At-Home Learning Packets

ENGLISH | APRIL

Grade

PRE-K
Includes:
Learning Without Tears Materials

Have questions? We’re here to help. Contact us at customeroutreach@LWTears.com or 888.983.8409.

Introduction Letter

Dear Friends,

All of us at Learning Without Tears™ are committed to helping you continue student learning,
even when schools are closed. We are providing you and your students free resources to help
parents and caregivers support learning while children are out of school. You can find access
to all our free online products and resources at LWTears.com.

In addition, we are providing easy to print and copy At-Home Learning Packets. The packets
use the Handwriting Without Tears, developmentally based curriculum designed to engage
children of all learning styles. They are easy to use whether or not your students are currently
using the Learning Without Tears Curriculum.

These pages were created for extra handwriting practice. The lessons focus on good habits
for numbers, letters, words, and sentences. In the older grades, they help with punctuation,
poem, and paragraph skills, and review number formations. The At-Home Learning Packets are
organized by grade and available in English and Spanish. They include lowercase formation
and cursive where appropriate.

The first few pages include grade-level letter and number formation charts, so you’ll know
what to say when you help your child form their letters and numbers.

We are committed to helping you and your students mitigate any learning loss as you respond
to this unprecedented health issue. We are here to support you throughout, so please reach
out with any questions or concerns.

Thank you!

If you would like more information about free resources to support distance learning,
please go to LWTears.com/programs/distance-learning.
 Capital Letter Formation Chart

Big Line Big Line Big Curve Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Curve Big Line Big Line
A B C D E F G H I
Big Line Little Curve Big Curve Little Line Little Line Little Line Big Line Little Line
Little Line Little Curve Little Line Little Line Little Line Little Line Little Line
Little Line

Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Curve Big Line Big Curve Big Line
J K L M N O P Q R
Turn Little Line Little Line Big Line Big Line Big Curve
Keep going Little Curve Big Curve
Keep going Little Curve
Little Line Little Line Big Line Big Line Little Line Little Line
Big Line

Little Curve Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Line Little Line Little Line
S T U V W X Y Z
Little
Turn Curve Little Line Turn Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Line
Little Curve Big Line Big Line Little Line
Big Line
www.getsetforschool.com

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

Number Formation Chart

1 starts at the 6 starts at the

Big Line down Big Line down, turn and curl up

2 starts at the 7 starts at the

Big Curve to the bottom Little Line across the top
Little Line across Big Line slides down

3 starts at the 8 starts at the

Little Curve to the middle Begin with S, up to the top
Little Curve to the bottom

4 starts at the 9 starts at the

Little Line down Little Curve, up
Little Line across the middle Big Line down
Big Line down the center

5 starts at the First, write 1

Little Line down to the middle 1 starts at the
Little Curve to the bottom Big Line down
Little Line across the top Next, write 0
0 starts at the
Big Curve, keep going
Stop

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

Activities for Feeling Faces

Children have feelings about what happens to them. Characters in stories have feelings too.
Illustrations help children understand what’s happening and how the characters are feeling.
Something that happens in a story may make a character happy, sad, scared, or mad. Below are
some examples of ways to use Feeling Faces at home to identify and express different emotions.

sad happy scared mad

Print and cut out the Feeling Faces on the pages below. You can use objects such as popsicle sticks,
plastic spoons, or pencils at home to attach each face to, or just use them as is. Read a picture book
with your child, stopping periodically to discuss how the characters feel. Ask your child to hold up the
corresponding Feeling Face. You can continue the discussion by asking your child to share different
times he/she has felt the same way as the character. You can also describe scenarios and ask children
to hold up the Feeling Face that shows how they would feel. For example, “You dropped your ice
cream on the ground!” or “Your soccer team won the game!”

