Writing in Rice!

Hi Friends! 

Today I have a SUPER EASY activity to share with you that helps children with their letter (and number) formation. Guys, let's get real for a second. I think that handwriting practice is incredibly beneficial and needed in kindergarten, but it's hard to deny that it does get boring for the kids (and teachers!) from time to time. We need to help our kiddos out with their handwriting and formation while making it fun and memorable for them. 

Recently I stumbled upon Education.com's post about writing in rice. It was a bit if a DUHHH! moment for me. I have had the kids writing in sand for the longest time and I think rice would be so much better. It doesn't stick to their hands as much and is a bit easier to clean up! Plus you can always dye rice to make it colorful!  Here are the directions: 

Trace Letters on Rice
Is your kindergartener eager to practice writing? Does he love to play with his food? Enjoy making designs in his mashed potatoes or carrot puree? Transform his inclination to play with his food from taboo to “yahoo"! He'll get a big kick out of working on his handwriting…using rice!

What You Need:
1 large baking sheet
1-2 cups uncooked rice
Pencil
Lined paper

What You Do:

• Sit your child down at a table with a large baking sheet with 1-2 cups of uncooked rice spread evenly across it
• Draw a line across the top of the rice, and one across the bottom. Then, using the pointer finger of the dominant hand, show your child how to draw the following handwriting strokes, which are the building blocks for most letters of the alphabet:

Straight line: begin at the top, and draw straight to the bottom
Straight line: begin at the left, and draw straight to the right
"Slant left": begin at the top, and draw a diagonal line left, eventually connecting to the base line
"Slant right": begin at the top, and draw a diagonal line right, eventually connecting to the base line
Circle- draw an “o”
Half circle: show your child how to draw one to the right, and one to the left (as in d and b)

Once he's practiced a few times in the rice, ask your child to write the same strokes on the lined paper.

When the strokes themselves become easy, it's time to move on to the ABC's. Slide out that baking sheet and ask your child to write each letter in both its capital and lowercase form. As he finishes writing in the rice, have him write the letter on the paper as well, to reinforce things.

Still feeling crafty? You can extend the activity by using the leftover rice for a different purpose. Now that your child has written all of his letters onto paper, have him glue rice on top. It may sound a little odd, but working with rice and glue helps improve hand dexterity (which works those writing muscles!), plus, it helps kids think about the shape of the letters, and the direction they moved while writing them. Dried corn, macaroni, raisins, or uncooked noodles also work well for this purpose. So raid that pantry, and get your kid thinking about those ABC's!

I can just see myself making adorable like tactile booklets out of these alphabet cards and putting in our classroom library! I'm sure kids will just be sucked into tracing the cards everyday!! Click here to see more activities like this on Education.com.