Work on  Hand Strengthening

               Improving Dexterity

               Visual Perception

               Building Trunk Strength

               Tactile Exploration

Check out  Valentine’s Day

Move on to Let’s Draw!

Hand writing is a culmination of many things:

1. I. Mechanics for Motor Control
   

    -Hands and fingers need to be strong

    -The fingers need to move independently

    -Both hands need to work together (one holds the pencil while the other  hold paper)

    -The eyes need to focus on the hands and paper while directing the movement

II.Basic spatial concepts need to form: 

      -Vertical  and horizontal lines

      -Parallel lines

      -Diagonals (an integration of the above)

      -Curves

      -Combining above strokes and drawing shapes

      - Size and Space

III.An integration of  I and II needs to occur requiring

      -refined fine motor dexterity

      -bilateral motor coordination

      -good motor planning

      -developing visual perceptual skills  (visual memory, directionality)

      -basic cognitive conceptualization (symbol recognition and understanding)

WOW!

Perhaps this is why LEADING experts in hand writing recommend waiting until the child is in first grade to begin a formal writing program.  The very earliest, real teaching of letters should begin  is mid year in Kindergarten.  Before this,  writing should be a “back burner” experience while manipulative activities that develop many of the things listed above as well as letter recognition games should occur.  AND reading to the child.

In several of the schools I work at, I  observe Kindergarten students soon after they begin.  Frequently the little girls have terrible pencil grips and the boys have none- absolutely clueless.

The teachers spend the first half of the year strengthening the fingers through a variety of activities and gradually introduce pencil work, as their hands get strong enough to hold the pencil the correct way.  In January,  the boys generally have very functional pencil grips.  Writing and drawing still might not be their favorite activity, but they are developing the rudimentary mechanics to become proficient writers.  Many of the girls, on the other hand, still have terrible pencil grips.  While they do perfectly fine in a Kindergarten curriculum, those cramped, fisted fingers do not allow for any movement,  so later, say, in second grade, writing becomes quite laborious and sometimes exhausting for them. 

Why does this occur.  It seems unfair that the little girls have been drawing the bow bedecked self portraits and stylized writing for years and the boys pull ahead in a matter of months (specifically related to pencil grip-this is not intended to be a Larry Somers/Harvard blunder).

What happens is that the little girls begin drawing and “writing” before the hands are strong enough.  Developmentally,  the muscles which are necessary for good pencil control do not develop until somewhere between 3 and 5 years old.  This relates in part to experiences, but also plain and simple maturation.  So the little girls have to unlearn the bad pencil grasp and teach and strengthen the muscles in a new way, almost opposite the way the thumb and fingers are strongest. 

I call my approach to helping children overcome obstacles in the writing process a “back door” approach.  Essentially, I help the child pull together all the necessary components then GRADUALLY  introduce letters and EVENTUALLY ADD WORDS.  Here are some of the back door strategies.  Keep in mind that activities highlighted earlier are critical for good fine and visual motor control but are not done exclusively to develop hand writing proficiency.

Infants and Babies:

Provide input to the hands.  All the strategies reviewed in trunk strengthening and tactile discrimination for this age group applies here.

Provide interesting visual stimuli for the baby.  Common household objects will suffice.  Look for interesting shapes and colored items to hold the babies interest.  Introduce these one at a time.  Do not overwhelm the baby.

Toddlers:

Continue with the activities reviewed above.  Emphasis on pointing the index (pointer) finger will help develop isolated movement.  Squeezing cylindrical shaped objects, in which the thumb wraps around away from the hand is great.  Picking up small objects with a pincer grasp (between thumb and index tip help develop important little muscles in the fingers as well. 

 

Hand play activities become important to help increase specific movements in the hands and fingers.

Weight bearing activities into the hands are important as this begins to develop wrist strength, something very important for good control of the writing devise.  Modified wheelbarrow, crab and bear walking all help with this.

Finger painting with shaving cream and pudding give the neophyte artist visual results along with all important tactile input.

Preschool:

At the risk of sounding quite redundant:  KEEP DOING ALL OF THE THINGS LISTED ABOVE

When introducing writing implements (crayons, markers, chalk, pencils)  KEEP THEM BIG

Side walk chalk

Large sized markers (Mr Sketch has scented ones-this pulls in another sensory system to support the nascent artist’s quest to develop visual motor skills)

Large size crayons

Large pencils (these should not be used until hands are fairly strong, typically an older three year old or later)

Dot Art (Plastic tubes filled with paint with a sponge at the tip)

One inch cubed sponges to dip in paint

Better substitutes for the younger child:

Stamps (approximately 1-2 inches in size)

Magnetic sketch boards

Encourage activities with finger TIP use

Hand and wrist strengthening activities such as wringing out a face cloth or sponge

When drawing with large sidewalk chalk, place on the side and have the child use both hands.

