Christmas Q-tip Painting Printable: 12 Days of Christmas
Who says children need to trace letters to learn to write? This Christmas Q-tip painting printable teaches letter formation in a fun way.
Welcome to Day 10 of 12 Days of Free Christmas Printable Activities. This is my thank you gift to you for being a part of the Printable Parents community and support our family-run, small business!
Every time I see a commercial workbook for children with 30 letter Cs on one page, I kind of want to scream.
There are more developmentally appropriate and more effective ways to learn to print letters.
- Related: How to Improve Pencil Grasp
The Christmas Q-tip painting printable is a better way: it’s more fun, it promotes a better pencil grasp, and it teaches how to print the letter in an explicit way.
So while you have a bunch of things to do right now for the holidays, you don’t need to stress about finding a fun and purposeful activity. Use the Christmas Q-tip painting printable instead.
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Christmas Q-Tip Painting Printable
This printable is C is for Candy Cane. Your child will start with the capital letter C and follow the formation arrows to correctly print the C.
Watch to make sure your child is using his or her “helper hand.” This means the non-dominate hand is holding the paper.
The necessary supplies are simple: All your child needs is:
- the printable (scroll on down)
- washable paints
- q-tips
What’s the point of Q-tip Painting?
You might be thinking – “come on, why is q-tip painting so great, anyway?”
We’ll I’m glad you asked!
Hand-eye coordination
Q-tip painting is great for hand-eye coordination.
The dots for q-tip painting printable are small. Thus, children really have to focus paint inside those small spaces.
Writing in a small space
Children need good fine motor control to work in a small space. They can strengthen their hands in a lot of ways.
Dotting the dots for q-tip painting help strengthen that control.
And I want to point out this is a separate skill from learning to form the letters properly.
Good pencil grip
Painting with a q-tip promotes a good pencil grip. It is so short that your child has to use a tripod grasp (three fingers).
This repetition will bring the muscle memory your child needs.
Proper letter formation
Having a good pencil grip is different than learning to print with proper formation. The large size helps your child focus on proper formation.
The directional arrows show your child where to start and how to continue.’
So q-tip painting seems like just a lot of fun but really it packs a ton of skills!
Christmas Q-Tip Painting Alphabet Printable Pack
Need more practice? Grab this incredibly fun and effective (and affordable) Christmas Alphabet Q-tip Painting Pack!
This adorable Christmas alphabet printable booklet is also really purposeful. Like the candy cane printable, your child will practice correctly forming letters while painting with a q-tip.
This supports proper pencil grip and proper letter formation. Plus it’s fun!
Each page also has an easy-to-read sentence (1st-2nd grade level) to build vocabulary in your child
My 8-year-old has been doing 2-3 pages a day and it’s really helping with her handwriting while building her vocabulary.
If desired, bind with the cover and do one page a day (so it has time to dry). Or do multiple pages, and then bind as a keepsake.
Conclusion
Q-tip painting isn’t a gimmick. It really purposeful and it builds a lot of skills in your child. Download the Candy Cane Christmas Q-tip Painting Printable today.
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