Wiggly Lines: Pre-Writing Patterns (EYFS)

Inside Wiggly Lines: Pre-Writing Patterns (EYFS)

big air-shapes with our whole arm, straight lines that go top to bottom, marks that travel left to right, zigzags like mountains, waves like the sea, and loops and circles that curl round. Print the pages and trace with a chunky pencil or crayon. About 15 gentle minutes with a grown-up.

Learning objectives

• big-arm movements and air-writing before small pencil marks, building shoulder and arm strength first;
• travelling top to bottom and left to right — the directions English writing and reading follow;
• tracing straight lines and zigzags, the strokes hiding inside letters like l, t, v and w;
• tracing waves, loops and anticlockwise circles, the curves behind letters like c, o, a, e and g;
• making patterns with fingers, chalk, ribbons, flour and sand so pattern practice feels like play.

Activities in this book

1. Pattern 1 — Big Arms in the Air

   stand up and make the shapes HUGE with a whole straight arm — big movements first, little pencil marks later. Say the shape out loud as you draw it in the air: "zig… zag!", "round… and round!"

2. Pattern 2 — Which Way Do We Go?

   pop a little green dot where each line starts. In English, marks travel from the top going down, and across the page from left to right — just like reading a story.

3. Pattern 3 — Straight Lines & Zigzags

   say a little rhyme as you trace — "down comes the rain" for straight lines, "up the mountain, down the mountain" for zigzags. Slow and steady keeps the pencil on the dots.

4. Pattern 4 — Waves, Loops & Circles

   for circles, start at the top and travel the same way as the letter c — up and over to the left. That round-the-wrong-way feeling is exactly right for letters later on!

5. Pattern 5 — Pattern Hunt at Home

   patterns are everywhere — and fingers love tracing in flour, sand, foam or steamy windows. Big chalk patterns outside are brilliant too. Play together and take your time.

Suggestions for teaching

• Big before small. Start every session with air-writing and whole-arm shapes; only then move to pencil-sized patterns.
• Print the pack. This book is designed for paper — print it and use a chunky pencil, crayon or felt-tip that little hands can hold comfortably.
• Mark the start. Pop a green dot where each line begins so top-to-bottom and left-to-right become a habit, not a rule to remember.
• Say it as you trace it. Little rhymes ("down comes the rain", "up the mountain, down the mountain", "all the way round and stop") anchor each movement.
• Circles go like a c. Encourage starting at the top and travelling anticlockwise — the same direction as c, o, a and d later on.