Free nursery worksheets and printables
Nursery is about strengthening small hands and enjoying mark-making. These are the books we recommend for the first year of early years.
Children in Nursery (ages 3 to 4) are still building the hand strength and shoulder stability that later make pencil control possible. The best nursery worksheets, therefore, are not really worksheets at all: they are mats to roll playdough on, pages to dab with a dot marker, pictures to cover in stickers and big, chunky lines to trace with a crayon.
Start with the hands-on books below, add the first pre-writing book when your child can hold a chunky crayon comfortably, and keep every session to five or ten minutes. All of our nursery printables are free PDFs; print at 100% so circles and dots stay the right size for real dot markers and stickers.
Best books for Nursery
Eight books to print first. Every one is a free PDF with a notes page for the adult.
Handwashing, Teeth and Getting Dressed
Wet, soap, rub, rinse, dry: put the steps in order.
Frequently asked questions
What should a nursery worksheet look like for a 3 year old?
Big shapes, thick lines, lots of space and one task per page. Our nursery books use chunky dotted lines, circles sized for dot markers and clear pictures children recognise.
Is my 3 year old ready for tracing?
If they can hold a crayon and make marks on purpose, start with the Straight Lines book and trace with a finger first. If not, stay with playdough, stickers and dot markers for a few more weeks.
Can nursery children use scissors?
Many 3 year olds can open and close child-safe scissors. Cutting Strips starts with single snips from the edge of the page, which is the right first step, always with an adult alongside.