Handwriting can be one of the most mundane parts of homeschooling. Writing letters over and over again, isn’t fun for anyone. Kids like it when there work and effort has a purpose to it. These activities will have them working hard on their writing while they have fun.
1. Write in Sand/salt/flour
My little ones have loved this activity. Simply fill up a shallow tray or container with about an inch of sand (of similar materiel). Write letters or short words on cards. The child then copies the letter or word into the sand. Once the word is complete they can then use a ruler to smooth out the sand and move on to the next card.
I have done this with my early writers just using their finger. When they are a little older I have them use a chopstick or even just a pencil (whatever I can see!).
2. Write Letters (and actually send them)
Letter writing can be a great way to put into practice all that hard work they have been doing. Make up a letter writing station with paper, stickers, different coloured pens etc. This makes it much more enticing and lets the children get creative as they decorate their letters.
The only problem I have with this is that I always forget to actually send the letters… I keep telling the kids they must be lost in the post and then they miraculously arrive 4 months later.
If you do manage to get as far as sending them I am sure they kids will love getting letters back, which they will hurriedly want to write a reply to.
3. Copy Work
Okay yes I know that sounds boring but if you find the right stuff to copy you will be surprised how excited children are to do it. Currently I am having my children do copy work from a book of quotes for children. It has been fantastic. I have been using this one here, it’s super cheap on Amazon and is perfect for this purpose.
Another idea for copy work that is fun is funny passages from books, or jokes or poetry like this one here.
4. Fancy Pencils
Do you realise the power of the fancy pencil?! It is so magical. These are special pencils reserved only for handwriting. A collection of pencils with funny toppers, different smells, fun designs etc make handwriting exciting!
I really like these ones, they are adorable. I love the cute fuzzy heads.
5. Write a Newspaper Article
Are newspapers still a thing? I don’t know if I have even seen one recently. Pretending to be a journalist is a brilliant way to make handwriting fun. Like I said before, when there is a purpose to the work it is much more enjoyable.
Help your child decide on a topic and then let them write a short (or not so short article) in their best handwriting. There are plenty of templates on Teachers Pay Teachers for newspaper articles. Once they have written out their article it can be added to their portfolio for the year or displayed on the wall.
6. Journal Writing
There are so many ways to go about this. I like to give my children a journal prompt. For example one day I may say today’s prompt is “Today I discovered an elephant in my backyard”. My children then will complete a creative writing piece on that topic. Some of the stories they come up with are hilarious.
Not only does this help them work on their handwriting, it also engages their mind in creativity, sentence structure and grammar. All of these are important skills to learn. If we can kill a few birds with one stone all the better!
This year I will also be having my children work on gratitude journals. This is something that I feel is very much needed in our home because we are starting to see a few entitled attitudes creep in which I am not liking so much. Each day we will sit down as a family an write out three things we are grateful for or ways that we have seen God work in our lives that day. We have done this before as a couple and it really made such a difference in our perspective and attitude. I am excited to see how it will influence our children now.
7. Montessori Letters
These are for the younger preschool aged children who are just learning their letters and how to write. Young children need a lot more sensory input to learn. They learn by touching and doing. This is why these cards are so great.
The Montessori letters are cards where the letters are made from sandpaper. The child then uses their finger to trace over the letters feeling where the sandpaper is. Once they have done this a couple of times they can then copy that same letter into a tray of sand, like in number 1.
8. Write in Different Languages
My son is fascinated by different language at the moment. Using handwriting time to learn write out words in different languages seems like the perfect match.
Writing, reading and saying the words increase the ability for them to be remembered and easily recalled. If they are are learning a second language using their foreign language words as handwriting practice could be the way to go.
