Make Report Writing Easier with this Visual Format

As children learn to write, they are also learning how to tell stories. Often when kids are starting to write stories we encourage drawing a picture and writing about what is shown, whether they are retelling a favorite fairy tale or a story from their most recent vacation.

Pictures can likewise be helpful when early writers seek to give nonfiction reports on something they have learned about. You Clever Monkey has printable report writing templates for sale to use in your studies of bees, butterflies, ants and spiders.

But the same concept can be used for lots of report-style writing, whether you provide the pictures for the student to write about or have them draw something related to what most stuck out to them or interested them about the subject.

This is a great way to get over the “I don’t know what to write about” hurdle and to help kids gain confidence in how to put together simple reports.

[Photo via You Clever Monkey.]

Lacing is a great fine motor activity, and most kids go through a phase where they enjoy working with lacing cards. It helps promote focus and is a great quiet activity for kids to do in the car or to fill time in the classroom. And of course knowing how to lace is the beginning of knowing how to sew, which is great for all kids to learn (more on teaching kids to sew here).

There are lots of ways to make your own lacing cards. This one is just a pin but it’s easy to make lacing cards with any shape a child is into using cardboard and a nail to poke the holes. This could be fun for letter and number recognition or spelling the child’s name. Or try this version from Hey Azka, which uses a hole punch to make bigger holes so you can lace with shoe laces.

You can also just do lacing cards with paper, but it’s a great idea to print them on card stock and/or laminate them to make them sturdier for little hands. Homeschool Share has a set of alphabet lacing cards, which are free with email signup. Deceptively Educational has a set of number lacing cards with numbers 0 to 10.

Picklebums has some basic shape lacing cards, too.

Living Life and Learning has a bunch of cute printable lacing cards, including back to school designs, shoes kids can lace and learn to tie and ocean themed lacing cards. She also has tips for making your own lacing cards.

A Rose Tinted World made their lacing cards with craft foam, which makes them a little more durable than paper and you can cut it more easily than cardboard. They used a die cutting machine but you can also cut shapes by hand.

I also love the cat and mouse cards from Seam Whisperer. They also have some spring themed designs. So cute!

If you want to make lacing cards that are more open ended, check out this tutorial form Pretty Life Girls to make lacing cards that are more like geo boards. Theirs are made with wood but you can also do this with cardboard, craft foam or card stock.

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