Letter Formation Activities for Preschoolers

When preschoolers are ready to learn letter formation be ready with a variety of engaging learning activities to support them! Fortunately there are many creative ways to use inexpensive materials and Pre-K Printable Fun resources to set up invitations to learn. 

Tracing Cards

Tracing cards are a great invitation to set up for preschoolers. They are easy to create individualized learning activities and break the learning up into smaller parts.  Dry erase markers provide less resistance than other writing tools.
You can print these cards from the Summer Tracing Set from PKPF that also includes a variety of worksheets for children to work on tracing letters, numbers, shapes, and lines. 

Sensory Tracing Tray

A sensory tracing tray is super easy to set-up and keep updated with small changes. 
All you need is a tray, sensory material to write in, and alphabet reference cards. 
In this example we combined colored sand with a our Alphabet Formation Mats printed using the multiple page per sheet method to create small cards. 

Other tracing material ideas: salt, coffee grounds, shaving cream, colored rice, flour, kinetic sand, goop (mix of 1 cup cornstarch & 1.5 cups water & coloring), spices. 
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Children can form letters in the tray using their fingers, encourage children to use a tool (paint brush, stick, craft stick, unsharpened pencil) to support proper pencil handling. 

Form Letters with Manipulatives

Manipulatives, like these mini pom poms, are great for little hands to use as it supports hand-eye coordination and pincer grasp development-both necessary for proper letter formation. 
Encourage your preschooler to begin at the starting point of each letter and follow the direction of the arrow. 

Use other small manipulatives like mini erasers to coordinate with your theme. 
These cards are from the PKPF  Rocks, Dirt, and Mud Activity pack and are paired with small rocks. 

Form Letters with Play Dough

Play dough is an excellent tool for learning letter formation. 
Fortunately it's also a favorite medium for preschoolers. 
Pair your favorite dough (or make your own!) with Alphabet Play Dough Mats for an easy letter formation invitation anytime. 

Form Letters with Blocks

Add a bit of math to your literacy activities by encouraging preschoolers to form letters from pattern blocks. These Pattern Block Alphabet Mats are super easy to set up and encourage children to also think about the shapes they used for each letter formation. 

Form Curves with Pipe Cleaners

Pipe cleaners are a great way for preschoolers to work on letter formation, especially those curvy letters. Plus they're cheap and can be reused for many different activities and crafts. 

Dry Erase Pocket

Slip your Letter Formation Mats in a dry erase pocket or sheet protector to use again and again!
Try printing them at full sheet size, slip into sheet protectors, then add to a binder for your preschooler to have the whole alphabet to trace again and again. 

Shine a Light on Letter Formation

Print letter formation pages on vellum for a fun new way to explore letters. We slipped ours into sheet protectors to use with dry erase markers. 
If you don't have a light table you can pick up a Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad for a reasonable price.  

Create Letters Outside

Take advantage of a beautiful day and form letters outdoors! 
Grab your sidewalk chalk (or make your own!) and pair with these Sidewalk Chalk Roll & Write  cubes for added encouragement. 

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