Fun Writing Activities for Toddlers & Preschoolers

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Welcome back to Fine Motor Friday! We are back with playful fine motor skills ideas today as we share fun writing activities for toddlers and preschoolers!

My son is 2 1/2 going on 20, I think. Like many younger siblings, he always wants to do whatever big sis is doing. Any writing utensils she uses, he wants to use too. I love that about him and it has really made for some fun experiences! However it also means my attention is always divided!

We had a rare afternoon alone together this week when he woke up extra early from his nap. I wanted to take advantage of this and give him all of my attention, since he usually shares it with big sister.

This is an activity I would do with my preschooler as well as my toddler, but in this particular case it was nice to let the toddler be the first to try it.

We had a large empty cardboard box left over from his recently-installed toddler bed rail. (This might give you some insight about why he woke up early from his nap! Ha!)

I told him I had something super cool to show him. “What IS it mommy, what IS the super cool thing?!”

I just opened up the box and flattened it on the floor, and then we plopped down on our tummies with some markers.

First I showed him how to make a capital H. (This happens to be his first initial, so it had extra importance to him but it would be fun no matter what!) We practiced making H shapes, first I made the two parallel lines and just had him make the cross line. Then we tried making the whole thing together. He made some pretty good Hs!

NEXT was the BIG exciting cool thing.

I showed him how if you make one letter H on top of another….it makes…..a RAILROAD TRACK! (confetti! streamers! celebration!) One of his favorite things in the world!

We also tried making some long lines together and I let him make the crossing lines, just like with the letter H.

I know this is not mind-blowing stuff to you and me but it was really fun to do with my little guy. It was one of our first attempts at intentional mark-making with him. Seeing him learn something new, improve his grip and control, even just a little, and seeing how proud he was to make his H and a railroad track. It is so rare to have uninterrupted time with him that I just laid on my tummy with him and soaked it up. I took pictures for you (and for him) but it's all locked tight in my memory, I don't even need to look!

We have not figured out if he is fully right-handed or left-handed so I let him pick up his writing utensils in which ever he wants to use. He seems to have better control with his right but seems to prefer his left and often starts with his left. He will switch if he thinks he is doing it wrong and can do it better with his right.

We did have to try out our tracks by bringing over some trains. He asked me to draw a house and a lake. When I asked what should be in the lake he said a fish, another fish and an octopus. Yes sir!

We will have to bring back some of the fun early writing activities that we did with big sister and try them with him! I think he would enjoy trying our salt tray, Pete the Cat cornmeal tray and one day our We Are in a Book! Activity! For now though, I am still basking in the glow of our little bit of alone time. 🙂

Fine Motor Fridays

It's Friday which means one thing around here! Fine Motor Fun! Our weekly Fine Motor Fridays series offers lots of creative and playful ways to get your kids working on their fine motor skills. Click through to see what everyone else has been up to this week. For more, follow our Fine Motor Fridays Pinterest board and check out our Fine Motor Book!

QTip Train Art Printable from Craftulate
A is for Alien Craft from Stir the Wonder
Cutting & Threading Practice with Straws from Powerful Mothering
Pom Pom Push Activity for Toddlers from School Time Snippets
Introducing Scissors to Toddlers from House of Burke
Toothpaste Slime for Dental Health Month from Still Playing School

 

Remember to check out our book for more Fine Motor Skills Ideas!

 

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