This is a sponsored post on behalf of BIC and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.
Get your kids ready for back to school with these tips for improving handwriting – perfect for elementary schoolers.
What would you do if you were principal for a day? That’s what I asked Graham, my 8 year old son, the other day. His response? He’d make sure that every kid had access to the special resources they needed. He knows that we’ve tried to get him in to see the occupational therapist at school to help him with his handwriting, and he knows that we’ve been working with the school system to get help with speech therapy for his younger brother. There aren’t enough therapists; there isn’t enough money. Graham would want that to change if he was principal for a day.
Pretty noble, I think. Don’t you? What would your kids say to this question? Have them write out their ideas and you could win a $10,000 scholarship! Visit BICFightForYourWrite.com now through August 15th to enter BIC’s If I Were Principal for a Day Contest and learn about more ways to celebrate handwriting. {No purchase necessary. US only, 21+ Ends 8/15/16. Click here for Official Rules and Details: BicFIghtForYourWrite.com/official-rules.}
I’d love to see Graham as Principal for a Day and get every kid the occupational therapy, speech therapy, and gifted classes that they need. Until then, we’re working on our own to help him improve his handwriting. He’s such a bright kid (not that I’m biased), but his handwriting is atrocious. Like, look for the worst handwriting on the wall, and that’s my kid’s.
We’ve been working with a tutor over the summer, and here are some activities that we’ve been doing to improve his handwriting and set him up for success this upcoming school year:
Letter Size Differentiation
Students need to be taught that tall letters are “tall” and reach the top line (e.g. b, d, f, h, k), small letters are “small” and are printed in the middle of the line (e.g. a, c, e) and descending letters drop below the bottom line (e.g. p, g). To help cue students into the correct formation of the letters, having them practice writing letters on highlighted paper.
Letter Formation
Students who are not forming letters correctly will need re-teaching of the correct stroke sequence. Using multi-sensory strategies such as writing letters in sand or shaving cream will help. There are also several apps that encourage proper letter formation. Sometimes when all else fails, there’s an app for that. We like Letter School.
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Proper Grip
A handwriting aid is any tool that helps a child learn to grasp a writing utensil correctly. There are several different types of handwriting aids you can implement to help your child learn how to have better handwriting skills. Search for them on Google and you’ll find dozens of options for various grip-issues.
Letter Reversals
Letter reversals are common, especially in younger children just learning to write, but they should begin to iron out this problem around age 8. If not, focus on the letters they are having problems with, starting with the capital letters. “d” and “b” are common letter reversals as well as “p” and “q”. Go back to hands-on activities for teaching letter formations, that we talked about above.
Arm Strength
Gross motor skill exercises to strengthen the arm and hand. Some ideas are to have your child “write” letters in the air using their entire arm. Sports like baseball and tennis can strengthen your child’s writing arm, even just throwing a ball around will help. Fine motor control exercises to strengthen the fingers and wrist. Puzzles, jewelry making, and beadwork crafts are excellent choices for fine motor control exercises. Squeezing a tennis ball and cutting paper are great exercises, too.
Make Practice Fun
Write “potty words.” Seriously. I am not above letting my son write the word “poop” 10 times, plus, it’ll help with the p/q letter reversal problem! 🙂 When my son asks for me to remember to put his Minecraft book in his backpack in the morning, I make him write me a note. I also encourage them to do writing activities that relate to their passions. Graham might be asked to write an alternative ending to a Harry Potter book he loves; Will might be asked to recreate his favorite Pokemon card. Oh, and they both work on their math skills and writing in Star Wars themed practice books.
Does your child struggle with handwriting? What strategies would you suggest?
He is so sweet and you have some great ideas! What a wonderful topic for a contest. My only suggestion is to rely on your internal motherly instincts with your kids and any areas of concern. Those around you may try to tell you not to worry about it or they’ll outgrow it. But mother does know best, just sayin’. Get that help for them if they need it!