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Activities
to Improve Pre-Writing Skills
1. Wheelbarrow
walking-child's hands are on floor, pick up feet and "walk"
child on his/her hands.
2. Pouring from small pitcher to specific level in clear glass.
Increase size of pitcher as strength increases.
3. Rope turning/jump rope
4. Slinky--shift back and forth with palm up.
5. Volleyball-type activities where hands, paddles, or rackets
are in palm-up position. (Balloon volleyball)
6. Floor activities--large mural painting, floor puzzles, coloring
when lying on stomach on floor.
7. Working on a vertical surface, especially above eye level.
Activities can be mounted on a clip board or taped to surface
or chalkboard/easel. Examples: pegboards, Lite Brite, Etch-a-sketch(
upside down), Magna doodle, outlining, coloring, painting, writing.
8. Clothespins/pinching. Put letters on clothespins and spell
words by clipping on edge of shoe box. Use a clothespin to do
finger "push-ups" by using the pads of the thumb and
index finger to open a clothespin and count repetitions.
9. Bead stringing/lacing with tip of finger against thumb
10. Inch a pencil or chopstick positioned in tripod grasp toward
and away from palm. The shaft should rest in open web space.
11. Squirrel objects into palm (pick up with index finger and
thumb, move into palm without using the other hand)
12. Squirt bottles.
13. Use tongs/tweezers to pick up blocks/small objects
14. Pennies into piggy bank or slot cut in plastic lid. Coins
can also be put into slots cut in foam.
15. Finger plays/string games such as Cat's Cradle
16. Screw/unscrew lids
17. Squeeze sponges to wash off table, clean windows, shower,
etc.
18. Play dough/silly putty activities
19. Pop bubble wrap
20. Use a turkey baster or nasal aspirator to blow cork or ping
pong balls back and forth. These can also be used to squirt water
to move floating object/toys.
21. Tear pieces of construction paper into small pieces and paste
the different colors of paper on a simple picture from a coloring
book, or make your own design.
22. Moving objects with tweezers-can use the large ones from Bed
Bugs game or kitchen tongs.
23. Dot-dots, color by number, mazes
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Proper
Writing Position
The optimal position for writing includes the ankle, knee and hip
at right (90 degrees) angles with the forearms resting on the desk.
The top of the desk should be approximately 2 inches above the elbows
when the arms are at the student's side.
Pencil
Grip
One
of the most common problems occupational therapists in the school
are consulted about is improper pencil grasp. While the most efficient
way to hold a pencil is the dynamic tripod grasp, many other patterns
are commonly seen in children and it does not always require intervention
or modification. In the dynamic tripod grasp, the pencil is held
between the thumb and index finger, with the pencil resting on the
middle finger.
Click here
to see pictures of efficient and inefficient grasp patterns.
Children hold
their pencils in patterns other than the dynamic tripod for a variety
of reasons. One common reason is participating in a lot of writing
before their hands are developmentally ready for this activity.
It is important
to try to modify the pencil grasp as early as possible, since many
students seem to have developed bad habits even before entering
kindergarten. Adaptive pencil grips may be helpful in teaching students
to modify their grasp. There are many different types of grips available.
For a pencil grip to be effective, the student needs to be involved
in choosing the grip and to understand the importance of using it.
Handwriting
without Tears
Handwriting
Without Tears is a multi-sensory handwriting program that uses hands-on
manipulatives to prepare children for handwriting. It addresses
the development of fine motor skills and posture for writing, and
incorporates the developmental sequences involved in handwriting.
The program provides instructions in pre-printing, printing, and
cursive using multi- sensory techniques. It assists in identifying
appropriate transition times from readiness to printing, and printing
to cursive. The program also incorporates techniques to prevent
reversal of letters and numbers. The program runs from pre-school
through 5th grade.
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