fun activities for kids Archives — Thrifty Mommas Tips

Four Ways Tracing Helps Preschoolers Learn

Paula — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 12:45:35 +0000

Before a child can draw a masterpiece or write their own name, they have to master the language of lines. For a preschooler, holding a crayon is a major athletic event for their tiny hand muscles. Tracing is often the bridge between random scribbles, designs and intentional creation. This early activity isn’t just about following a dotted line. Tracing is also about building the foundation for literacy and art. Helping a child prepare to learn and advance through school can be an active process and parents or early caregivers can help by sharing some workbooks, work sheets, digital activities, games and more. From Squiggles to Skills Quite simply tracing helps preschoolers learn. Here are four ways that tracing helps your little one grow new skills. 1. Building Muscle Memory Writing and drawing require fine motor coordination. Tracing teaches the hand and brain to work together to navigate curves, sharp corners, and straight paths. Over time, these movements become automatic, and intentional making it much easier for them to transition to freehand drawing and writing later on. 2. Understanding Shapes and Structure Every letter in the alphabet is essentially a combination of simple shapes and lines. By tracing a circle, a child is actually practicing the letter O. By tracing vertical lines, they are learning the backbone of an L or a T. Tracing helps them deconstruct the world into manageable pieces. It helps them learn to print letters and strong words together on paper eventually as they get older. 3. Boosting Confidence There is nothing quite like that satisfied moment when a child completes a goal. Tracing provides a starting skill that allows kids to produce recognizable shapes and patterns immediately. This success keeps them engaged and excited to keep practicing. When tracing helps preschoolers learn a new skill, they take pride in what they have learned. 4. Developing Spatial Awareness Tracing teaches kids where to start, which direction to move, and when to stop. This sense of spatial orientation is crucial for keeping letters on a line and ensuring they don’t run off the edge of the paper. Ready to get started? I’ve put together a comprehensive Tracing Bundle designed specifically for little hands. From whimsical wavy lines to geometric shapes, these printables are the perfect way to turn practice into playtime. Download the printable below and watch those squiggles turn into skills! Don’t Miss these other Educational Tools There are several Life Cycle Booklets that appeal to elementary age kids Keep them busy learning all summer Bald Eagle Life Cycle Learning Games Booklet Horse Life Cycle Frog Life Cycle Educational Booklet PIN IT For Later: Don’t forget the paper and supplies Don’t forget to order paper – HP Printer Paper and also be sure to use a good printer. This Epson Eco Tank Printer is amazing. It saves ink like nobody’s business. Post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission when a purchase is made.

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Get this Fun Free Winter Activity Book for Kids Now!

Paula — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 13:07:00 +0000

This cute Winter Activity Book for Kids will keep your kids busy for a few hours or maybe even a few days, if you work on it once a day for an hour or less. Right now, for me, and my family, it’s all about the waiting. Waiting for Fall to turn to Winter. Oh, I know many people love Fall, but it’s not for me really. Fall is basically me working out and waiting for ski season. So, I look for ways to stay busy and fit all fall long. Are You Ready for Winter? Winter is right around the corner and actually it is my favourite season. Well, winter and summer tie most years, but skiing, well that’s my happy place. So, that alone is worth celebrating and anticipating. This year, of course, none of the seasons are quite as expected. But, we can still have fun, right? Help Kids Get Into Winter This fun winter activity book is perfect for kids. There are numerous simple math games inside, along with a matching game or two. As you can see below, this winter activity book also has some shadow matching games for kids. This book is clearly for the younger set of children, ages 3-7. Shadow matching helps kids to analyze the shapes of objects, which is actually a necessary tool for kids as they learn to identify numbers and letters too. This skill is often called visual discrimination. Winter Activity Book This season, I am mostly hoping to stay healthy. I mean that’s the goal for most of us right now. But, beyond that I am of course looking forward to all the winter sports again. Skiing and skating and tobogganing, maybe a little tubing too. I feel like there’s no reason I can’t manage these outdoor winter sports with social distancing in mind and in place. Recognizing numbers and letters is crucial for kids starting school and embracing on early literacy. Months from now, I hope we are all patting ourselves on the back telling stories of how we survived this pandemic. In the mean time, stay well and be safe and enjoy a few easy indoor activities for families. Winter Word Searches are also another way to stay busy and have fun! Don’t Miss this Winter Colouring Page too! And finally check out my free printables board on Pinterest for more ideas. OH, FYI the free Santa’s wish list letter template is super hot right now! Stay warm and well!

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Fans of Baby Yoda! Mandalorian Activity Pack for Kids

Paula — Mon, 04 May 2020 12:37:00 +0000

My oldest daughter and I started watching The Mandalorian on Disney Plus recently. Why? Well, so many reasons. Baby Yoda tops the list though. I mean how much adorable can you handle? Anyways, I figured right now would be a great time to share this three page Mandalorian Activity Pack. Post contains affiliate links. I receive a small commission via qualifying purchases and I provide this as a service to readers.. May the Fourth Be With You Today by the way!! Loving This Mandalorian Activity Pack with Word Games Have you seen the Mandalorian series yet? The concept is brilliant, the plot is highly entertaining and frankly, creator Jon Favreau is a bit of a genius. He came up with the concept because he apparently wanted to explore Yoda as a character. I mean of course!! We all love that kooky wise old sage. Yoda, the Child, is basically a fun show to watch with your kids, or even the entire family. If you have kids that are fans of Star Wars, then they will love this show. It is very wholesome by the way. Mad love for the show. Make Today the Day You Start the Series! Did you know that the Mandalorian is mostly animatronics and puppetry with a bit of computer generated imagery? That first episode where they set up the father son, parent child relationship sucked us right in hook, line and sinker. Get the Mandalorian Activity Pack Here Mandalorian Activity Pack – Word Scramble Answers Do not let the kids see this, but keep it for yourself in case they get stuck. Enjoy this Kid’s Mandalorian A to Z word game challenge. Just download via the secure link above. The file contains the three pages shown here. Happy Watching and Hope you enjoy these word games too. Thanks for reading! Are you a fan of this Disney show? If so, who is your favourite character? If you enjoyed this and love the show then don’t miss my 100 Baby Yoda gifts.

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