Making Letter Formation Fun
In order to convince my children that there is nothing that they would rather be doing then practicing tracing and forming letters, I invented an elaborate story about a magical world where correctly (or at least somewhat legibly) printed letters were powerful runes. These runes (letters) give the children power to create and change things in the world.
Now, forming letters allows them to perform feats of magic, save lives, grow grapes...
Yes, I said grow grapes. Fantasy can't always be about rescuing princesses and fighting monsters. Sometimes you've got to eat.
As a "side quest" in the Immersive Story Learning experience I've been developing, I created the Garden Letter Trace to help my daughter practice her handwriting skills and also because it's fun to do!
The story line, adapted and pulled away from our more epic tale, is that a number (26 to be exact) of garden and outdoor items have gone missing and Farmer Otis needs the student's help in bringing them back. Using letter magic, students recreate the missing items.
Essentially, this becomes a game the student can play independently while practicing letter formation. My favorite part is that when they finish tracing the letter, they color the picture of the missing item and cut and paste it into the garden scene so they get to experience bringing the item into being in a tangible way.
We have been cutting out the pieces and putting some tape on the back side of them so they can be moved around when placed on top of a sheet protector. I'm also thinking... felt on a felt board scene or laminated pieces that will forever after exist to be moved around and played with in our story world would be fun to try. Please let me know if you use the Garden Letter Trace activity, how you integrate it into your teaching, or any interesting ideas you have on improving it.
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