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Growing Hands-On Kids

Growing Hands-On Kids

Child Development Tips, Tools, and Strategies

You are here: Home / Handwriting & Pre-Writing / Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing: Pre-writing Activities for Kids Series

Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing: Pre-writing Activities for Kids Series

February 14, 2014 By Heather Greutman 5 Comments

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I can't believe we are already at the end of the pre-writing activities for kids series here on the blog! I have enjoyed sharing some fun tips and activities for your toddlers and preschoolers for pre-writing practice! So far we have looked at horizontal & vertical lines, circle shapes, cross shapes, squares & rectangles, and diagonal lines & the “X” shape.

Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing : Pre-Writing Activities for Kids Series | www.GoldenReflectionsBlog.com

Let's review the developmental sequence that children learn pre-writing shapes and lines.

  • Vertical line
  • Horizontal
  • Circle
  • Cross shape (+)
  • Right/Left Diagonal Line
  • Square
  • X shape
  • Triangle

Today we are finishing up with the diamond and triangle shapes in a fun sensory tracing activity. There is also a free printable for you to grab for this activity.

Items Needed for the Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing Activity:

  • Diamond & Triangle Shapes Printable (FREE download)
  • Sensory medium for tracing – Can be one of the following: Rice, couscous, quinoa, or sand.
  • Task tray
  • Crayons or pencil

This activity is very simple, yet gives your child some great pre-writing stroke practice.

The first thing you will want to do is choose your sensory medium. I used couscous for the pictures in this post. Since my daughter is still a little young for this activity I did not have her actually complete it yet. I would not do this activity for a child under 3 years old, simply for the fact that they will probably try to place the small pieces of rice or couscous in their mouth. Also since diamond and triangle shapes are not mastered until 4 years old, this activity would not be age-appropriate for under 3 years old as well.

Next, you will want to print out the diamond and triangle shape printable that I included for you above! Feel free to laminate it if you wish to use it more than once to help the paper held up well. Place it on a task tray and cover it with your sensory medium.

Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing - Prewriting Activities for Kids Series
Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing - PreWriting Activities for Kids

Then have your child use their pointer finger or a paintbrush (using the paintbrush is a great time to practice age-appropriate pencil grasp) to trace the shape. You may need to move some of the sensory media yourself so that your child can see the start point of where to trace the lines.

Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing Activity
Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing Activity

After they trace the line, then have them scoop the rest of the sensory medium out of the middle while using their fingers.

Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing Activity

The end result will look like this! After they have finished with the sensory tracing, have them pick out a crayon or pencil and trace each shape, then color each shape a color of their choice.

Also, while doing this activity you can talk about which shape is bigger and which is smaller. There is a small and large version of each shape on the printable. Lots of great skills being practiced here in a fun way!

Skill Used with Diamond & Triangle Sensory Tracing Activity

  • Pre-Writing skills
  • Proper pencil/hand grasp on writing utensils
  • Finger isolation – using the index finger to trace on the shapes
  • Coloring skills
  • BONUS – have your child cut out the diamond and triangle shapes after they color them for added scissor skills practice!
  • Visual-motor skills

Other activities in the Pre-Writing Activities for Kids Series

  • Straight Lines Sensory Bin
  • Pom Pom Task Tray 
  • Crossing Midline Parade 
  • My House is Made of Shapes Puzzle Printable Packet 
  • DIY Tic Tac Toe Board (for “X” shapes)
  • Sensory Tracing Diamond & Triangle Shapes

You can also get many more ideas from my Pinterest boards:

Follow Heather @ Golden Reflections Blog's board Handwriting Skills & Activities on Pinterest.

Follow Heather @ Golden Reflections Blog's board Fine Motor Skills Prek & Up on Pinterest.

This activity is part of my ebook Basic Shapes for Beginners: A Hands-On Approach to Pre-Writing Strokes for Preschoolers.

Basic Shapes for Beginners

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Filed Under: Handwriting & Pre-Writing, Pre-Writing & Handwriting Printables Tagged With: Fine Motor, For Parents, For Teachers, For Therapists, Preschool 3-5, Writing Activities

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CONTENT DISCLAIMER: Heather Greutman is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.
All information on the Website is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult with a medical professional if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child. The information on the Websites does not replace the relationship between therapist and client in a one-on-one treatment session with an individualized treatment plan based on their professional evaluation. The information provided on the Website is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied.

Do not rely on the information on the Website as an alternative to advice from your medical professional or healthcare provider. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment as a result of any information provided on the Website. All medical information on the Website is for informational purposes only.

All activities outlined on the Website are designed for completion with adult supervision. Please use your own judgment with your child and do not provide objects that could pose a choking hazard to young children. Never leave a child unattended during these activities. Please be aware of and follow all age recommendations on all products used in these activities. Growing Hands-On Kids is not liable for any injury when replicating any of the activities found on this blog.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY The Website was developed strictly for informational purposes. You understand and agree that you are fully responsible for your use of the information provided on the Website. Growing Hands-On Kids makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees. You understand that results may vary from person to person. Growing Hands-On Kids assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions that may appear on the Website.

Comments

  1. Debs says

    February 24, 2014 at 11:09 pm

    Love this simple yet effective activity. Thanks for linking this activity to Tuesday Tots. Just letting you know that I am featuring it this week in a playful maths roundup. haha. Great for shape learning as well 🙂

    Reply
    • Heather Greutman says

      February 25, 2014 at 12:01 am

      Thanks so much for featuring it!!

      Reply
  2. Vanessa Wright says

    March 21, 2020 at 8:30 am

    Hi! I know this content was published 6 years ago… It’s normal some links don’t work.

    The printable diamonds and triangles comes up as a 404 error.

    Reply
    • Heather Greutman says

      March 22, 2020 at 10:34 am

      Thanks Vanessa, fixing it now.

      Reply

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