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

 Feeling Faces

fold
fold

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

 Feeling Faces

fold
fold

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

 Fine Motor and Letter Practice for Home
Hand skills are crucial to successful handwriting. Small movements of the hand are referred to as fine motor
skills. If you believe that your child needs extra activities to strengthen his/her hands or fine motor skills, here
are a few suggestions of activities to do with your child.
• Do finger plays. Find books with finger plays at your library.
• Cut pictures from newspapers or magazines. Take a large black marker and draw a line around the picture to give a guideline.
• Put together small beads, Legos, Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, etc.
• Knead dough or clay and build an object.
• Find small objects hidden in the dough.
• Play pegboard games.
• Gather small objects from around the house (small buttons, beads, etc.) and place them in a container. Pick them up off
the table with a pair of tweezers and place them back in the container.
• Play with any toys that require moving or placing little pieces.
• Squirt a water bottle outdoors on the sidewalk.
• Squeeze a kitchen baster to move cotton balls with air. Have a race on the table.
• Finger paint with Jell-O or cocoa on a paper plate.
• Use small marshmallows and toothpicks to form letters.
• String popcorn, buttons, or beads to make necklaces.
• Create a design on a piece of paper with a hole punch.
• Clip clothespins to a container.
• Lace cards.

You can do several fun activities at home to encourage letter practice. Make sure to always model the letter for
your child. A few activities are listed below:
• While your child is in the bathtub, draw letters on the wall of the tub in shaving cream or soap paint.
• Take turns tracing letters on each other’s backs and guess the letter. (Write the letter on a piece of paper.)
• Finger paint letters.
• Write letters on the sidewalk with chalk.
• Trace letters in the snow or in the sand.
• Forms letters out of dough or clay.
• Make cookie letters. Form the letters by rolling the dough and putting the pieces together.
• Form letters out of French fries.
• Make letters with pipe cleaners.
• Draw letters on the carpet with your fingers.
• Decorate a letter collage using glitter, paint, and markers.
• Use different types of pencils for writing practice (gel pens, colored pencils, scented markers, crayons, etc.).
• Write your shopping lists together.
• Use a flashlight and make letters on the wall. Guess the letter that was made. Cut out letter templates to place in front
of the flashlight.
• Put letters on a die. Roll the die and write a word that starts with the letter.
• Fish for words. Place cut-out fish in a shoebox. Write words or letters on the fish. Attach paper clips to the fish and
adapt a small pole with a magnet. Come up with a word or sentence using the letter or word on the fish that is caught.
• Write with icing tubes.

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

Activities for Cutouts for Wood Pieces

The Wood Pieces for Capital Letters are one of our favorite
manipulatives for teaching children capital letter formation, size,
shape, and more. Print several copies of the Cutouts for Wood
Pieces and cut out each piece.

For an additional activity, help your child color code the pieces
for fun and easy identification (e.g. color all Big Lines blue, all
Little Lines green). Tip: Have children color the Wood Pieces before
cutting them out.

Once you have your homemade Wood Pieces ready, use the Wood
Piece Letter Chart to help your child build different letters. Start
by forming the first letter of your child’s name. Use the formation
language provided on the chart to walk your child through building
the letter, step by step. Encourage children to say the names with you:

Big Line, Little Line, Big Curve, Little Curve.

This is the language they are used to using to build their capital letters.

Next, you and your child can identify objects around the room and build the letter they begin with.
For example, “I see our cat! What letter does cat start with?” Then build capital letter C, being sure
to say the formation language as your child builds the letter. “Big Curve!”

Additionally, your child can use the

homemade Wood Pieces to build patterns,
shapes, or anything else their imagination
conjures up! Print the Pattern Board pages
in this packet and have your child lay the
matching Wood Pieces on top. Encourage
your child to elaborate and add detail.
For example, your child can add crayons
around the outside of the circle to make it
look like a sun with rays.

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

 Cutouts for Wood Pieces
After printing, check the size. The Big Line
should be 10 1/16" by 1 1/16".

