This spacing tool is an alien craft that kids can make and use as a spacing tool for handwriting. A spaceman writing tool is a powerful device to help kids with spacing in handwriting, specifically space between letters and words when writing. We’ve come up with a few different spacing tools in the past, and this space themed spacing tool helps kids better understand the concepts of spatial awareness for better legibility in written work.
Teaching proper letter spacing in handwriting doesn’t have to be boring—meet your new writing sidekick: the Spaceman Writing Tool! This fun, kid-made spaceman for writing helps children visually and physically separate words on the page. Whether you call it a word spacer tool, spaceman spacer, or star spacer handwriting tool, this simple craft stick Martian is a fun and effective way to improve spacing between words.
Perfect for occupational therapy for writing, classroom handwriting instruction, or home use, this DIY spacing tool for writing gives students a concrete visual cue to help keep their words from crowding together. It’s a space-themed handwriting exercise that brings structure, independence, and just the right amount of fun to writing practice.
This space martian spacing tool goes really well with our block light saber spacing tool!
Sometimes, a child’s handwriting doesn’t improve given time and practice in the classroom. You might see a child copying words or sentences and squishing all of the words and letters together in a long string. There might be no space or inconsistent spacing between letters and words. It can be frustrating for the child and their parent or teacher.
Spacing Tool
This spacing tool will help with spacing in handwriting in a fun way. My second grader and I had fun creating this Space Martian Spacing Tool and using it to practice spacing between words.
Spacing Tool for poor spacing in handwriting
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Poor spacing in handwriting can be a visual tracking problem. It could be visual inattention or poor hand eye coordination. Sometimes, spacing is just something that needs more practice and a visual prompt like this space alien can help.
We’ve shared other versions of spacing tools to support these needs:
- This Writing Spacer Craft uses just a pipe cleaner to space between letters and words.
- This pointer stick spacer uses a craft stick to create a spacing tool pointer stick, perfect for visual perceptual needs.
- Kids love this clip on spacing strategy using a clothespin spacer.
What Is a Spaceman Writing Tool?
The spaceman writing tool that we made is a small, craft-based object (like a decorated popsicle stick) used to teach word spacing in handwriting. It’s commonly used in classrooms and occupational therapy for writing sessions to give students a consistent way to mark space between words.
Benefits of Using a Word Spacer Tool
I love using a visual tool like this one for several reasons.
- Encourages consistent spacing
- Improves legibility
- Builds independence
- Supports spatial awareness (important in OT)
- Engages young writers in a multisensory way
Include how this tool supports distal finger exercises by giving physical feedback between words.
Try this easy DIY version is actually a spaceman spacer for writing…but the alien version!
Make a Spaceman Writing Tool
You can easily make this spacing tool with just a few materials:
- One green craft stick
- one googly eye
- glue
- sticky back foam letter sticker “C” are all you need.
- To make the spacing tool, ask students to use glue to add a small dot of glue to the back of the googly eye. What a great fine motor precision and eye-hand coordination job.
2. Next, stick the googly eye onto one end of the green craft stick.
3. Cut the letter C foam sticker in half. Glue each piece to the craft stick above the googly eye.
And that’s it! If you don’t have foam letter stickers, you could use small pieces of pipe cleaners or scraps of paper.
Here’s a video showing how to make this space alien spacing tool:
Use this handwriting spacing tool between letters and words. Encourage your child to move the spacer over between words. Sometimes, just that visual cue is enough to help. The physical act of moving the craft stick to space between words can provide enough input to a child that they become more aware of the need to space, and are able to carryover the skill without using the physical reminder for spacing.
HANDWRITING SPACING TOOL
Another easy way to make a handwriting spacing tool involves materials you have around the home, like buttons. The main thing to address with a handwriting spacing tool is a spatial awareness and using a craft that kids can make adds meaning and motivation to work on spacing between letters and words.
When kids learn to write, it can be difficult to work on all of the parts of handwriting. There is holding the pencil, and using muscles to maintain a grasp while writing sentences. Then there is letter formation. Putting it all together can be challenging.
In Kindergarten, children really work on letter formation, and especially lower case letter formation. When you throw in the lines and spacing to writing, it can be a real frustration for a new writer! That’s where using a fun spacing tool comes into play. It allows for appropriate spatial awareness in handwriting is accurately spacing letters within words and spacing words correctly within a sentence.