Drawing Activities which help develop a sense of direction, basic strokes and accuracy:

Simple drawings (I use dots to guide the child-this is better than tracing)

For the older child with maturing hands:

Try out regular sized pencils ( if support is still needed use a pencil grip)

If not held correctly go back to bigger instruments or insist on using the grip and instruct in proper usage.

While toddlerhood is the time of random oblivion in scribble, the preschooler can slowly begin to move the drawing into more directed  strokes.  This does NOT mean drilling and training, but certain directions, if nurtured and encouraged will lead to ease in learning to write.  THESE ARE:

Vertical strokes always begin at the top and drawn downward

Horizontal strokes encouraged to begin from the left and drawn towards the right

***Circular strokes drawn: 2 o’clock position, move upwards, to the left ,down and around***

This is important because it help establish the correct direction for many letters.

Diagonal lines, as they develop should also begin at the top.

Begin drawing simple shapes.  The angles should get progressively more accurate (not curved).  

If a child can do these five things with ease they will be all set for writing in kindergarten.

Kindergarten:

It is important to make sure the hands are strong enough to hold the pencil correctly and maintain this position throughout the writing and drawing process. 

It is also important that the lines and shapes described above are drawn accurately.  Once this occurs then the child is ready to learn the ABC’s and 123’s.

The approach I use is again kind of  “back door.”  First we’ll draw pictures using exactly the lines needed for the specific letter groups to be introduced.  Then I teach the letters we go together in terms of the specific movements required to form them.  We always start LARGE, either on the blackboard, white board or on large paper.  Sometimes shaving cream and sand letters are done as well (Try GIANT letters on the sandbars at low tide). 

Once the child understands the basic movement, can  FEEL how the hand needs to move and draws the letter fairly well,  we move on to some paper work.  With a younger Kindergarten student, I will transfer to paper, but again we’re talking large paper and large letters.  With success holding a pencil (more difficult because of more resistance) and reproducing a letter on the paper, I will begin to work into smaller letters.  Practicing in one inch square graph paper works well.  Moving on to lines follows.  Frequently I will highlight the lines or make boxes so the child understands where exactly the letters are suppose to be, since spatial organization of the written word is still developing.

Progression towards letter work follows:

Downward strokes between lines

Horizontal stokes between lines

Diagonal lines connecting corners accurately and without curves

Crossed lines

Circles beginning at 2 o’clock

These are supplemented with lots of representational drawings which use the respective strokes practiced.

Letter Groupings:  These are based on HOW the letter is formed.  If the same initial movement is executed, such as beginning in the same place and moving in the same direction, then it is put in the same learning set.

“Spider Web letters”    L l I i  H T t   E  F A  M N K k X x V v W w  Y y Z z 

                                    (note only the upper case A H  E  M N and F are here)

Several comments regarding this work:  Note the fairly sloppy first line ... I had the child stop and work with the nail board to “wake up” the hands and then she continued-look at the improvement with the remainder of her work!  Since practicing letter is always difficult, I let the child finish with a picture.

“Bouncy Frog” letters  n m r  h * b*  P p

True confessions:  This was done by a child in first grade.  Still finish with a picture.

“Cereal Bowl” letters   C c O o  a* d* f  G g Q q S s

* b and d should NEVER be taught together!  If they are the child draws a “stick” and then has this EXISTENTIAL CHOICE, namely, which side should the circle go on.  Since  a sense of right and left frequently isn’t well established until grade school, this becomes an impossible task for the preschooler and frequently the kindergarten student.

a and d should be taught together because they should be drawn in the same way.  Introduce d after the child has the a “nailed.” 

h and b go together.  You RARELY see h’s reversed.  You ALWAYS see b reversed.  If the child first learns how to draw an h and then associates the b with the h it makes it much easier than letting go of the pencil and making a fist with thumbs up and trying to remember which is which (Albeit a good strategy if the child is  already confused about this.

Odd letters  to be learned separately:  B  D  J  R  U u

Here are some additional  miscellaneous tips to motivate the child:  Applies to K and Elementary

1. 1. Colored paper makes the task more interesting (choosing gives a sense of autonomy)
   

2. 2. Colored pencils also give the child a sense of control.  Changing colors give the weary fingers
   

     a needed rest.

3. 3. Teaching the child to  take a short rest (count to ten) when the fingers get tired.
   

4. 4. Make sure the child is sitting upright and feet are securely placed, flat on the floor.
   

Elementary School:

By first grade the upper case letters are usually fairly well formed and the  child begins to work on lower case letters in earnest.  The same groupings should be used during this process.  More emphasis of staying on the lines (of large spaced paper)  can begin.  Work to make spacing uniform should develop over the course of the first grade year, especially as the child begins to have a much better sense of words and how the letters group in chunks with spaces in between.