Little Curve

Big Curve
Little Line
Big Line

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

 Wood Pieces Letter Chart

Big Line Big Line Big Curve Big Line Big Line Big Line Big Curve Big Line Big Line
Big Line Little Curve Big Curve Little Line Little Line Little Line Big Line Little Line
Little Line Little Curve Little Line Little Line Little Line Little Line Little Line
Little Line

J
Big Line
Turn
Big Line
Little Line
Big Line
Little Line
Big
Big
Line
Line
Big Line
Big Line
Big Curve
Big Curve
Big Line
Little Curve
Big Curve
Big Curve
Big Line
Little Curve
Little Line Little Line Big Line Big Line Little Line Little Line
*See Note Big Line

*NOTE:
We do not use
Wood Pieces for

Little Curve
Little Curve
Big Line
Little Line
U
Big Line
Turn
Big Line
Big Line
Big
Big
Line
Line
Big Line
Big Line
Little Line
Big Line
Little Line
Big Line
capital J and U.

Big Line Big Line Little Line

*See Note Big Line
Kick Start Kindergarten Teacher’s Guide p. 162; Letters and Numbers for Me Teacher’s Guide p. 162 © 2018 Learning Without Tears
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen A Click

Handwriting Without Tears®© 2020 Learning
AwayWithout Tears
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen A Click

Handwriting Without Tears©® 2020 Away
Learning Without Tears
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen A Click

Handwriting Without Tears©® 2020 Away
Learning Without Tears
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen Handwriting Without Tears® A Click Away

© 2020 Learning Without Tears
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen A Click

Handwriting Without Tears©® 2020 Away
Learning Without Tears
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen A Click

Handwriting Without Tears©® 2020 Away
Learning Without Tears
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen A Click

Handwriting Without Tears©® 2020 Away
Learning Without Tears
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen Handwriting Without Tears® A Click Away

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen Handwriting Without Tears® A Click Away
Pattern Cards for Wood Pieces

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen Handwriting Without Tears® A Click Away

© 2020 Learning Without Tears
 Help Me Write My Name
Children love their names! Does your child recognize their name? Do you see them trying to write their name? Teaching
children to write their name depends on two things: age and readiness.

Capital Name
Your child won’t always write in capitals, but it’s the easiest way for them to start. This is especially true for your
struggling writers or children with special needs. You can explain that there are two ways to write a name. The big letter
way and the little letter way. Show them both, but focus on capitals first. Explain to them that when their hands get
stronger, they can learn the other way, too.

1. Teach name in capitals with careful demonstration and imitation activities.

2. P
 ut your strip above your child’s strip. Demonstrate each letter on your strip and wait for your child
to imitate you. Do this letter by letter (see below).

Title Case Name

When you feel your child has had sufficient practice with their capitals, it’s time to add lowercase letters. Most children
look forward to learning this new skill. Teach title case name using demonstration and imitation on double lines. When
teaching their name in title case, consider using paper with wide double lines to give your child guidance. Use 8 ½" x 11"
paper with double lines drawn about 1.5 inches apart (see below).

© 2020 Learning Without Tears

 Help Me Write My Name

HELP ME WRITE MY NAME IN CAPITALS

Capitals are the first way to teach children their names. Capitals are the foundation for good handwriting habits. Demonstrate
how to start each letter at the top and form each letter correctly. Use the Capital Letter Formation Chart from school.

a a a a aaa a
Adult demonstrates.

a a a a aaa a
Child imitates.

a a a a aaa a
Help Me Write My Name in Title Case
Title case is for children who can already write their names in capitals. The beginning capital fits in a gray
block. Small letters fit between the double lines. Tall letters such as t, l, or h go above the double lines and
use the top space. Descending letters such as g, j, or y go below the double lines into the bottom space.
Demonstrate each letter and wait for the child to imitate you, letter by letter.

N a me
a
Adult demonstrates.

a
Child imitates.

a
© 2020 Learning Without Tears
 Help Me Write My Name in Title Case
Adult demonstrates.

a
Child imitates.

a
Adult demonstrates.

a
Child imitates.

a
Adult demonstrates.

a
Child imitates.

a
© 2020 Learning Without Tears