For another spacing tool idea, try this easy (and inexpensive!) way to create a Spacing tool using buttons. This spacing tool can be used in handwriting tasks, as a tool for spacing between letters and words.
How to make a spacing tool with buttons
Spacing between words and letters can be easy with this button spacing tool. It’s easy to make and can be created using items you already have. The cost of this activity should be very inexpensive, especially if you use items you already have.
To make spacing tool you’ll need just a couple of items: (This post contains Amazon affiliate links.)
- Craft stick
- Glue
- Buttons
We used a colored craft stick and brightly colored button that we received from www.craftprojectideas, but you could use any material you have in your home. Have a bin of beads or crafting pom poms in your craft supplies? Use beads instead of buttons. Other ideas include craft pom poms or pipe cleaners.
- First, glue one button to the end of a popsicle stick or even a pipe cleaner.
- Let it dry.
- Then, use the spacing tool while your child is writing words and sentences. Show them how to place the button spacing tool between words and sideways between letters.
This post is part of our 31 Days of Occupational Therapy where I’m sharing tips and tools for many developmental areas using free or inexpensive materials. For more spatial relations related to handwriting, check out our Visual Tracking activities.
RELATED READ: Spatial Awareness Tips and Tools
Visit our Visual Motor Skills page for more ideas in all thing visual perception and kids!
Occupational Therapy Tips for Teaching Spacing with a Hands-On Approach
In occupational therapy sessions, teaching proper spacing between words often involves visual cues, as well as other areas in a multisensory learning experience. We need to see motor planning, spatial awareness, and self-monitoring during written tasks.
The spaceman writing tool is an excellent way to incorporate proprioceptive feedback and tactile input into handwriting instruction. Here’s how to make it more hands-on:
1. Physically Move the Pencil with Intention
After completing a word, instruct the child to set their pencil down briefly, pick up the spaceman tool, and place it against the end of the word. This pause gives their body and brain time to reset before starting the next word.
Then, the child uses their dominant hand to hold the pencil and their non-dominant hand to hold the spacer in place, which promotes bilateral coordination and fine motor precision. As they slide the pencil to the other side of the spacer, they get a physical sense of space, which helps internalize how much room to leave between words.
2. Add a Cueing Routine
Teach a routine like “Write-Stop-Space-Slide-Write” to support sequencing and executive function during written tasks. These verbal prompts paired with physical actions help students self-monitor spacing over time.
3. Use Heavy Work and Movement Breaks
Incorporate heavy work before writing (e.g., wall push-ups, towel wringing, or chair pushes) to activate proprioceptive input and support postural stability, which improves writing control and precision.
4. Encourage Consistency Across Settings
Have students take their spaceman spacer tool between home and school (or OT sessions and class) as part of their self-regulation and academic routines. This builds confidence and consistency in their handwriting performance, especially for children working on functional school-based goals.
More Spacial Awareness Activities
- Outer Space Theme Therapy Slide Deck
- Space Activities
- Bilateral Coordination/Math Space Maze
- Galaxy and Outer Space Sensory Activities
- Space Play Dough Mat
- Outer Space Visual Perception Worksheet #1
- Outer Space Visual Perception Worksheet #2
- Outer Space Books
- AND, a new resource has been added to the shop: Outer Space Fine Motor Mini-Kit.
Know a kiddo that loves all things space, astronauts, and planets? The Outer Space Fine Motor Kit is your chance to develop fine motor strength, dexterity, and coordination skills.
Addressing hand strength, endurance, and precision is out of this world fun! The Outer Space Fine Motor Kit includes:
- Fine Motor Mazes
- Fine Motor Ten Frames for motor activities
- 1-20 Star Counting Cards
- Bead Copying Strips
- Space Alien Directed Drawing Sheets
This fine motor kit includes 24 pages of printable resources. Included in this printable pack are:
- Two pages of color coded bead copying strips
- Two pages of blank bead copying strips
- Four pages of “draw and write” directed drawing activities with a space theme (Includes 3 styles of handwriting lines: highlighted lines, single rule, and double rule)
- Nine pages of fine motor mazes
- 1-20 Outer Space Counting Cards
- Four pages of fine motor ten frames activities
These printable activities extend to work on a variety of other functional areas, too: handwriting skills, numbers, math, adding, subtracting, one-to-one correspondence, scissor skills, coloring, and more.
Click HERE to grab the Outer Space Fine Motor Mini-Kit.
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.
