How To Make Handwriting FUN!

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Looking for ways to make handwriting fun?

My sister and I were talking about how to make certain subjects more fun so our kids will actually want to learn them. Isn’t that the goal of all of homeschooling? So, here are some fun things to do for handwriting practice. (Our boys both don’t really care for handwriting, and their handwriting is TERRIBLE. Is it a boy thing?)

See also 100 FUN Spelling Games and Activities for Kids

How to Make Handwriting Fun!

The most important parts of handwriting practice are letter formation, working on fine motor skills, pencil grips, and learning to spell words.

Kids need to learn how to form each of the letters of the alphabet correctly. They also need to learn correct letter formation of capital letters and lower case letters.

You can teach handwriting skills to young learners the traditional way by printing out worksheets to trace letters. Change these up a little by doing your writing practice with markers or crayons.  Write on the chalkboard or  with dry-erase markers on a white board.  Try rainbow writing by changing colors each time you change letters.

However, some kids need more engaging activities sometimes. Following are some out of the box resources to practice letter shapes. Most of these lessons and activities will work with both print and cursive!

1. Tic tac toe– play tic-tac-toe with your handwriting words. Instead of X’s and O’s have them write their spelling words or other words they need to practice. (Also see my DIY Wooden Tic Tac Toe Board, or my Perler Bead Tic Tac Toe Board)

2. Hangman– This is great practice for spelling words and handwriting!  They need to know how to spell correctly to play this game!

3. Beanbag Spelling– throw a beanbag onto an alphabet mat, rug, or foam puzzle mat in sequence in order to spell a word (or jump on the letters in sequence), then they can write the word on a dry erase board or on paper. This is such a fun handwriting activity!

4. Play Dots & Boxes Game on a grid by drawing a horizontal or vertical line (each in turn), when you “win” a square, have your child write their initials or a predetermined word in each square that they form!

5. Write a silly story with a child – Let your kids write one word or sentence, and you write the next. Make up the silly story as you go along.

6. Writing a letter to a family member, friend or have a mailbox in the classroom where the students write letters, messages, cards, etc to each other, to teachers, etc. This won’t even feel like handwriting!

7. Holiday Wish Lists– Come up with a holiday shopping list, gift wish list, etc. Have your kids write it themselves.

8. Party Planning – make list of friends, what party games to play, what to make/buy/do, make invitations, place cards, name cards or stickers for party favors. You can even write names with frosting on cupcake!

9. Sensory Writing– Let kids write with their index finger in shaving cream, finger paint, or pudding. (See also  Shaving Cream Cloud Shapes- 2D Shapes Name Cards)

10. Create Your Own Comics – Draw pictures and fill in “word bubbles” with what each character says. What a way to make handwriting fun!

11. Scrabble! Use a printable scrabble game board for your handwriting practice. Write the words on a printable Scrabble grid, instead of using tiles. This will give them handwriting practice.

12. Treasure Hunt Clues– Let your kids make and write clues for a treasure hunt. They will be excited to go on the hunt, too!

13. Daily Journal– have your kids write at least one sentence a day! (It is a good habit to have anyway!) Print out this Gratitude Journal to use for your handwriting practice.

14. Grocery Lists– Let your kids write what they want you to buy on the grocery list!

15. Pointillism (write with q-tips dipped in paint!)- check out this Pointillism art project to go along with it.

16. Write with a stick in the sand or dirt! You can also make a colored sand, salt or rice writing tray to keep it clean and practice inside.

Check Out Some of My Printable Handwriting Activities:

USA Landmarks Handwriting Practice

Weather Handwriting Workbook

A. A. Milne Lesson & Free Handwriting Pages!

7 Fun Ways to Practice Sight Words

How to Draw Animals for Kids: Draw & Write Pages

First Grade Sight Word Handwriting