Our Curriculum › Writing & Grammar › Pre-K
Writing Pre-K
A parent-led year of getting hands and minds ready for writing: drawing, tracing, cutting, squeezing and pinching, pretend play that uses marks as messages, and copying a first name. Children do not learn to form letters yet; that begins in Kindergarten.
180 lessons
One a day for a school year
7 units
Each opens to its lessons
A year-end art book
Made from the year's own drawings
Standards
Head Start ELOF & Texas Pre-K Guidelines
What's taught, unit by unit
First marks and a first look at printDays 1–10
Scribbles as real communication, pinching and gripping without a crayon, playdough, big arm-sized lines, how print moves left to right, pretend writing, and a first try at recognizing and copying the child's own name.
- 1 · Welcome to Writing Pre-K
- 2 · Scribbles Are Stories
- 3 · Pinch, Squeeze, Grip
- 4 · Playdough Hands
- 5 · Big Lines, Big Circles
- 6 · Which Way Do Words Go?
- 7 · Pretend to Write
- 8 · Getting to Know My Name
- 9 · My First Try at My Name
- 10 · Writing Week Review
Tracing, scissors and drawing on purposeDays 11–60
New tracing shapes (zigzag, wave, loop, arch), finger-tracing in shaving cream, salt and paint, first scissor snips and straight cuts, lacing and threading, and drawing the family, a favorite animal or a wish. Pretend menus, maps and letters, with a name-copy try every week or so.
- 11 · Zigzag and Wave Tracing
- 12 · Scissors: Snip Practice
- 13 · Draw Your Family
- 14 · Pretend Menu
- 15 · Writing Tools Exploration
- 16 · Curvy Letter-Like Shapes
- 17 · Name Copy Practice, Round 2
- 18 · Pretend Map
- 19 · Draw Your Day
- 20 · Week 2 Review: Tools, Tracing, and Purposeful Marks
- 21 · Scissors: Cutting a Straight Line
- 22 · Lacing and Threading
- 23 · Third Name-Copy Attempt
- 24 · Draw Your Favorite Animal
- 25 · Draw Your Favorite Place
- 26 · Sensory Tray Tracing: Shaving Cream
- 27 · Sensory Tray Tracing: Salt or Sand
- 28 · Mail a Pretend Letter
- 29 · Hand-Strength Building
- 30 · Month One Review and Celebration
- 31 · Cutting on a Curve
- 32 · Cut-and-Paste Curvy Shapes
- 33 · Copying My Name — Fourth Attempt
- 34 · Draw a Story You Know
- 35 · Dot and Sticker Precision
- 36 · Finger-Paint Tracing
- 37 · Pretend Restaurant Order Pad
- 38 · Draw a Wish
- 39 · Playdough Tools — Hand Strength
- 40 · Month Two Review and Celebration
- 41 · Cutting a Spiral
- 42 · Fifth Name-Copy Attempt
- 43 · Draw a Made-Up Creature
- 44 · Sticker and Stamp Patterns
- 45 · Tracing with Yarn
- 46 · Pretend Grocery List
- 47 · Spray Bottle Hand Strength
- 48 · Clothespin Clipping
- 49 · Pretend Restaurant Order
- 50 · Halfway Celebration
- 51 · Cut and Glue: Build a Collage
- 52 · Writing My Name, Take Six
- 53 · Draw Your Favorite Season or Weather
- 54 · Bead Threading
- 55 · Sidewalk Chalk: Big-Body Writing
- 56 · Pretend Post Office
- 57 · Tongs and Pom-Poms: Hand Strength
- 58 · Water Painting on the Fence or Sidewalk
- 59 · Make and Mail a Card
- 60 · Two-Month Review and Celebration
Making a picture bookDays 61–80
The child illustrates, hole-punches, binds and covers their own picture book. Alongside it: weaving paper strips, geoboards, more sensory trays, a pretend vet chart and weather report, and a celebration at ten weeks.
- 61 · Name-Copy Attempt Seven
- 62 · Draw Your Own Picture Book, Part One
- 63 · Hole-Punch Practice
- 64 · Binding Our Book
- 65 · Whipped-Cream Tray Tracing
- 66 · Pretend Veterinarian Chart
- 67 · Rubber Band Geoboard
- 68 · Draw Your Own Picture Book, Part Two
- 69 · Making a Book Cover
- 70 · Mid-Course Review and Celebration
- 71 · Name-Copy Attempt, Take Nine
- 72 · Draw Your Family Doing Something Fun
- 73 · Paper-Strip Weaving
- 74 · Rice-and-Beans Tracing Tray
- 75 · Pretend Weather Reporter
- 76 · Squeeze-Ball Hand Strength
- 77 · Draw a Make-Believe Story
- 78 · Scissors: Snipping a Fringe Line
- 79 · Gel Sensory Bag Tracing
- 80 · Ten-Week Writing Celebration
Winter handsDays 81–100
Tracing in snow, slanted lines for sledding hills, eyedroppers, clothespins and paper tearing for finger strength, snowman cutting, a cozy-moment drawing, and a pretend library and bakery. Ends with a 100-day celebration.
