Why does my child's small r keep turning into an n?

The hump is going too far. Small r goes down, back up, and makes a little hump that stops in the air. Trace one together and say "stop" where the hump ends.

Which pictures are on the R words sheet?

Six of these ten, in a new mix each time you print: ring, rug, rock, rope, rose, robot, rabbit, rocket, ruler and rainbow. Each word starts with the r sound.

My four year old says w for r. Should we practise the sound?

Not with a worksheet. Saying w for r is common at this age and often lasts until six or so. Say the picture words clearly when you trace them together. If it worries you, a speech therapist can tell you whether it is on track.

Letter R worksheets for preschool, free printable PDF

Letter R worksheets

Letter R tracing worksheet for preschool, capital and small letter on penmanship guides — The picture follows the options you pick. Tap to see another version.

Letter R worksheets for ages three to five, in preschool or early kindergarten. One sheet is capital R and small r as dotted outlines on alternate rows. The other has six pictures, a rope or a robot perhaps, each with its word to trace.

Free printable PDF worksheet.

One page for every letter

Each letter has its own page, with its strokes in words, its sounds and, for most letters, a sheet of words that start with it.

The words you'll trace

Say each picture's name. Listen for the first sound. Then trace the word beside it.

ring
rug
rock
rope
rose
robot
rabbit
rocket
ruler
rainbow

Every picture's name starts with the letter's sound, and beside it the word is printed as a dotted outline on a writing guide. The key page writes the words out in ink.

These are every picture the sheet has for this letter. Each print takes 6 of the 10, so the next sheet is a different mix.

What's on each sheet

Letter tracing. Trace the letter on each line. Then write it yourself on the rest of the line. 6 rows per page.
Words that start with the letter. Say each picture's name. Listen for the first sound. Then trace the word beside it. 6 of the 10 words, a new mix every time you print.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

Every other letter prints from one form on Preschool letter tracing.

How to teach this

Capital R starts the way P does. Pull a line straight down from the top, go back to the top, and make a bump that comes back to the line in the middle. Then, from where the bump ends, slant a leg down to the bottom line on the right. Small r is short. Start at the middle line, pull down to the bottom, go back up the same line and make a small hump to the right that stops before it comes down. Say it as you go: down, up, over. The sound is r as in rug, with no "er" in front of it. If your child says "wabbit" for rabbit, leave it alone on this sheet. Plenty of four year olds swap w for r, and you saying the words clearly does more than a correction would.

Watch for: A small r whose hump runs on and drops back down is an n. The hump stops short, like a shrug, and the pencil lifts there. Capital R drawn as a P with a stick added somewhere else. The leg starts exactly where the bump meets the line, so the letter holds together.

Common questions about letter R

Why does my child's small r keep turning into an n?: The hump is going too far. Small r goes down, back up, and makes a little hump that stops in the air. Trace one together and say "stop" where the hump ends.
Which pictures are on the R words sheet?: Six of these ten, in a new mix each time you print: ring, rug, rock, rope, rose, robot, rabbit, rocket, ruler and rainbow. Each word starts with the r sound.
My four year old says w for r. Should we practise the sound?: Not with a worksheet. Saying w for r is common at this age and often lasts until six or so. Say the picture words clearly when you trace them together. If it worries you, a speech therapist can tell you whether it is on track.