Writing Skills
As an occupational therapist working in the schools system many of my students have been referred for an occupational therapy evaluation dues to poor handwriting. Legibility can be impacted by the way a letter is formed, by not having space between words, not utilizing the boundaries of the paper, etc. All these skills should be introduced step by step.
Some children have started to write before they have the foundation (pre-writing skills) and at times developed habits that may be difficult to change when they reach higher grades. Tracing activities are often introduced at an early age maybe even before the child has been taught how to form a letter. Make sure when you introduce tracing worksheets that the child is tracing the letter or number in a correct manner. Also, uppercase letters are easier to write because they all start from the top and are all the same height. It is challenging for a child to use the baseline and space between words before he or she has developed control of the strokes for each letter. Using a wide variety of modalities to teach writing is often beneficial. For example, form letters in shaving cream, use a chalkboard or a dark colored carpet square that gives the child good feedback and/or use wood pieces (or homemade paper shapes of a big - little curve and a big - little line) to form uppercase letters. Furthermore, verbal cues that describe the formation of each letter and number can be very helpful (i.e., for number 8 “make an S and close the gate”). It is not the amount of time you have the child practice handwriting that is important but rather the consistency of practice; a 15 minute practice a couple of times a week can go a long way. Finally, make sure to have a good time if the child is fully engaged and enjoys the activity he or she is going to show improvements, I promise!
Some children have started to write before they have the foundation (pre-writing skills) and at times developed habits that may be difficult to change when they reach higher grades. Tracing activities are often introduced at an early age maybe even before the child has been taught how to form a letter. Make sure when you introduce tracing worksheets that the child is tracing the letter or number in a correct manner. Also, uppercase letters are easier to write because they all start from the top and are all the same height. It is challenging for a child to use the baseline and space between words before he or she has developed control of the strokes for each letter. Using a wide variety of modalities to teach writing is often beneficial. For example, form letters in shaving cream, use a chalkboard or a dark colored carpet square that gives the child good feedback and/or use wood pieces (or homemade paper shapes of a big - little curve and a big - little line) to form uppercase letters. Furthermore, verbal cues that describe the formation of each letter and number can be very helpful (i.e., for number 8 “make an S and close the gate”). It is not the amount of time you have the child practice handwriting that is important but rather the consistency of practice; a 15 minute practice a couple of times a week can go a long way. Finally, make sure to have a good time if the child is fully engaged and enjoys the activity he or she is going to show improvements, I promise!
How to hold a pencil:
Grasp: a crayon/pencil is a tool and the way we hold it impacts, for example, the control of our strokes/the quality of our work and the endurance for paper/pencil work. A short crayon/chalk (a crayon or chalk broken into smaller pieces) often facilitates a more mature grasp. If the child by the time they start kindergarten still have difficulty holding the pencil correctly a grip attached to the pencil may change the position of her/his fingers.
Tripod and quadropod grasps are examples of mature functional ways of holding a writing utensil.
Tripod and quadropod grasps are examples of mature functional ways of holding a writing utensil.