Sensory Writing Ideas for Young Children

Fun Sensory Pre-Writing Activities

Salt, flour, sand, etc… on a cookie tray practice writing names.

Make letters with play dough. You can find recipes online or buy other types of sensory materials at the dollar store: floam or gak. Example: Foam Dough: shaving cream and cornstarch.

Colored paint, soap, hair gel or baby oil/ food coloring or paint in a gallon zip lock bag. Practice making letters (can put paper with letters written on it underneath).

Shaving cream on a table, a window or in the bathtub.

Look for letters in the house and in the community when driving or walking. You can focus on one letter at a time. License plates, store signs, books buttons in the house food labels etc…

Writing on paper with different textures and using different mediums (sandpaper, contact paper, chalk, markers, paint, finger paints).

A stick and some dirt once it starts getting nicer out.

Stamping letters (you can cut out letters out of sponges and stamp them on paper or buy stamps if you prefer).

Use a bread stick recipe to make bread stick letters or any recipe that you can shape the food (i.e. cookies) or you can buy cookie cutters.

Have little one make the letters with their body and take a picture to show them.

Invisible ink: Half a lemon and Water: Squeeze some lemon juice into the bowl and add a few drops of water. Dip a Q-tip into the mixture and write a message onto white paper. Wait for the juice to dry so it becomes completely invisible. When you are ready to read your secret message, heat the paper by holding it close to a light bulb or to a blow dryer. (I have had varied success with this technique. When it works, it is a lot of fun)!

Make letters with pipe cleaners, yarn, sprinkles, glitter, coffee grounds, spices, dirt (sensory letter journal)

Make letters with masking tape on the floor. Walk, jump, crawl, crab walk around the letter.

Use paint and different types of paint brushes and paint (q-tips, cotton balls, carrot sticks, pencils in paint … any different tool can be used that you have around… it can make something basic more exciting and fun!!!) (mix shaving cream and glue to make puffy paint, use a glue bottle to write with glue or an empty bottle to write over a letter that’s already written by you on a piece of paper or add glitter to paint)

With chalk outside write the letter on the pavement or in the snow together and then walk along the letter.

You can spray the snow with a water bottle with water and food coloring to make the letters in the snow. Once it gets nicer outside you can use water in a spray bottle to make the letters on the pavement also.

Parking lot game: draw a parking lot on paper and put the letter on the parking spots and ask child to park a play car on the letter. Once they start to learn some letters, have him tell you what letter to park on.

Use golf tees, play hammer and large piece of Styrofoam from packaging. Write the letter on the Styrofoam and have child use the hammer to put the golf tees around the letter.