Spotlight on 4 Super Simple Ways to Make Handwriting Fun!
Do you practice handwriting with your students? Sometimes it seems like an archaic practice, but I think kids learn so much more than just handwriting skills when we practice handwriting. Attention to detail, print directionality, and fine motor development all come to mind when I think of handwriting practice.
All that said, I always incorporate handwriting into our literacy centers and small group instruction. Here are 4 simple and effective ways to add handwriting practice into your daily routine while keeping it FUN!
(1) One of my students’ favorite ways to practice handwriting is rainbow writing! I do rainbow writing slightly different than what you may have seen floating around on Pinterest. By the way, here is a fabulous Pinterest board dedicated to all things handwriting for you to check out later!
I like to place my handwriting practice pages in a sheet protector to save paper PLUS that allows my students to use [Expo 2 in 1 Dry Erase Markers] which they LOVE! There are so many fun colors for the kids to choose from while rainbow writing!
So here’s where my version of rainbow writing varies a bit… The students trace all of the letters (or sight word depending on my reading group’s level) in one color. After they finish with one color the students pick another color and trace again. They are always so sad when it’s time to move on in the lesson because they would literally do this for hours! A helpful tip while the kiddos are writing is to have them say the letter name or word they are writing so that they get that auditory reinforcement as well!
Here’s a quick video demonstration of rainbow writing.
(2) We don’t limit our handwriting practice to just letters and words, though! We also practice correct formation of numbers. One way we do this is through games! Kids LOVE games (and I love that they are learning).
This differentiated game allows students to roll either one or two dice depending on the mat they are playing with. Students must practice one to one correspondence, subitizing, as well as addition for the harder game version BEFORE they even practice handwriting. This game also pairs perfectly with our [Expo 2 in 1 Dry Erase Markers]! Which number will be the winner?!
You can grab this game in my [Thanksgiving Math Games] resource available on TpT.
(3) A big focus in Kindergarten is on recognizing and reading word families. Why not tie some handwriting and fine motor practice into that as well? We love creating word family crafts for each word family we study! Cutting, gluing, coloring, writing, and word family practice all in one – and we can’t forget our fun-smelling [Mr. Sketch Scented Gel Crayons]. I love how smoothly these color plus they are slightly thicker and easier for little hands to grasp!
You can grab this word family craftivity and many more in my [Get Crafty with Word Families] resource available on TpT!
(4) If you haven’t learned this about me yet, you should know I love activities that appeal to multiple learning styles and modalities. Thinking of ways to add some tactile component to handwriting and sight word practice I created tactile sight word cards. These are super simple to make in a word editing software and I chose to print the words in the color of the [Elmer’s Classic Glitter Glue] to add an extra pop of color. Students can run their finger along each letter as they read the word. I also love to have them practice writing the sight word on white boards after the tactile experience.
Thank you to my friends at Go Teach! Handwriting for the fabulous free products and for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own. You can find more fantastic teaching ideas on the [Go Teach! Facebook] page.
