Valleys Tracing: Joined U-Curves — Medium, Half Tracing, 6 Rows, Ages 6–8

Cup-shaped valleys hang from the top guide line in six medium rows, and a little past the middle of each row the dashes stop, so a 6–8-year-old carries the garland on alone.

6 Years

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1 A4 page · for home and classroom use

All printables: Tracing lines

Valleys

How to use this worksheet

Put the pencil on the dark start dot on the top line and follow the solid model valley down, around the bottom and back up.
Trace the dashed valleys without lifting the pencil; each one ends on the top line exactly where the next begins.
Where the dashes stop, keep the same size and rhythm on your own to the end of the row.

What this worksheet teaches

The valley is the "garland" movement of handwriting: down, round and up, the swing inside u, w and y and in many joining strokes of cursive. With ten to twelve valleys per row, children practice keeping every curve round at the bottom, not pointed like a V, and bringing the line back exactly to the top rule. Traced and free valleys share a row, so your child can compare them and correct size and spacing alone.

Variation to try

In the untraced half of each row, ask your child to turn every third valley into a letter u by adding a short downstroke on its right side. Then read the row aloud together: valley, valley, u.

Questions and answers

Questions from parents

My child's valleys come out as sharp V shapes. What helps?

Slow down at the bottom of each curve. Saying "down, round, up" while drawing makes the turn rounder, and the dashed valleys earlier in the row show the right shape.

How far do the dashes go in each row?

To a little past the middle. The first valley is solid, the dashed ones follow, and the rest of the row has only the two guide lines.

Is this pattern useful before cursive lessons?

Yes. The valley is the same movement as the letter u and the joining strokes of cursive.