learning to write

[lightheart]

I need ideas and suggestions on ways to improve the hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills that are needed for learning to write.

Pencil in hand to paper is only going so far, need other ideas... tonight we tried gluing beans to a piece of paper in the shape of Bb. He made sausages out of clay and made them into the shape of the letter, I drew a huge poster size letter on paper which he colored, we went through the tactile touch and trace cards, all those things were fun and made the actual tracing, freehand practice sheet his teacher sent home bearable.... what else can I do to help?

Are there other 'things'... games, hobby, skill that he can learn that will directly help with the handwriting? what can he do with his hands that isn't pencil to paper that will help?

he's 5 and is in his 5th week of kindergarten, I haven't pushed writing skills with him before, he knows the letters/numbers/shapes by sight it's just transferring them to the paper he's having difficulties with.

[Leatherette]

Melting beads(can find at many toy/craft stores) are good for fine motor, and they are hugely popular at my daughter's preschool. Drawing letters really big in the air is good for muscle memory. Another idea may be lite brite (old school toy), with the little multi colored pieces that you stick into lighted holes to make pictures.......?

All the other things you are doing sound right on track.

L.

[LynnS6]

There's a great program called Handwriting without Tears that works really well. You can do just the workbook for about $5, or the whole program. It's what my son's Occupational Therapist does with him.
http://www.hwtears.com/

Other things:
Have him trace letters in sand
Give him sidewalk chalk and write letters outside (so he can do them big and size doesn't matter).
Trace them in the air, as the pp suggested

Sometimes having a child write on a slant board helps.

Make sure he is holding on to the paper with one hand and writing with the other.

Have him do things to strengthen finger strength - picking up things with tweezers, painting with eye droppers, playing with clay (better than playdough because it requires more finger strength), stringing beads, legos, coloring with really short crayons (so he has to hold them with his finger tips)

Have him draw pictures for you with a pencil and add as much detail as he can. Then, have him tell you about the picture and write down what he says. This both strengthens his pencil/paper skills AND gives him the satisfaction of having his words written down so he can see them.

Find out what the teacher's expectations are. Tell her he's struggling and ask what she recommends.

[rabrog]

First thing I thought of is sandpaper letters that I found with the Montessori method.

Jenn

[kennedy444]

My mom used to fill a cookie sheet with salt and have me write my letters in the salt.

Does he like building with small Legos?

[lightheart]

thanks everyone for your suggestions, I ordered the workbook from writing without tears for him, 2 slates (one for little brother) and the capital letter cards for the wood pieces, figured I could trace and cut out from cardboard the shapes they sell in wood, it seems like a good approach and something that isn't so intense that it's going to overwhelm.

This weekend I'm planning on us making some cookie dough and shaping them, figured we could have a cookie or two to use as models then eat them once he's done with his practice writing next week.

have sidewalk chalk ready to color out on the sidewalk

I'm also going to get in the craft stuff and pull out some beads and see what we can do with them.

I have some of that plastic mesh somewhere and if I can figure out where I put it will do some sewing on plastic with yarn, gotta get those fingers working, right ?!!!

little legos are a good idea, he's ready to move to them I'm sure, we've only had the bigger ones, think I will snag some from his cousins and see how he does with them.

I remember the light bright, I think of the clown picture, was that the one pictured on the box? Knowing mom, she didn't get rid of it, will have to ask my brother what ever happened to it and see if we can figure out where it's at....

[Mizelenius]

I dunno. I think if children get pushed too early to handwrite correctly, it discourages them from actually writing . . .which is so different and far more important.

Personally, I would not make a big deal about writing the letters correctly at this point. My view is that children need to see themselves as readers and writers from Day 1. If they get any inkling that they aren't already, "I can't"-itis sets in, and it is very hard to cure.

Think of ways that writing naturally fits in your lives. Write with a purpose. Write letters to him. Make grocery lists, checklists, etc. with him. Have him participate-- who cares if what he writes are just random, incorrectly formed letters. Little things, like him writing his name (with a purpose) add up. You want him to know he IS a writer.

I would do more things like what Lynn said:
Have him draw pictures for you with a pencil and add as much detail as he can. Then, have him tell you about the picture and write down what he says. This both strengthens his pencil/paper skills AND gives him the satisfaction of having his words written down so he can see them.
Do this. Write in front of him with large letters, so that he can clearly see how you're writing. Then, have him read back what he dictated to you. Have him read it to his stuffed animals, friends, and families.

The suggestions the pps gave are great-- just make sure that (a) they are done in moderation (for just brief periods of time, as games) and (b) he understands that he is practicing handwriting, not writing.

Oh, and to experience what he's going through, try this: write a letter reversed with your non-dominant hand. Tricky!

[gillibean]

I'm also a big fan of the handwriting without tears. DS enjoys that so much more than the worksheets his teacher was always sending home (which we stopped doing because they were doing more harm than good). Now his older sister wants to do handwriting without tears for learning cursive.

We also have a larger chalkboard that the kids like to draw on. I was going to just get chalkbord paint but the board I bought was cheaper.

[MamaDimstam]

My daughter received some in-school OT last year (in grade 1), which helped her immensely. Some things the OT did with her:

*practice cutting out shapes/drawings with special scissors that do not close all the way- this encourages more detail in cutting because the child cannot chomp all the way down
*draw on vertical surfaces- stick some paper on a wall and encourage him to draw
*if your child bears down too hard on the pencil, get them a "special" mechanical pencil, but one with a thicker 0.9 mm lead. With a mechanical pencil they can only bear down so hard before it breaks

That all said, I wouldn't worry too much about any of this at the kg level. Grade 1 is when printing really gets nailed. My son, who is in grade 1 this year, has improved immensely in just the first few weeks of school. Coming into this year he could barely print his name, and only in big block letters.He never had any interest in anything fine-motor, and besides that, he's a December baby so the youngest of the class to boot. But now, with just some encouragement from his teacher, he's improved a lot.

Good luck!

[LauraLoo]

The pincher grasp necessary for holding a pencil can be strengthened by using push pins. Trace a picture, have him hold a push pin (on a solid surface like a cutting board) and make holes along the traced lines. After it's done, you can hold the picture up to a light and let the light come through the holes.

If you get push pins/tacs with different colored heads, you can encourage him to make a design by pushing into a paper (again on something like a cutting board or a cardboard surface.)

Using tweezers to transfer things (like beans, rice, cereal) from one container to another can also help with the pincher grasp (though this might get a little boring.)