My 4-year-old is obsessed with letters and numbers. She is equally obsessed with drawing tools. However, she hasn’t been too keen on wielding the art-making tools to draw letters and numbers. I asked her why recently, and she told me it’s because her letters are “too squiggly.” I tell her that practice makes perfect, and that if she wants the lines in her letters to straighten out she just needs to keep writing them. To help her, I’ve downloaded a few apps that allow letter and number tracing. I’ve also armed her with a “special pencil” (a cheap stylus that she can use while tracing letters on the iPad. Here’s a list of some of the apps we’ve tested:
Beginning:
Crabby Writer teaches your child to pinch her thumb and forefinger together and trace letters. The theory is that this will help to teach the child proper technique for holding a pen or pencil. The letters are made out of shells encased in bubbles. The shell that the child should start with is largest, and the bubbles pop as the child traces over them. There are no errors or warnings, the letter simply will not trace if the child starts at the wrong point. My daughter caught on to the rules very quickly after some initial frustration. Crabs are a favorite food in our house, and the beach is well loved, so this app gets lots of play.
Clearly defined paths with no way to go off track and bright, animated colors that follow your child’s finger as she writes each letter make Writing Wizard a winner for beginning tracing skills. There’s a great balance of writing and other fun, so that the child won’t get too overwhelmed by the task of writing.
I highly recommend Little Writer Pro. Your child can trace letters, both upper and lower case, as well as numbers. The app identifies which order to draw each stroke in, as well as which direction to draw. It allows a modicum of wiggle room, so the child’s writing doesn’t have to be perfect to be acceptable. And after the child finishes each character she is shown an image of the letter as she drew it, not a perfectly polished version. Simple and to the point, I’ve seen DD1s writing improve as she enjoys playing with this app.
WriteForSchool allows you to set it for right-handed or left-handed use. One unique thing about this app is that it doesn’t prevent your child from drawing “out of bounds.” If the line goes astray, that error stays on the page and the child is prompted with a visual clue to return to the tracing line. The finished letter may thus have the mistakes displayed; much like it would look were your child drawing on paper. While simple, we found this app to be very helpful.
Advanced:
Little ABC Writer HD offers each letter of the alphabet on the large lined paper we all remember from elementary school. It doesn’t provide any information about which strokes to make first, or which direction to write in, so I’d suggest it for more advanced writers who are just polishing their technique.
Best for the Reluctant Writer:
Playdoh Create ABCs is what broke DD1 of her fear of her letters being too squiggley. You child follows dough dots to trace letters. Once she completes a letter it appears drawn in Playdoh, which is by nature, rough and imperfect. Seeing her letters created in this manner helped DD1 to realize that they don’t have to be “perfect.”After each letter your child is asked if she wants to create, out of virtual Play-Doh, an animal or object that begins with that letter. She is then asked to save or squish each creation. There is perhaps less letter writing done while playing this app, but the different activities may also mean your child doesn’t bore of it too quickly.
Specifically to develop the Pincer Grip:
Not specifically a letter tracing app, Chalk Walk helps your child to develop her pincer grip, preparing her hand muscles for holding a pencil. DD1 enjoyed this app, and I can see definite improvement in how she holds her pen and stylus now that she’s been using it for a few weeks. I will warn you though, DD1 hated this app when I first tried to show it to her. I think her pincer grip was really weak at that point, and she wasn’t mature enough to want to work through it. I dropped it for a few months, and when I recently re-introduced it, she was ready. I do wonder if the only reason I remember the name of this app is because my husband is a KU fan though.