Here in the US, kids are getting ready to go back to school. And most of them haven’t been writing much in the last 6-8 weeks. At the kindergarten level, some children will have forgotten any lowercase letters they knew in the spring. At the 1-2 grade levels, it is not uncommon for kids to…… Continue reading Make Handwriting Fun While Getting Ready For The New School Year
Category: handwriting
Problems With Handwriting? You Need The Best Eraser
A good eraser can make a frustrated child more willing to fix writing errors. A bad eraser confirms their failure as a writer. Occupational therapists in some schools hand out HWT pencils and a variety of pencil grips like candy, but many forget about how important it is for kids to erase mistakes…… Continue reading Problems With Handwriting? You Need The Best Eraser
Taping The Paper To The Table For Your Child? Stop!
Many young children between 2 and 5, especially children with low muscle tone or postural instability, will struggle with bilateral control. In preschool, one way to notice this is to see the paper sliding around the table while a child colors. The common response of teachers (and parents) is to tape the paper down. Oops!…… Continue reading Taping The Paper To The Table For Your Child? Stop!
Prevent the Summer Slide in Handwriting By Making It Fun To Write
“The Summer Slide” is the phenomenon of losing academic skills during summer vacation. With the exception of the children who insist on you buying them workbooks and those that read a book a day by choice, all summer long, summer slide will happen to most children. Here are some strategies to limit it’s effect on…… Continue reading Prevent the Summer Slide in Handwriting By Making It Fun To Write
Can HWT’s Flip Crayons Transform Pencil Grasp in Preschoolers?
I gave a mom a few of Handwriting Without Tear’s flip crayons this week. She was amazed at what her son did with them. He picked them up, examined them and proceeded to figure out how best to hold them without a word from me. He automatically achieved the mature grasp that we had been…… Continue reading Can HWT’s Flip Crayons Transform Pencil Grasp in Preschoolers?
Want A Stronger Pencil Grasp? Use a Tablet Stylus
The trick? They need to use a short stylus and play apps that require primarily drag-and-drop play. Stop them from only tapping that screen today, because tapping alone will not make much of a difference in strength and grading of force. Why will drag-and-drop play work? The resistance of the stylus tip on the…… Continue reading Want A Stronger Pencil Grasp? Use a Tablet Stylus
Child Writing Too Lightly on Paper? It Might Not Be Hand Strength Holding Him Back
If your child barely makes a mark when he scribbles or writes, most adults assume that grasp is an issue. Today’s post suggests that something else could be the real reason for those faint lines. Limitations in postural and bilateral control contribute far more to lack of pressure when writing than most parents and teachers…… Continue reading Child Writing Too Lightly on Paper? It Might Not Be Hand Strength Holding Him Back
Does An Atypical Pencil Grasp Damage Joints or Support Function In Kids With Hypermobility?
As a pediatric OTR, I am often asked to assess and teach proper pencil grasp. Once you start looking, you see a lot of interesting patterns out there. When a child clearly has low muscle tone and/or hypermobile joints, the question of what to do about an atypical pencil grasp used to puzzle me. I…… Continue reading Does An Atypical Pencil Grasp Damage Joints or Support Function In Kids With Hypermobility?
Strengthening A Child’s Pencil Grasp: Three Easy Methods That Work
When a child makes fast progress from a fisted grasp to a mature pencil grasp in therapy, parents notice. This isn’t easy to accomplish, but it is possible. I spent the first decade of my pediatric OT career thinking that finger exercises were the answer. Nope. Here are my three favorite strategies to…… Continue reading Strengthening A Child’s Pencil Grasp: Three Easy Methods That Work
Avoiding Letter Reversals In Preschool
Are letter reversals in preschool normal? Yes. Can you avoid them, and thus speed up the accuracy and automaticity that are hallmarks of successful handwriting? Sure! This post will explain why reversals are slowing kids down unnecessarily and how to limit letter and number reversals right from the start. Writing letters backward is very common…… Continue reading Avoiding Letter Reversals In Preschool
Hypermobility in Young Children: When Flexibility Isn’t Functional
Your grandma would have called it being ” double jointed”. Your mom might mention that she was the most flexible person in every yoga class she attended. But when extra joint motion reduces your child’s performance or creates pain, parents get concerned. Sometimes pediatricians and orthopedists do not. Why would that happen? A measure…… Continue reading Hypermobility in Young Children: When Flexibility Isn’t Functional
Young Children With Dysgraphia Need Better Handwriting Instruction, Not Just Technology.
