Pencil Control Worksheets EYFS Pre-Writing

Pencil control worksheets for EYFS: 40+ pre-writing pages of lines, zigzags, curves, loops, spirals and shapes, from start dot to finish, for Nursery and Reception.

WHAT’S INSIDE (47 A4 pages)

• Straight lines (down, across, up), diagonals and crosses
• Zigzags, corners and steps, then wavy lines, rainbows and bumps
• Loops, spirals and circles, then squares, triangles, ovals, stars and hearts
• Picture paths (bee to flower, rocket to moon, car to garage), copy-the-pattern and finish-the-picture pages
• Regular ‘your turn’ drawing pages, a skills check page and a certificate

HOW TEACHERS USE IT

• Morning work or a fine motor table in Nursery and Reception
• Warm-up before letter formation: the strokes lead straight into letter families (l i t, c o a, v w x z)
• Fine motor intervention groups and OT-style practice at home
• Laminate or use plastic wallets so pages can be traced again and again

CURRICULUM LINKS

• EYFS ELG Fine Motor Skills: hold a pencil effectively in preparation for fluent writing, using the tripod grip in almost all cases; begin to show accuracy and care when drawing
• EYFS ELG Writing: groundwork for writing recognisable, correctly formed letters

WHAT YOU DOWNLOAD
Two PDF files with the same 47 A4 pages:

• pencil-control-worksheets-eyfs-pre-writing-colour.pdf: full colour
• pencil-control-worksheets-eyfs-pre-writing-black-and-white.pdf: black and white, kinder on the printer, with pictures left plain to colour
  Both print on US Letter too: choose “fit to page” in your print settings.

LICENCE
Your Tes licence lets you print as many copies as you need for the pupils you teach. To share it with colleagues in your school, tick the School Licence option at checkout.

ABOUT THIS RESOURCE
Made by Trace & Grow, a small early-years publisher in Birmingham. We used AI tools to help create some of the text and illustrations, and every page has been checked and edited by us before publishing.
Last updated: October 2026.