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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 / Pre-writing Skills for Kids: Circle Tray & Sensory Bin

Pre-writing Skills for Kids: Circle Tray & Sensory Bin

September 30, 2014 By Heather Greutman 1 Comment

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Did you know, pre-writing skills developmentally start a lot sooner than you may think? Today I am going to share a couple of hands-on pre-writing skills for kids using a circle shape tray and a sensory bin. The tray idea is here on my site and the circle toddler sensory bin is a guest over at Lemon Lime Adventures today.

 

A super easy circle tray pre-writing activity for kids. www.GoldenReflectionsBlog.com

Developmentally, kids start to form a correct circle shape by the time they are three. However from ages 2 and on they are able to make circular motions with any type of writing utensil or their fingers. My daughter has been showing increase interest in shapes, especially the circle shape. She has begun to make circular motions using a crayon or small pencil at 26 months old.

So I am taking her interest and turning it into a couple of fun hands-on activities with circles.

Circle Theme Tray for Pre-Writing Skills

For this tray you will need:

  • A metal or wooden task tray (the one I used in the picture above is a medium cookie sheet tray from IKEA).
  • Medium Pom-poms (4 of each color – **Note: if your toddler still puts objects in their mouth, use large pom-poms or substitute another circle like object that is safe them to use)
  • Fine motor tweezers (optional)
  • Silicon ice cube tray (if I could have found a pumpkin one I would have used that instead of the flowers)
  • Small wooden bowl

Set all the items up on the tray as shown above. I set this out on our Montessori shelves and gave a basic demonstration for my daughter. After that I just let her explore it and play with it as she wanted to.

A hands-on pre-writing skills activity for toddlers. www.GoldenReflectionsBlog.com

Pre-Writing Skills Used for this Activity

  • Exposure to shapes for future pre-writing work
  • Color recognition
  • Patterns (to include patterns put one pom-pom of each color in the first space and then allow your child to fill in the rest)
  • Beginning one-to-one correspondence skills
  • Fine motor strengthening for proper pencil grasp development.

Circle Toddler Sensory Bin

Be sure to head over to Lemon Lime Adventures today to see the Circle Toddler Sensory Bin activity I shared over there.

Circle-Toddler-Sensory-Bin-Items

 

This activity is part of my ebook, Basic Shapes for Beginners which is a hands-on approach to teaching pre-writing strokes and lines to preschoolers. It is designed for ages 2-5. However, if you have a child who is struggling with letter formations or handwriting skills, I would highly suggest going back to the basics of pre-writing and trying out my 30+ activities in the ebook.

There is a discount code for 30% off over at Lemon Lime Adventures today for Basic Shapes for Beginners. Be sure to head over to my Circle Toddler Sensory Bin post to get the special discount code. It is valid through October 31, 2014. 

Basic Shapes for Beginners ebook

 

For more  pre-writing activity ideas, check out my Handwriting Pinterest board.

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

Sharing with: B-Inspired Mama, Left Brain Craft Brain, The Jenny Evolution, Happy and Blessed Home

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Filed Under: Handwriting & Pre-Writing Tagged With: Child Development, Fine Motor, For Parents, For Teachers, For Therapists, Infants/Toddlers 0-3, Preschool 3-5, Tot-School, 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. Deborah @ mommycrusader says

    October 13, 2014 at 9:51 am

    This is a fabulous and fun way to help little ones develop their fine motor skills. Thanks for the post and for sharing this idea!

    Reply

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