The diagnosis of dysgraphia is so vague that I almost hesitate to write about it. The reason I am dipping a toe into these messy waters? Almost every psychologist that gives a child this diagnosis recommends abandoning handwriting in favor of tablets and speech recognition programs. I feel strongly that this does young children a…… Continue reading Young Children With Dysgraphia Need Better Handwriting Instruction, Not Just Technology.
Should Your Child Use A Pencil Grip?
I will be asked about pencil grips every time I teach a workshop or lecture on handwriting. My popular post, The Pencil Grip That Strengthens Your Child’s Fingers As They Write. , partially explains when and why I would recommend the use of this excellent pencil grip with older kids. I have a message for preschool teachers…… Continue reading Should Your Child Use A Pencil Grip?
Finger Awareness and Math Skills: Recent Research, and “Where is Thumbkin?”
The Atlantic magazine ran a terrific article, Why Kids Should Use Their Fingers in Math Class, and I am still blown away with the connections they make between brain activity during finger movements and during math calculation and comprehension. Let me get out my hands and count the ways I could use this information!…… Continue reading Finger Awareness and Math Skills: Recent Research, and “Where is Thumbkin?”
Teach Your Kindergartener How To Erase Like a Big Kid
Does it matter how a child erases their mistake? You are probably thinking that I ran out of topics for my blog this week. Not exactly. I was thinking about what makes my handwriting posts different than other bloggers that publish posts on early writing skills. I like to look at all the details when…… Continue reading Teach Your Kindergartener How To Erase Like a Big Kid
Which Crayons Promote Mature Writing Grasp?
It is back-to-school time here in the U.S. Stores are pushing clothes, backpacks, shoes and school supplies. Time for teachers to set up their classrooms and get excited about a new school year. When I see the amazing variety of crayons on display at Target or Walmart, it reminds me to speak to the families…… Continue reading Which Crayons Promote Mature Writing Grasp?
Frustrating Homework? Adapt Children’s Worksheets For Success
The new school year is beginning here on the east coast, and kids will be getting new workbooks and worksheets for homework. Over the years, I have seen a staggering variety of mass-produced assignments that could only be designed by adults who spend very little time with young children, and none with kids that have…… Continue reading Frustrating Homework? Adapt Children’s Worksheets For Success
Your Best Pre-Writing Activities List: Target Key Skills And Have Fun!
The school year is coming up fast, and parents are wondering what skills their preschoolers are going to need. Finding fun things to do with the rest of the summer that actually build skills, not just entertain the troops, isn’t easy, even for occupational therapists. Here are my current favorites: Bring out the scissors and…… Continue reading Your Best Pre-Writing Activities List: Target Key Skills And Have Fun!
Summer Fun Pre-Writing Activities
Here in the U.S., summer is fully underway. Pools, camps, and vacations! Handwriting isn’t really on anyone’s radar. Except mine. Without practice, kids with learning differences, motor control issues, and visual-perceptual concerns can lose a lot of the skills that they worked so hard on all year long in therapy. Here is a fun…… Continue reading Summer Fun Pre-Writing Activities
Why Writing An “M” Like a Mountain Slows Handwriting Progress
I had this conversation with a very sharp grandma this week. She was curious about why I did not teach her granddaughter to write an “M” this way, since it is so much easier than the standard formation. Here is my answer: Teaching it incorrectly? No! None of the common handwriting styles (Zaner-Bloser, D’Nealian,…… Continue reading Why Writing An “M” Like a Mountain Slows Handwriting Progress