✏️ Nursery · Writing & pencil control · Ages 3–4 · about 4 weeks Dates: to

Pencil Play

Goal: Hold a crayon with the fingers and draw straight lines, circles, a cross and zigzags.

For parents: These strokes are the pieces every letter is made of. Short, thick crayons encourage a finger grip better than long pencils.

Do together

  1. Finger paths

    You need: Paper with large lines and curves drawn by an adult

    Trace a drawn line with a finger, then try it with an intact thick crayon while an adult stays nearby. Try a circle or zigzag next. Your child can choose the path and stop when their hand is tired.

  2. Road for the car

    You need: Paper, crayons, a small toy car

    Draw roads — straight, curvy, zigzag — and let your child trace each road with a crayon, then drive the car along it.

  3. Tong transfer

    You need: Kitchen tongs, whole socks and two unbreakable bowls

    With an adult beside them, let your child try moving whole socks between bowls with the tongs. Help them avoid pinching fingers. Using their hands is fine too; choose the action they can manage comfortably.

Talk about it

  • Can you draw a line from the top to the bottom?
  • Can you make a big circle? A small one?
  • Which hand do you like to draw with?

Words to use

  • top
  • bottom
  • straight
  • curve
  • zigzag
  • cross

Play (optional)

Play these games free

Every game is free for every family until 20 November 2026.

Your child can…

Ticks are saved on this device only. Move on when most are ticked.

on one A4 page, with space to write

Tick each one when you see it, and write the date. Move on when most are ticked.

We noticed:

wasilearn.com/learn/nursery/pencil-play · free home learning, ages 2–7