Sometimes, it’s fun to make handwriting practice a little bit different. This magnetic letter activity was a fun way to work on letter identification and letter formation in handwriting. For young children, becoming more familiar with letters and the alphabet is key to age-appropriate literacy. This refers to knowing a letter’s name, the letter’s sound, and the formation of letters. My preschooler is getting more familiar with letter recognition as an age-appropriate pre-literacy strategy by listening to books and pointing out letters that we see. Similarly, these same strategies are appropriate for the kindergarten age, but adding in letter formation.
Preschoolers can use this activity to work on writing uppercase letters and kindergarten-aged students can work on lower case letters with this activity. Extend this play to older kids by asking them to write words using the magnetic letters.
This is a great eye hand coordination activity for toddlers and preschoolers that are learning how to hold a spoon.
And, I have to tell you that using a spoon in handwriting is always a hit with kids of any age!
Magnetic Letter and Spoons Handwriting Practice
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We have a bin full of magnetic letters from over the years. I used a set like this in my school-based OT activities and magnetic letters have always been on our refrigerator starting when when my 8 year old was a toddler.
To play this handwriting game, fill a small bin or bowl with magnetic letters. This brand worked well with our spoons activity because they were lighter. A magnetic letter like Melissa & Doug magnets worked, but they were just a bit too heavy to stick to our spoons. We have a few sets of dollar store magnetic letters that worked well with our spoons, too.
Letter Formation Handwriting Game
I pulled out a few of our spoons. Now, I wish I could tell you the brand and metal make-up of our spoons, but they are 12 years old and I have no clue about that info. Apparently some stainless steel spoons are magnetic and others are not depending on the processing the metal has undergone. You could try a few different utensils in your house with this activity, like ladles or serving spoons. If none of these options work for holding the magnets, simply use a magnetic wand.
I had my kids take turns stirring the letters with their spoons. They pulled out their spoon one at a time and looked at the letter they grabbed. I had them tell me the name of the letter and then practice writing it. This was a hit with all of the ages!
RELATED READ: Easy Tips to Teach Kids How to Write Letters
There is just something about spoons that are hilarious! Practicing writing was fun with this activity!
- Extend the activity by having older kids write words using the letters.
- Children who are working on cursive letters can form the cursive or even upper case cursive version of the magnetic letter they pull from the bin.
- Have kids write the lower case letter of the magnetic letter.
More of my favorite ways to work on letter formation and handwriting practice: