer
1 inch wide cardstock strips
1 inch wide paper strips
Aluminum foil
Whole pieces of construction paper
Bars and Snack wrappers

Another reason I love this activity is that it does lead into opening snacks independently. I know that’s not necessarily what you were expecting to read while looking for pre-writing activities…but consider it an added bonus!

A fun activity to do alongside tearing paper is to let your preschooler glue down the pieces they tore to create a design. You could draw the first letter of their name and let them glue on top of it!

Pre-Writing Activities:

Handwriting is so much more than simply pencil to paper! Let your preschooler try some of these pre-writing activities before attempting writing worksheets!

Salt trays:

Put a thin layer of salt into a small tray. Let your toddler use their finger to create shapes or letters. Be sure to practice going up and down, side to side, diagonal, and in a circular motion. All of these skills are needed for proper letter formation!

Here are skills you can try with a salt tray- in rough order of easiness:

Up and down lines
Circle
Side-to-side lines
Cross shape
Square
Diagonal Lines
X shape
Index card in the tray with salt on top, preschooler traces
Index card beside tray, preschooler copies
The letter said aloud, preschooler creates

Image shows a small finger creating the letter F in a salt tray as a pre writing activity — Salt trays are a great way to practice writing for your preschooler!

Playdough for pre-writing:

Playdough is seriously the most magical material! Let your preschooler roll out letters and shapes then use their finger to trace them and squish them! This is a great way to practice letter formation while also building those finger muscles!

Shaving Cream:

Put some shaving cream on a cookie sheet or on the table. Let your preschool spread it out and use their finger to practice writing letters or shapes. This is a fun sensory experience that will help them practice letter formation and will leave your house smelling fresh 😉

Snack Learning:

Write letters on index cards then use a small snack such as blueberries, cheerios, or mini marshmallows to build the letter. A fun way to extend this activity would be to use a snack that correlates with the letter (chocolate chips to build letter C) and practice the letter sound as you build the letter. And now, you’ve got a tasty snack to enjoy while you’re learning!

Image shows the letter A created out of candy hearts. This is a writing activities 3 year olds will love. — Pre-writing and snacks- there’s no better combination!

Stickers and Stamps for pre-writing:

Use stickers or stamps to fill in a bubble letter. When I do this activity I like to trace the letter with my finger first, let my preschooler trace it with their finger, then, build the letter with stickers or stamps following the same path we use when we traced it! I love to use themed stickers or stamps that match the letter for this activity (apple stickers for the letter A, leaf stamps for the letter L). You can find these themed letter sheets here!

Image shows a pre writing activity where a small girl is placing a sticker into the letter G to create the letter from stickers. — Want to practice letter formation but your preschooler is still working on pre-writing skills? Use Stickers & Stamps to form letters!

Sticker Matching:

Place stickers on the right side of the paper. Place the same stickers on the left side of the paper. Let your preschooler draw lines to the matching stickers. This helps them practice all different kinds of lines…and it’s a fun, focused activity!

Image shows a writing center activity for preschool with snowman and snowflake stickers on the left and right side of the paper. Lines are drawn to connect matching stickers. — The perfect pre writing center activity for preschool: sticker matching and line practice!

Dot Dot Markers:

If you’ve followed along with me for any amount of time you know that dot dot maker activities are my FAVORITE! I love how they grow with the child and work on so many different skills…one of those being pre-writing! Your preschooler gets to practice the formation of letters and shapes by dotting or by adding stickers. It’s low prep, easy clean up, and great for focus! Find the theme that matches your preschooler here!

Image shows preschool writing activities where a girl is using a dot marker to dot the letter C. The letter C has a face and antennas on it to resemble a caterpillar. — My favorite tool for preschool writing activities: DOT MARKERS!

I hope your preschooler loves these pre-writing activities! If you’re working on scissor skills alongside pre-writing, be sure to check out this post! Let me know in the comments which one you’re trying!

I'm Elizabeth!

I share low prep crafts and activities that your toddler or preschooler is sure to love!