Handwriting - a skill for life
Tips to help your child/ren
Handwriting plays an important role in our brain development and is closely connected to the development of our fine motor skills - movements we make using our hands and/or wrists. We don't all develop at the same pace but there are some generally accepted milestones.
5-6 year olds - copy letters and shapes and correctly use a fork and spoon etc
7-8 year olds - tie their own shoelaces, do their own buttons and zippers
There are many fun activities that you can do with your child/ren to strengthen their fine motor skills such as squeezing, pinching, stretching and rolling worms or snakes when playing with playdough. Having races with tweezers to pick up small objects or sorting a collection of objects according to colour or category or using an eye dropper to empty a small container filled with water. Helping you plant seeds in the garden is also good practice for the pincer grip.
For older students fine motor skills can be improved through cooking, constructing and building with lego etc, learning to juggle (youtube has instructional videos) or playing musical instruments.
See these links for more ideas and games
https://www.edplace.com/blog/send/20-games-to-improve-fine-motor-skills
https://www.theottoolbox.com/finger-games/
When looking at your child/ren's handwriting you can see where there area of difficulty or challenge is by thinking about the following:
5-6 year olds - copy letters and shapes and correctly use a fork and spoon etc
7-8 year olds - tie their own shoelaces, do their own buttons and zippers
There are many fun activities that you can do with your child/ren to strengthen their fine motor skills such as squeezing, pinching, stretching and rolling worms or snakes when playing with playdough. Having races with tweezers to pick up small objects or sorting a collection of objects according to colour or category or using an eye dropper to empty a small container filled with water. Helping you plant seeds in the garden is also good practice for the pincer grip.
For older students fine motor skills can be improved through cooking, constructing and building with lego etc, learning to juggle (youtube has instructional videos) or playing musical instruments.
See these links for more ideas and games
https://www.edplace.com/blog/send/20-games-to-improve-fine-motor-skills
https://www.theottoolbox.com/finger-games/
When looking at your child/ren's handwriting you can see where there area of difficulty or challenge is by thinking about the following:
- Letter formation
- Sizing
- Spacing - between words and in relation to the lines
Once you have determined the area requiring support and/or practice you could try engaging with them in some games or activities to make the practice fun such as playing games that require writing - hangman, word puzzles, crosswords, making lists around a theme or area of interest.
More information about the skills and process for developing handwriting is available at this link
https://www.theottoolbox.com/skills-kids-need-for-handwriting/
https://www.theottoolbox.com/skills-kids-need-for-handwriting/
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