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Pre-Writing and Fine Motor Worksheets

4 strands4 ready to print72 worksheetsUS Letter or A4

Line and shape tracing, scissor practice, mazes, dot-to-dots, dot marker pages and playdough mats that get small hands ready to write.

The pre-writing and fine motor year, in order

From the first wide tracing paths to cutting a spiral, in the order most preschool classes build hand skills. Each strand links to its worksheets.

  1. Pre-writing lines and shapes

    32 sheets ready

    Trace the lines and shapes that letters are built from, from straight lines to loops, then trace a name.

    Line tracing

    Big picture-to-picture paths to trace: straight lines, lines down, slanted lines, hops, waves, zigzags and loops.

    9 worksheets

    Shape tracing

    One shape per page: a picture of a real thing with that shape, a big shape with arrows, smaller shapes to trace and a box to draw one alone.

    8 worksheets

    Name tracing

    Make a name tracing worksheet for any child in seconds, or paste your class list for a full set, plus printable name writing practice pages.

    4 worksheets

    Shape tracing for kindergarten (next step)

    Tracing shapes from big to small: one page per shape with a start dot and arrows, plus two mixed pages, and the shape name to trace.

    11 worksheets

  2. Scissor skills

    9 sheets ready

    Snip, then cut straight, curved, wavy and zigzag lines, then cut out shapes and a spiral.

    Cutting practice

    Scissor skills step by step: short snips, then straight, curved, wavy and zigzag lines that stop at a picture, then shapes and a spiral.

    9 worksheets

  3. Hand strength

    16 sheets ready

    Dab dot markers and roll playdough to build strong, steady fingers.

    Dot marker printables

    Pages of big 0.9 inch circles to dab with a dot marker: a path, lines, shapes, a caterpillar, balloons, rain and an apple tree.

    7 worksheets

    Playdough mats

    Wide lanes to fill with rolled playdough snakes, and big circles for playdough balls: shapes, lines, a rainbow, a sun and a caterpillar.

    9 worksheets

  4. Pencil control with a goal

    15 sheets ready

    Find the one way through a maze and count from 1 to 10 to finish a dot-to-dot picture.

    Mazes

    Wide-road picture mazes with one way through, from two easy fork mazes to five levels of grid mazes, each with an answer key.

    7 worksheets

    Dot to dot

    Big, simple dot-to-dots that count up from 1 to 10: shapes, a house, sailboat, crown, fish, rocket, star and heart.

    8 worksheets

About pre-writing and fine motor

Before preschoolers write letters, their hands need strength and control. They need to hold a crayon, pull a line where they want it to go, and use both hands together. These pre-writing and fine motor worksheets build those skills through play: tracing, cutting, dotting, rolling and finding the way through a maze.

Start with tracing. Line tracing pages move from straight lines to slanted lines, curves, waves, zigzags and loops, the strokes every letter is made from. Shape tracing pages add circles, squares, triangles and more. When a child is ready, name tracing gives practice with the most important word of all.

Mix in hand-strength activities every week. Dot marker pages and playdough mats strengthen small muscles, cutting pages teach scissor skills step by step, and mazes and dot-to-dots practice pencil control with a goal to reach. Every page has big pictures, a short direction for the grown-up and a clear place to start, and prints on US Letter or A4.

Questions

What are fine motor skills in preschool?

Fine motor skills are the small movements of the hands and fingers: holding a crayon, using scissors, pinching, rolling and pressing. Strong fine motor skills make writing much easier later.

What are pre-writing skills?

Pre-writing skills are the lines and shapes children can draw before they write letters: straight lines across and down, slanted lines, circles, crosses and curves, plus a comfortable crayon grip.

How often should preschoolers do fine motor activities?

A little every day works best. Five to ten minutes of tracing, cutting, dotting or playdough is plenty for a three- or four-year-old.

Are there answer keys?

Yes. The mazes and dot-to-dots have an answer key on page 2. Tracing, cutting, dot marker and playdough pages need no key.