Zig Zag Painting

To practice the pre-writing skills necessary to begin to form letters I set up this art invitation for my preschooler. She loved zig zag painting while practicing her fine motor skills!

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E is already an avid writer but as an early childhood teacher I know this is not the case with most kids her age. (Luckily, homeschool preschool allows me the opportunity to nurture her natural talents and academic interests!)

Tracing is a precursor to writing. Begin with straight lines for the youngest writers asking them to trace from left to write (the direction that we read and write). Next you can add curved, diagonal, and finally zigzag lines! Painting was a creative change to the typical line tracing presented to preschoolers.

I printed out these varied zigzag patterns for her to explore with watercolors in a paint tray. My daughter wasn't too impressed with the vividness of the liquid watercolors we were using so she asked for markers. I love how she takes ownership over the materials she desires to create her projects. 

Staying within the lines requires precise fine motor skills. These pictures turned out so well! Since chevron is all the rage these would look great framed on a wall or given as a gift.

UPDATE: If you'd like to use the free zig zag printable we've created, you can get your own FREE copy by signing up for our weekly newsletters! Once you join our email subscribers you will receive a link to the page with all of our free printables.

This post is part of our Fine Motor Fridays series. For more fine motor activities, please visit the blogs of my creative co-hosts to see what they are writing about today:

Craft Foam Collage from Craftulate

One Ingredient Edible Paint from Lalymom

What is in the Grass? Cutting Activity from School Time Snippets

DIY Shape Sorter from Powerful Mothering

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