When practicing letters in first grade, start, again with slightly larger letters to reinforce the sense of how to move when drawing them.  After practicing  specific letter sets,  have the child write a few words which have several of the letters practiced.  Frequently the child does a good job when drilling but as soon as they write a word, they revert to an old way of forming the letter.  Integrating the correct mechanics into the thinking/writing process is very important.  Allowing for mistakes and simply crossing out gives the child permission to make mistakes, thereby reducing anxiety.  Making corrections highlights the importance accuracy in the writing process.  Finish with a picture of the child’s choice so  the stress of writing can be relieved.

 

First grade entails developing uniformity and accuracy in writing words and by the end of the year rudimentary sentences. 

Second grade ramps up the demand and the focus becomes volume and speed.  This is when AUTOMATICITY IN WRITING  comes into play. 

I frequently get referrals for children in seconds grade.  The profile is typically quite similar.  The child is bright but underachieving.  Frequently the child is anxious and struggling with school.  Teacher reports frequently state, “Very bright but having difficulty putting words to paper.” So one asks, “Why does this referral occur in second grade?”

Up until second grade, writing is a slow thoughtful process.  The child con work each letter slowly.  The process of writing is the primary focus.  The emphasis shifts in second grade.  At this point the child is expected to generate more text, think about content.  It is assumed (and necessary) that how to form letters has become habituated (or unconscious).   There is no longer a need to put the brain power into the “how to you write a b?”  When students still struggle with basic letter formation, or need to draw each letter slowly,  they cannot keep up.  Anxiety flares, or they determine to limit the writing output because it is just too hard.

How to address such issues:

Step Number 1:  Review EVERYTHING from infants on but especially focus on Hand Strengthening,

Dexterity, and Drawing.

Step Number 2:  Build confidence by  engaging the child in non-writing, simple activities which require the use of a writing tool without the demands of writing.  Here are some suggestions:

Metal tooling

Stencils

Coloring designs

Step 3:  Set up MEANINGFUL writing experiences for the child:

Grocery List-especially when snacks and desserts are included

Favorite recipes (e.g. smoothies)

List of TV shows to Tevo or tape

Games that require writing (keeping score, etc.)

Journals/Travel Logs

Integrating writing into hobbies (e.g. record keeping, labeling, planning)

SIMPLE notes to family and friends (caution here-refer to Valentine’s Day)

Step 4:  For specific drilling, refer to Kindergarten an First Grade sections.

A special treat for the grade school student using a pencil is to give them

SMENCILS.  These are pencils made of reprocessed newspaper, soaked in a variety of scents.  Like the  scented Mr. Sketch markers, they give a little olfactory boost the the writing experience.

And remember, markers still glide easier than pencils, so markers work best for the weaker hands.

Thoughts on Cursive:

For some children the transition to cursive writing is a thrill and a relief.  The lift place of manuscript (printing) is reduced since the letters flow together and this eases the muscular demand for the arm (believe it or not!).

If a child has motor sequencing problems or is truly dysgraphic (a fancy word for difficulty with hand writing)  the an assessment should be made as to whether the child should go through the trials and tribulations of learning another whole alphabet system.  If the child has had difficulty, do not categorically skip the switch.  As mentioned above, for some children, even dysgraphic ones, the switch is actually welcomed and they end up preferring cursive writing.   

Have the child try to do the drills with the rest of the class.  If anxiety goes sky high and no improvement over several weeks occurs, have a chat with the teacher to determine whether it makes sense to continue.

It is important for the child to be able to READ cursive script, so some exposure is necessary.  To determine how MUCH exposure should be made as a team decision.  “Team”  equals, parent, child AND teacher.

Thoughts on Word Processing:

Children of this generation are very lucky, indeed.  When I began working with children over 20 years ago, it was imperative that they learn  how to write efficiently and well, as they would need these skills for taking lecture notes as they advanced through school.  Now  most high school and college programs allow students to bring lap tops into class for note taking.  Electronic submission of papers is the norm.   I’m guessing they will figure out a way to allow students to take the SAT writing test electronically in the next few years.

Which brings into questions how important is hand writing anyway?  Functional writing is a must (i.e. able to fill out forms).   Beyond that, very few people use a pen any more. So,

proceeding with word processing ...

I would NOT drill like we had to learn touch typing in the olden days.  Children use the computer so much now a days that much of their keyboarding skills will grow organically.   Several key aspects of typing should be taught to encourage efficiency of movement:

1. 1. Left hand types letters on the left side; right hand  for the right side of keyboard
   

2. 2. Thumb should become proficient at using the space bar
   

3. 3. If the child needs to get better,  use simple game oriented keyboarding programs-
   

      use as a computer game though-not as an assignment.

4. 4. Official training shouldn’t begin until 4th grade (3rd at the earliest as the child does not have the  
   

      isolated motor control necessary until that age, usually).