HANDWRITING ! LET'S GET READY!

1. HANDWRITING!LET'S GET READY!

2. COMPONENTS OF HANDWRITING • COGNITIVE • AUDITORY AND LANGUAGE • SENSORY MOTOR • VISUAL • TACTILE/KINESTHETIC • VESTIBULAR • GROSS MOTOR • FINE MOTOR • MISCELLANEOUS

3. Prior to Two • Critical time period for laying motor, perceptual, and sensory motor foundations!

4. Two and Two and a half years: • Makes a circle after a parent makes one first but child may still scribble the circle • Scribbled lines cross over each other Three years: • Copies a vertical line from a picture • Well defined horizontal line • Makes a crude cross after watching someone else draw one (imitation) • Copies a drawing of a circle • Uses either hand for writing (Beery: Stepping Stones Age Norms 2004)

5. Four years: • Colors in one direction • Places blocks diagonally when building • Copies a cross and square (corners rounded at 4.6 years) • Draws crude man with three body parts • Prints letters randomly on page • Letters may be in parts (Beery: Stepping Stones Age Norms 2004)

6. Five years: • Copies triangle from a picture • Draws a recognizable man with torso • Coloring within the lines easier • Crudely prints name from memory, letters may be large or reversed • Attempts to draw recognizable animals, trees, building, houses • Prints several capital letters from memory Five and a half years: • Writes from right to left at times • Clearly prints first name from memory • Established hand for writing • (Beery: Stepping Stones Age Norms 2004)

7. Remember! • Children learn differently and at their own pace. • Work at a child’s developmental level not age level. • Create a solid foundation. Watch out for splinter skills! • Use a child’s strengths to pull up their weaknesses. • Handwriting must be taught. • Consistency and developmentally appropriate!

8. Hints for Print PPrepare to write Posture (child + furniture) Pencil grip Paper RRemember the alphabet Know letter names Visualize I Insure correct letter formations N No negatives T Think BIG! Movements Fun

9. Gross Motor Principals Stability before Mobility Body: Tone*, Strength, and Balance Sensory supports Motor Prone

10. Writing Posture • 2 year old: scrunches shoulders, no neck, stabilizes object in hand against body. Overflow in other hand • 3 year old: shoulder on helper side is relaxing. Shoulder with writing hand still up but beginning to relax. Elbow raised up on writing side. Helper hand holds paper • 4 year old: shoulders are down • 5 year old: Body is relaxed and elbow is down

11. What to Do? • Build good posture through: • Strengthening body: floor play, playground play • Balance: Music and movement, floor play and playground play • Prone:Playing on stomach propped on forearms

12. GROSS MOTOR SKILLS-SENSORY MOTOR* Body’s ability to use both sides (right and left) together efficiently It influences: • Hand dominance • Ability to cross the body’s midline • Ability to draw diagonals • Ability to drawing horizontal lines smoothly • Directionality (right, left, etc.) • Skills: hopping on one foot, body rotation

13. What to Do? • Younger: riding on hip both sides, getting on and off riding toys • Floor Play: getting into and out of sitting, playing on stomach and forearms • Body movements to music • Chalkboard play: drawing and scribbling

14. GROSS MOTOR SKILLS-SENSORY MOTOR* • Dyspraxia/Motor Planning • Ability to think of the steps of a motor movement • Ability to sequence the steps of a motor movement • Ability to execute the sequence of steps of a motor movement

15. What to Do? • Obstacle courses + everything motor • Verbal instructions + demonstrations • Practice first and REPEAT a lot • Lots of controlled sensory

16. COMMON HANDWRITING PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH GROSS MOTOR WEAKNESSES • Poor posture: Child may: Keep face close to paper Lay on the table/desk Support body weight by resting head in his hands • Poor balance: Child may: Sit on his feet Lie on his table/desk Insist on standing up rather than sitting Fall out of his chair frequently • Poor use of the two sides of the body together: Child may: Have difficulty drawing diagonals (age appropriate) Late establishment of hand dominance(age appropriate) Difficulty using opposite hand Difficulty with loop letters in cursive

17. COMMON HANDWRITING PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH GROSS MOTOR WEAKNESSES • Poor motor planning abilities: Child may: Not position paper correctly Have trouble learning letter/shapes Be slow at motor processing of letter formations • Poor muscle tone or strength: Child may have: Poor posture Poor balance Poor development of motor skills ALWAYS CHECK SIZE OF THE DESK AND CHAIR BEFORE ASSUMMING IT IS A BALANCE PROBLEM!

18. RED FLAGS Child who consistently: • Bumps into furniture or people (body awareness) • Trips over objects or falls frequently from his chair (balance) • Needs to hold onto furniture or people to rise from the floor (strength and tone) • Insists on standing for all activities • Wraps his legs around the chair legs (balance) • Always sits on his legs in the chair (balance)

19. RED FLAGS Child who consistently: • Cannot sit “criss cross” applesauce • Hips need to be checked • Refuses to play or lie on stomach even after special positioning. • Behind in his development • Frustrated in motor class • Is last to get in line or to participate in motor class • Tires easily: endurance is reduced for age