Teaching Letters to Preschooler

Before you do the trace letters, have him practice the curves, straight lines, diagonal lines... the fundamental basics of the shapes of the letters.

for examples, curved lines:
http://www.kidslearningstation.com/tracing-lines/trace-cu...

diagonal lines:
http://www.kidslearningstation.com/tracing-lines/

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I would look up a program called Handwriting Without Tears (you can Google it) - it's what they are using in my DD's 3 year old preschool class. You can make it more fun by having him use his finger to trace letters in sand, shaving cream, etc. That might be easier for him than trying to master holding a pencil at the same time.

Also, I have heard it is easiest to learn letters that only have horizontal and vertical lines (like E, H, and T), then letters with diagonals (like M and N), then the ones with curves are the most difficult (like B and D). So some schools teach writing letters in that order, starting with the ones that are easiest and then moving up.

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You might have a better time using handwriting stencils and manipulatives designed to help children develop the motor skills needed for handwriting. He's still pretty young and might not have the muscle control just yet to form letters properly.

There are many manipulatives and products designed to help children strengthen their hands and form letters.

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For something you can put together at home, instead of the worksheets, try less stressful activities such as filling a shallow dish or pan with one of the following items: salt, sugar, pudding, flour or corn meal and have him trace letter shapes in the chosen item sprinkled in the pan. Kids love the tactile feel of running their fingers through the different foods, and it's a neat way to learn their letters.

Molding clay is another great option. Home-made or store bought is fine. Have him mold upper and lower case letters with clay. Being able to feel, shape and mold the letters will help him when he's ready to actually write them.

Buy letter tiles or magnets, and have him identify letters and spell simple words on the kitchen table or fridge.

Pipe cleaners, Bendaroos, or something called WikkiStix are great for making letters the fun way too.

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Instead of pencil and paper, try a magna-doodle or a stick in the dirt, or a finger in shaving cream on the table....

(pencil and paper requires more advance fine motor skills than the other methods. And the kids probably find them much more fun too).

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We use the Kumon dry erase cards - and b/c they are coated they are a bit easier for the kids to write on.

Once the confidence is there I would move him from markers to crayons/pencils b/c (I was told by a teacher) there is a big movement to get markers out of the early classrooms due to the fact they are much easier for children to manipulate and they aren't developing the proper strength in their hands. Good luck!

I agree... find a fun/unusual way to write the letters. You might also print off some block versions of letters for him to color, instead of trying to write.

One word of caution because I learned this the hard way with my daughter who is now four. I had began teaching her to write her letters prior to her entering preschool this year. There is a specific way in which they want the letters written. Meaning for the letter M start at the top of the line going down for the 1st stoke, then back to the top to start second stoke, then bottom to top on the third, top to bottom on the fourth. The circles in the letters b, d, g, are to go in specific direction. When they are in preschool they break each movement down into strokes. My daughter had to unlearn and relearn the movements. She's doing great with it now but wow what a hard thing to unlearn and relearn. I did find several websites with printable tracing letters that do it in the correct stoke order. If I have them book marked I'll send them to you. What I did was have my daughter start out using the bigger crayons which were easier for her to manipulate and then moved onto the bigger pencils once her hands were strong enough to manipulate it properly. We also used plastic knives to draw the letters into rolled out playdough, shaving cream on her outdoor table where she could use her "magic finger" to draw the letters and shapes.

Just praise him as he tries.