When your child is able to write with a standard pencil correctly, the Montessori method introduces the metal insets. These are various geometric shapes that are traced by an older preschool child, usually age four.

If you don’t have the metal insets you can use basic stencil shapes, such as a circle, square, triangle and rectangle to trace on paper.. Also, many wooden shape puzzles can be traced. Check your cupboard for pot lids, they make great circles for tracing, square and rectangular pans work well too!

The equipment doesn’t matter as much as the opportunity to learn about shapes and tracing them.