Today I am SO excited to share our new favorite way to practice letter formation, handwriting, tripod grasp, strengthening, and up-cycling. (Yep, up-cycling at it’s finest, here!) We have been using foam vegetable trays for handwriting and letter practice a lot. If you purchase any fruits or vegetables in foam trays, SAVE them! They will come in handy for a fun handwriting activity!
Teach letter formation and handwriting with a foam tray!
We are including affiliate links in this post, however you can find these items for free (well, after you purchase food). We’re sharing this post as part of our 31 Days of Learning with Free (or almost Free) Materials series and joining 25 other bloggers in homeschooling and learning at home ideas and tips with the 31 Days of Homeschooling Tips series.
Save those foam trays from fruits or vegetables. These foam trays
are primarily found holding meats, but even after a thorough washing, I would feel nervous about allowing my kiddo to write and play with a foam tray that held raw meat. You can purchase the foam trays here
are primarily found holding meats, but even after a thorough washing, I would feel nervous about allowing my kiddo to write and play with a foam tray that held raw meat. You can purchase the foam trays here
if you are having trouble finding them in the produce department of your grocery store. SIDE NOTE- You can also use take-out containers. Wash and dry the lid and cut the flat part. You’re now ready to practice letter formation and handwriting.
We asked for an extra set of chop sticks
after a recent dinner of Chinese food take-out. Use the chopsticks as a writing utensil on the foam tray.
after a recent dinner of Chinese food take-out. Use the chopsticks as a writing utensil on the foam tray. You can have the child write their name and letters for handwriting practice.
Encourage appropriate letter formation by starting at the top and forming the letter appropriately. The resistive surface of the foam tray will provide feedback through the hand as the child writes the letters.
This is a great name writing activity for young kids. For younger kids, I would write the name or letters first lightly on the foam.
Because of the surface of the foam tray, it can be easy for the chopstick to go off course when writing. A “track” for them to trace would help with appropriate letter formation.
Tripod grasp and strengthening during handwriting
Using the chopsticks on the foam tray is excellent for fine motor strength and tripod grasp. The small diameter of the chopstick requires a close and tight grip.
It may be easy for a child to assume an ineffective grasp on the chopsticks, but encourage then to hold the tip of the chopstick with the thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger with an open thumb web space as they write.
Maintaining this grasp while forming letters on the resistive foam will strengthen and encourage a memory of a motor plan as they form the letters.
Fun ways to work on Letter Formation:
- High-Contrast Letter Formation
- Sensory Letter Formation Practice
- Tracing Letters: Letter Formation Handwriting Practice with Chalk
- Tracing Lines with a DIY Light Box
- Improving Pencil Grasp With Fine Motor Play Activities
- Fine Motor Coordination with a Cereal Box (activity to improve tripod grasp)
- Gift Guide: Toys to Improve Pencil Grasp
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.
(LOVE this brand!) poured onto a plate or into bowls. Grab a handful of 
and start stamping! 
. Tearing tissue paper is a great fine motor strengthening exercise. To tear paper, one needs to use the intrinsic muscles of the hand and a tripod grasp. Both hands are needed (bilateral hand coordination) in order to hold the paper and tear. Children need strength and endurance in the intrinsic muscles of their hands in order to maintain coloring and handwriting activities without fatigue. 
to make small pockets. You want the lollipop sticks to fit in the pockets, but don’t want them to be too large either. 
. (Sidenote–I LOVE this paint for handprint art…and any kid art, really! It is bright, thick, doesn’t flake when it dries, it’s washable, and cheap. LOVE it!)
so it was ready for card making once the prints dried. You could make these thumbprint crafts on any color paper and just cut out the prints afterwords and glue onto cards, wrapping paper, or pictures from kids.
(this pad gives you a nice big surface for creating)
