This blog post on creative writing practice was originally written December 16, 2016 and was updated February 26, 2024.
Today, we’ve got creative writing practice activities for supporting handwriting needs, both as fun ways to teach handwriting components, but also a multisensory learning tool for establishing a motor plan for handwriting. The automaticity that comes with writing speed is essential for written work, and using creative writing ideas with kids is key!
Creative writing Practice
I’ve pulled out a few of these motivating handwriting activities with my own kids! Here are more irresistibly creative ways to encourage handwriting in seriously fun ways.
I love to share creative handwriting activities. My own kids have varying levels of love when it comes to writing. Currently, my four year old is writing down everything she can think of. She’s still practicing letter formation but is often heard calling from the other room, “how do you spell…?” that she simply must write at that moment. My older kids write when they have to, sometimes a little more legibly than other times.
Read also these strategies for name practice for kindergarten to support underlying skills needed for handwriting at the beginning level. The creative writing ideas you find below are great for fun writing practice for kindergarten and all grades!
My own kids love to do all of the activities that I’ve shared for handwriting help, because honestly, the tips and tricks that I’ve shared here are geared more toward the underlying skills needed for handwriting instead of just plain old ways to practice handwriting. Improve those underlying skills in ways that can’t be beat!
Creative writing practice can look like sensory handwriting! Using a variety of writing tools and sensory mediums support formation skills.
Handwriting Activities for Kids Who Hate to Write
I wanted to come up with a collection of unbeatable handwriting activities for kids who hate to write because let’s face it; Kids will complain and resist handwriting practice when they really just hate to practice written work!
Try these activities that I’ve found makes kids see the fun over the challenge to practice handwriting:
Try a few Writing Tray Ideas
Using a sensory writing tray to target skills like letter formation, letter reversals, and letter recognition can help with carryover of handwriting in functional writing tasks. Here are some of our favorite creative writing tray ideas…
- Writing Trays add a sensory play component to handwriting. Try these writing tray ideas.
- Write with glow sticks in a tray of flour.
- Write with a cinnamon stick in a tray of sugar.
- Write with a straw in a tray of cornmeal.
- Use an easy rice writing tray.
- Write with twigs in a tray of dried beans.
- Use a sight word sensory tray to work on vocabulary words, spelling words, and other common words.
- Write in slime with your finger.
- The possibilities for writing trays are endless!
- Write in a tray of dish soap with your finger.
The great thing about using sensory trays in handwriting practice is that they really encourage sensory handwriting experiences. For more sensory handwriting experiences, try these creative writing activities below.
What are your favorite ways to make handwriting less of a chore and more of an irresistible handwriting activity?
- Related Read: Try these handwriting accommodation strategies to address a variety of handwriting challenges.
Sensory Handwriting Activities for Kids
Turn handwriting from being a chore to being fun with other sensory based writing activities. Adding a few creative writing practice ideas like the ones listed below can make kids smile when working on handwriting skills.
- Write in shaving cream.
- Write on the window.
- Write in pudding.
- Write on a mess-free sensory bag.
- Write on a DIY light box.
- Write in fog on a window.
- Write on a foam tray for proprioceptive input.
- Write with a flashlight at night.
- High visual contrast by writing in coffee.
- Use creative painting ideas
Creative Writing practice with Tracing
One tool in your handwriting toolbox is creative tracing strategies. Typically, we see tracing letter formation worksheets, or young kids tracing letters over and over again. However, there is more to tracing than just writing over the letter. Use these creative tracing activities to support the motor plan to form letters.
Practice letter formation by tracing over letters with these creative ideas:
- Place string over letters.
- Write with wet chalk on a driveway (It’s high resistance and provides heavy work proprioceptive input!)
- Trace letters with a fingertip dipped in pudding.
- Trace letters with a cotton-stab dipped in paint.
- Trace letters over sandpaper.
- Trace letters with a straw dipped in milk dyed with food coloring.
- Place Wikki Stix over letters.
- Form letters with grass dipped in glue.
- Write on foam craft sticks.
- Form letters with baked cotton swabs.
- Use cooked spaghetti noodles to form letters.
- Trace highlighted letters.
- Trace letters with a cotton ball dipped in paint.
Gross Motor Handwriting Activities
Another tool in your writing toolbox is using whole body movements and gross motor coordination skills. Many gross motor skills play a role in handwriting, including writing posture. One of our favorite ideas is a ribbon wand like we used in our gross motor cursive writing activity.
Try these gross motor handwriting ideas:
- Draw letters and words on a driveway
- Make body letters. In The OT Toolbox membership, you’ll find alphabet exercise cards.
- Use a roll of masking tape or painters tape to create large letters on the wall or floor. Drive cars along the tape. If using this activity on the floor, place objects like craft pom poms on the tape letters.
- Use our Alphabet exercises.
- Walk toe-to-toe over the letters
- Write with big arm motions
- Write letters with a ribbon stick
Handwriting Ideas from OT and PT
In The Handwriting Book, you’ll find creative writing strategies based on development and the underlying skills needed in functional writing. A group of pediatric occupational therapists and physical therapists address handwriting tips, strategies, and tools that are used in occupational therapy to work on handwriting needs.
The Handwriting Book covers everything you need to know about handwriting, guided by development and focused on function. This digital resource is is the ultimate resource for tips, strategies, suggestions, and information to support handwriting development in kids.
The Handwriting Book breaks down the functional skill of handwriting into developmental areas. These include developmental progression of pre-writing strokes, fine motor skills, gross motor development, sensory considerations, and visual perceptual skills. Each section includes strategies and tips to improve these underlying areas.
- Strategies to address letter and number formation and reversals
- Ideas for combining handwriting and play
- Activities to practice handwriting skills at home
- Tips and strategies for the reluctant writer
- Tips to improve pencil grip
- Tips for sizing, spacing, and alignment with overall improved legibility
Click here to grab your copy of The Handwriting Book today.
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