- 81 · Snow Tray Tracing
- 82 · Clothespin Art Line
- 83 · My Name, Attempt Ten
- 84 · Draw a Cozy Moment
- 85 · The Pretend Library
- 86 · Lines That Lean: Sledding Hills
- 87 · Drip-Drop Snowflakes
- 88 · Snowman Cutting Craft
- 89 · Torn-Paper Snowstorm
- 90 · Halfway Day: Ninety Days of Writing Hands
- 91 · Painting with Water
- 92 · Sticker Road
- 93 · My Name, Attempt Eleven
- 94 · The Pretend Bakery
- 95 · The Puddle Path
- 96 · Snip-a-Bead Necklace
- 97 · Draw What You Are Waiting For
- 98 · The Pretend Flower Shop
- 99 · Twist and Post
- 100 · One Hundred Days of Making Marks
Spring: drawing from life and writing for peopleDays 101–130
Mud and wet-sand trays, cotton-swab painting, cutting corners and turns, drawing a growing thing and a person from life, a builder's plan, labels for belongings, and a folded note for someone they love. Pretend ticket booth, market and ice cream stand.
- 101 · Mud Tray Tracing
- 102 · Raindrop Dot Painting
- 103 · My Name on the Spring Sign
- 104 · The Pretend Post Office
- 105 · First Green Grass Collage
- 106 · Draw Your Puddle Story
- 107 · Blossom Branch
- 108 · The Pretend Vet Clinic
- 109 · The Window Washer
- 110 · Giant Chalk Strokes Outside
- 111 · Wet Sand Tray Tracing
- 112 · Scissors: Corners and Turns
- 113 · My Name, Attempt Thirteen
- 114 · The Pretend Ticket Booth
- 115 · Tape-Resist Sunshine
- 116 · Draw One Growing Thing
- 117 · Colander Flower Stems
- 118 · Ribbon Wand Sky Writing
- 119 · The Builder’s Plan
- 120 · A Note for Someone You Love
- 121 · Goop Tray Tracing
- 122 · The Pretend Ice Cream Stand
- 123 · My Name, Attempt Fourteen
- 124 · The Sponge Squeeze Crew
- 125 · The Pretend Market Stand
- 126 · Draw Someone Who Holds Still
- 127 · Paper Chains for the Picnic
- 128 · Chalk First, Water After
- 129 · Labels for My Things
- 130 · The Spring Picnic of Marks
Late spring to early summer: marks that do jobsDays 131–160
Flour and foam trays, party invitations, a name on a garden marker, cutting around a drawing, a treasure map, shopping lists, a really mailed postcard, and a thank-you drawing delivered by hand. Ends with the child teaching a grown-up to draw.
- 131 · Flour Tray Tracing
- 132 · Party Invitations for the Stuffed Animals
- 133 · My Name on the Garden Marker
- 134 · Cut Around Your Drawing
- 135 · Draw a Flower Up Close
- 136 · The Everything-Grows Mural
- 137 · Dropper-Dot Flowers
- 138 · A Thank-You Drawing, Delivered
- 139 · The Backyard Campsite
- 140 · The Clothesline Gallery
- 141 · Foam Tray Tracing
- 142 · The Pretend Flower Shop: Bouquet Tags and Order Slips
- 143 · My Name on My Sun Visor
- 144 · Scissors: The Twirly Spiral Cut
- 145 · Drawing the Whole Blooming Yard
- 146 · The Treasure Map
- 147 · Lacing Cards
- 148 · The Pretend Hair Salon
- 149 · Shadow Tracing
- 150 · My Artist’s Toolbox
- 151 · Squish-Bag Tracing
- 152 · The Pretend Fix-It Shop
- 153 · My Name on the Pennant Flag
- 154 · Paper Weaving Placemat
- 155 · The Feely-Bag Drawing
- 156 · The Shopping List
- 157 · Cut and Paste: The Summer Picture
- 158 · Tiny Brush Day: Cotton-Swab Painting
- 159 · A Postcard, Really Mailed
- 160 · Teach a Grown-Up to Draw
Summer wrap-up and the keepsake bookDays 161–180
A tracing festival and giant outdoor stroke parade, then the year's artwork gathered into a keepsake book and shown at a home museum. Last days are family drawings, a draw-and-tell story, thank-you pictures and a closing art party.
- 161 · The Tracing Festival
- 162 · The Stuffed-Animal Vet Clinic
- 163 · My Name, Attempt Eighteen — The Garden Name Rock
- 164 · Snip Studio: A Meadow of Fringe and Curls
- 165 · Drawing the Dusk
- 166 · Ice-Cube Painting
- 167 · The Giant Stroke Parade
- 168 · My Year of Art — Making the Keepsake Book
- 169 · Museum Day at Our House
- 170 · Summer Studio Celebration
- 171 · Painting with Water: The Vanishing Summer Mural
- 172 · The Summer Post Office
- 173 · My Name, Attempt Nineteen — Signing Like an Artist
- 174 · The Fine-Motor Field Day
- 175 · Drawing the People You Love
- 176 · Draw Me a Story
- 177 · The Summer Treasure Box
- 178 · The Studio To-Go Kit
- 179 · The Thank-You Parade
- 180 · The Big Summer Art Party
By the end of the year, your child can
- Hold a crayon or pencil with a comfortable, steady grip
- Trace straight, curved, zigzag and wavy lines
- Cut along a line and around a curve with child-safe scissors
- Copy their own first name from a model
- Draw a picture on purpose and tell what it shows
- Use pretend lists, notes and labels to show that marks carry a message
Other Pre-K subjects: Math Pre-K · Reading Pre-K · Science Pre-K · Social Studies Pre-K