Learn to Write the Letter A with Apple Tracing
I feel like I've been very negligent of this blog lately. Sorry. Three weeks ago, I started a new blog (Party Through the USA) and have been giving a lot of attention to setting it up. It's amazing to me how much work it is to start over, even after having blogged on this one for five years. I'm really enjoying the new blog, though, and it's already getting great traffic since people are thinking about, planning for, and going on family road trips now. I'll try to keep getting new homeschooling content onto this blog, but if it's sporadic, you'll know why.
Today's printable was made from a need in our own family. I started a handwriting curriculum book with Skimmer (age 5) recently. He does very well with tracing on a dotted line, but was struggling greatly when it came time to draw his own letter. I would put my fingers on the dot and instruct him to put his pencil there too. Then, I would tell him to draw a circle starting at the dot (we've been doing a lot of circles lately in preparation). Every single time, he would circle the dot. I would erase his work, and we'd try again. I would show him what I wanted to see, writing with either my finger or the pencil, but when it came time for his turn, he couldn't stop circling the dot.
After several minutes, I told him we should take a break, so I think about how to help him be successful. I knew he needed something he could draw around that would help him to get the correct shape. Grabbing a red colored pencil, I returned to him and to the handwriting workbook.
"Ok," I said, drawing a blob of red with the pencil, "this is our big, juicy, red apple. Put your pencil on the dot and circle the red apple." He did it without a problem! Eventually, we decided that the dot was a worm hole. Circling the apple also gave us a chance to practice the phonics sound for short A and transformed the mood by his success.
After we finished the workbook that day, I immediately made this printable worksheet so others can teach their own kids the same way. On the worksheet, I made the red apple fade out more and more as you move across the page. The hope is that the child will get so used to seeing the apple and tracing around it that they will see it even when it's not there. It helped my kid, and I hope it helps yours too.
Today's printable was made from a need in our own family. I started a handwriting curriculum book with Skimmer (age 5) recently. He does very well with tracing on a dotted line, but was struggling greatly when it came time to draw his own letter. I would put my fingers on the dot and instruct him to put his pencil there too. Then, I would tell him to draw a circle starting at the dot (we've been doing a lot of circles lately in preparation). Every single time, he would circle the dot. I would erase his work, and we'd try again. I would show him what I wanted to see, writing with either my finger or the pencil, but when it came time for his turn, he couldn't stop circling the dot.
After several minutes, I told him we should take a break, so I think about how to help him be successful. I knew he needed something he could draw around that would help him to get the correct shape. Grabbing a red colored pencil, I returned to him and to the handwriting workbook.
"Ok," I said, drawing a blob of red with the pencil, "this is our big, juicy, red apple. Put your pencil on the dot and circle the red apple." He did it without a problem! Eventually, we decided that the dot was a worm hole. Circling the apple also gave us a chance to practice the phonics sound for short A and transformed the mood by his success.
Click on the Picture to Access the Printable
After we finished the workbook that day, I immediately made this printable worksheet so others can teach their own kids the same way. On the worksheet, I made the red apple fade out more and more as you move across the page. The hope is that the child will get so used to seeing the apple and tracing around it that they will see it even when it's not there. It helped my kid, and I hope it helps yours too.
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