Pre-Writing Activity Leaf Theme

Colleen Beck OTR/L
Colleen Beck, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and the owner and author of The OT Toolbox website. She manages all of The OT Toolbox social media accounts and runs the popular newsletter. Colleen created The OT Toolbox in 2011 and since then has written thousands of blog posts designed to support therapy providers, educators, parents, counselors, admin, and caregivers in promoting the healthy development of kids. Check out Colleen's blog posts below:
Handwriting and the visual motor skills needed for writing letters and numbers happens long before a child writes the alphabet.  There is a developmental progression of skills that a child must master before they are able to write A-Z. Pre-writing skills and pre-writing lines are just one of the skills that occur before a child writes or copies letters. The prewriting activity below is just one way to help children work on and develop the skills they need to accurately write letters on their own.
Pre-writing activity for helping kids develop the skills needed for pre-writing lines and handwriting using fall leaves

Pre-Writing Lines Activity 

 
Working on the skills needed to write letters and numbers involve the development of pencil control, visual motor skills, and visual perception.  You can read more about the developmental progression of pre-writing lines as well as a free printable that lists out pre-writing lines as they typically develop here on The OT Toolbox. 
 
This post on our Facebook page shows development of pre-writing lines and shapes by age. 
 
The pre-writing lines activity described below is just one way to help kids develop these skills, while working on abilities such as crossing midline and fine motor skills needed for handwriting.
 

Pre-Writing Activity Leaf Theme

You’ll need just a few items for this pre-writing activity:
 
Affiliate links are included in this post.
 
  • Leaves (Try to find smaller sized leaves to boost fine motor skills. We used leaves that had already changed colors on our burning bush.)
  • Glue stick
  • Paper
  • Permanent marker
Pre-writing activity for helping kids develop the skills needed for pre-writing lines and handwriting using fall leaves
To do this activity, simply draw one pre-writing line or shape on each piece of paper.
Use a glue stick to trace lines and work on pre-writing skills with this pre-writing lines activity for kids.
Pre-writing activity for helping kids develop the skills needed for pre-writing lines and handwriting using fall leaves

Then, ask your child or student to trace over the line with a glue stick.  A purple colored glue stick helps kids to see where they have traced the line. Be careful to provided assistance with this part of the activity if needed. The glue stick uses very little resistance when swiped on the paper. Kids can easily draw the glue line off of the stimulus line.

 
Then, kids can place leaves right on the glue line and sharpie line.  Ask them to gently press the leaf down, using finger isolation and separation of the two sides of the hand.
Pre-writing activity for helping kids develop the skills needed for pre-writing lines and handwriting using fall leaves
 

Leaf Theme Fine Motor Activity

This is a great activity to incorporate fine motor skills. Show your child or student how to pick leaves from a branch.  This allows children to strengthen the intrinsic muscles of their hand while working on bilateral coordination, graded grasp, pincer grasp, and an open thumb web space.
 
Don’t have small leaves in your area? No problem! Use paper cut outs by punching leaf shaped paper using this leaf hole punch. Allow the kids to punch the holes to boost hand strength.
This leaf themed activity goes along perfectly with the popular children’s book, Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert. Read the book and work on pre-writing lines with this leaf themed pre-writing activity!
 
Red Leaf Yellow Leaf is this week’s book in the Virtual Book Club for Kids series.  Check out the ideas below to find leaf themed movement, play, development, and learning ideas:
Use these fall leaves activities to help kids learn and develop skills like fine motor skills, gross motor skills, scissor skills, handwriting, and more using leaves.
 
Spell Your Name With Leaves   Clare’s Little Tots
Leaf Measurement and Sorting Activity  Inspiration Laboratories
Foil Leaf Preschool Art  Preschool Powol Packets
Handprint Art Messy Little Monster
Nature Color Hunt  My Bored Toddler
Salt Painting – Artsy Momma
Fall Color Leaf Viewer  JDaniel4’s Mom
Fall Leaf Color Stomp  Toddler Approved
 
Pre-writing activity for helping kids develop the skills needed for pre-writing lines and handwriting using fall leaves
 
 
Here are more LEAF ACTIVITIES that you will love:
 
 

Leaf-themed pre-writing activities for preschoolers

This leaf activity is a good leaf-themed pre-writing activities for preschoolers because it uses a fine motor activity to work on the prewriting skills of forming straight and diagonal lines. These skills are needed before forming letters and writing names. Forming and copying those lines are needed before the child can form and copy letters correctly.

Fall fine motor activities for toddlers

This is also a great Fall fine motor activities for toddlers because you can work on fine motor skills like pincer grasp by picking up and placing leaves onto the lines on paper. To grade this down for toddlers and those with developing fine motor skills, you can add glue to the lines so the leaves stick.

You could also use contact paper and have the toddlers or child place the leaves onto the contact paper.

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