by Betsy Sproger
Homeschooler and Consultant
Does your child struggle with writing her letters? Or does she have trouble holding a pencil, or tends to grasp it tightly?
Difficulty with her handwriting can often be related to two simple issues. either a lack of hand strength, or limited finger coordination.
I believe that improving handwriting skills happens best with a playful approach. By starting out with large motions, drawing large letters on construction paper, or in the air, you can incorporate movement into your learning! (and don't forget pudding finger painting!) There are many activities that can help to develop these issues, and some of them are listed below. Give your child a break from their everyday handwriting practice, while adding fun and play to your homeschool day!
DEVELOPING HAND STRENGTH:
1." Drawing on the Frig" -
Place a sheet of paper on the frig, at your student's eye level. Encourage him to draw, or write on the paper. This will position the wrist properly, and help to strengthen it, while also providing practice with the shoulder motions needed for good writing.
2. "Play dough party"
Work
ing and playing with play dough can help develop so many hand skills. Get out the playdough, and go for it! Molding it, rolling "snakes", making balls, etc, all help to build hand strength. And, if you like, have your child make a pizza with it! Then, get out the sissors, and cuts the pizza into slices. .....Fun and strengthening the hand at the same time!
Next, let's look at fine finger coordination.
DEVELOPING FINGER COORDINATION:
Regular crafts activities such as cutting, drawing, finger painting, lego building, stringing beads, and playing jacks are all great activities to develop fine motor coordination. But what do you do if our child shys away from arts and crafts? Below are some additional activities that you might consider:
1. More Playdough Play: Make tiny balls out of the play dough, then move them around in the hand, from one finger to the other, using the finger tips. This is great for small muscle coordination.
2. Pencil Play: Take a pencil and move it around in a circle, from one finger to the other...using just one hand. Make it a contest!
3. Tweezers Play: Using twezzers, pick up small objects, like beans, and place them into a container with a small opening. Use small bottles with small openings, to challenge your kids, and make it fun.
WHAT ABOUT GRASP?
Next, let's look at how your child holds a pencil. Developing a "mature grasp pattern" or fine pincer grasp, can really help a child to write more easily.
Kids often start with a "palmar grip" pattern, ie, holding the crayon in the palm of the hand, with the fingers wrapped closely around it. This is a very common early grasp pattern, and a normal part of development. Some kids naturally move to a more mature, or fine pincer grasp, over the years, as they grow, but some kids don't yet, and that is ok.
There are ways to encourage this fine pincer grip. It's just holding the tip of pencil or pen with the tips of the thumb and first two fingers. Using wider pencils or felf pens can help to make the learning easier. Remember, it takes time, and a playful approach helps a lot! I recommend just experimenting with your child, then playing with it, through games such as these:
FINE PINCER GRASP FUN:
1. Bubble wrap game-
Using bubble wrap, squeezing the bubbles with the thumb and index finger can provide great practice, while popping the bubbles with the fingertips. Make it a game and pinch along a path on the bubble wrap!
2. PLAYING WITH QUARTERS; Spinning a quarter, by flicking it with the index finger pressed against the thumb.
3. MARSHMELLOW FUN; Flicking marshmellows or cotton balls with the thumb and index finger. Make it a game!
We have used a lot of these activities in our homeschool, and we hope that these help you with your younger learners! ....and add some fun to your homeschooling day!
Betsy is a veteran homeschooler, blogger, homeschool consultant, and mom to her 17yo, who has just been accepted into two colleges! She blogs about their homeschooling journey towards college at BJ's Homeschool, including tips and help for researching college requirements, overall planning, and choosing high school curriculum, etc.
Betsy lives in the Pacific NW, and enjoys getting out in nature as a family. She is currently offering free Homeschool Consulting to new or experienced families. For more information, please go to My Homeschool Consulting
Homeschooler and Consultant
Does your child struggle with writing her letters? Or does she have trouble holding a pencil, or tends to grasp it tightly?
Difficulty with her handwriting can often be related to two simple issues. either a lack of hand strength, or limited finger coordination.
I believe that improving handwriting skills happens best with a playful approach. By starting out with large motions, drawing large letters on construction paper, or in the air, you can incorporate movement into your learning! (and don't forget pudding finger painting!) There are many activities that can help to develop these issues, and some of them are listed below. Give your child a break from their everyday handwriting practice, while adding fun and play to your homeschool day!
DEVELOPING HAND STRENGTH:
1." Drawing on the Frig" -
Place a sheet of paper on the frig, at your student's eye level. Encourage him to draw, or write on the paper. This will position the wrist properly, and help to strengthen it, while also providing practice with the shoulder motions needed for good writing.
2. "Play dough party"
Work
ing and playing with play dough can help develop so many hand skills. Get out the playdough, and go for it! Molding it, rolling "snakes", making balls, etc, all help to build hand strength. And, if you like, have your child make a pizza with it! Then, get out the sissors, and cuts the pizza into slices. .....Fun and strengthening the hand at the same time! Next, let's look at fine finger coordination.
DEVELOPING FINGER COORDINATION:
Regular crafts activities such as cutting, drawing, finger painting, lego building, stringing beads, and playing jacks are all great activities to develop fine motor coordination. But what do you do if our child shys away from arts and crafts? Below are some additional activities that you might consider:
1. More Playdough Play: Make tiny balls out of the play dough, then move them around in the hand, from one finger to the other, using the finger tips. This is great for small muscle coordination.
2. Pencil Play: Take a pencil and move it around in a circle, from one finger to the other...using just one hand. Make it a contest!
3. Tweezers Play: Using twezzers, pick up small objects, like beans, and place them into a container with a small opening. Use small bottles with small openings, to challenge your kids, and make it fun.
WHAT ABOUT GRASP?
Next, let's look at how your child holds a pencil. Developing a "mature grasp pattern" or fine pincer grasp, can really help a child to write more easily.Kids often start with a "palmar grip" pattern, ie, holding the crayon in the palm of the hand, with the fingers wrapped closely around it. This is a very common early grasp pattern, and a normal part of development. Some kids naturally move to a more mature, or fine pincer grasp, over the years, as they grow, but some kids don't yet, and that is ok.
There are ways to encourage this fine pincer grip. It's just holding the tip of pencil or pen with the tips of the thumb and first two fingers. Using wider pencils or felf pens can help to make the learning easier. Remember, it takes time, and a playful approach helps a lot! I recommend just experimenting with your child, then playing with it, through games such as these:
FINE PINCER GRASP FUN:
1. Bubble wrap game-
Using bubble wrap, squeezing the bubbles with the thumb and index finger can provide great practice, while popping the bubbles with the fingertips. Make it a game and pinch along a path on the bubble wrap!
2. PLAYING WITH QUARTERS; Spinning a quarter, by flicking it with the index finger pressed against the thumb.
3. MARSHMELLOW FUN; Flicking marshmellows or cotton balls with the thumb and index finger. Make it a game!
We have used a lot of these activities in our homeschool, and we hope that these help you with your younger learners! ....and add some fun to your homeschooling day!
Betsy is a veteran homeschooler, blogger, homeschool consultant, and mom to her 17yo, who has just been accepted into two colleges! She blogs about their homeschooling journey towards college at BJ's Homeschool, including tips and help for researching college requirements, overall planning, and choosing high school curriculum, etc.
Betsy lives in the Pacific NW, and enjoys getting out in nature as a family. She is currently offering free Homeschool Consulting to new or experienced families. For more information, please go to My Homeschool Consulting
