Handwriting

The following activities can be done with the Handwriting Activity workbook or the Learning Without Tears^® printed sheets given to your child in their Therapy to Go bag. You can find more Learning Without Tears pages linked on this page. Your child should work on these activities at a table or another flat surface.

Targeted skills

• Fine motor skills: writing grasp
• Visual motor and perceptual skills
• Pre-writing and writing skills
• Cognition: following directions, letter identification, number identification

Reminders

• You can reuse the workbook. Use a dry-erase marker to erase mistakes and try again.
• Pay attention to your child’s feelings. Stop the activity if your child gets frustrated. It is important to end on a good note so that handwriting feels like a positive experience. 
• Be patient with your child. Give them enough time to complete each activity.  
• Show your child how to do each activity. Explain things when they need help.

Activities

How to use the activity workbook

The activity workbook can help your child with pre-handwriting and handwriting skills. Your child can: 

• Trace and write letters 
• Practice vowels and sounds 
• Practice beginners’ math 
• Complete mazes, games, word puzzles, and more

Make sure your child holds the writing tool the right way during each activity. 

View and download printing charts

Writing capital letters

1. The first set of letters to teach your child are: L, F, E, H, T, I.
   • These letters are made using only straight lines that go up and down or side to side. 
   • Make sure your child can make these lines before learning how to write the letters.
2. The second set of letters to teach your child are: U, C, O, Q, G, S, J, D, P, B, R.
   • These letters are curved. Learning to draw circles is the second skill your child needs to master. The letters get harder as you go from U to R. 
   • Make sure your child can draw a circle before starting to learn these letters. 
3. The third set of letters to teach your child are: K, A, N, M, V, W, X, Y, Z.
   • All of these letters have diagonal lines. Learning to draw diagonal lines is the third skill your child needs to master. 
   • Make sure your child can copy diagonal lines and crosses before starting to learn these letters. 

Writing lowercase letters 

1. Lowercase letters that look like their upper-case letters: c, o, s, v, w, t 
2. Magic C letters: a, g, d 
   • These letters start with a “magic c.” Using the “magic c” can help your child tell the difference between b and d. 
   • While q is a “magic c,” it is taught later to avoid confusion with g. 
3. The rest of the vowels: u, i, e 
4. Letters that are similar to their uppercase version: l, k, y, j 
5. Diving letters: p, r, n, m, h, b
   • These letters “dive down, come back up, and swim over.” 
6. The tricky leftover letters: f, q, x, z 
7. The drop-down letters: j, g, p, q, y