Pre-writing skills are those that contribute to the foundations for handwriting. This fine motor, pre-writing and handwriting blog addresses these skills in some detail. As we increase our awareness and understanding of these skills we are able to incorporate them into the play opportunities we provide for our children.
The first foundation that the blog covers is that of fine motor skills. Our children cannot begin writing or manipulating a writing utensil unless they have developed the fine motor skills to do so. There is little doubt that our techno kids are lagging in this area. Our activities need to specifically target and develop these pre-writing skills.
While the blog does offer an overview of these skills, we divide them up so we can explore each area in depth. Each muscle group and movement pattern is given attention on the blog posts so that parents, teachers and occupational therapists have the information for pre-writing skills development at their fingertips.
Once our children have mastered the fine motor skill foundations, we need to move to development of the basic lines and strokes that make up the shapes that make up our letters. This blog takes an innovative approach to the development of these pre-writing lines. While many of the activities on the internet require little children to draw over lines and shapes, we use a playful approach with songs and fun.
Children need to be engaged in a playful way that makes sense to them. When we present activities in this manner they will develop and improve the foundational skills we are looking for. In developing pre-writing skills we should not be reproducing a formalised mini-school situation. Little children should be allowed to be just that. But, at the same time we need to find innovative playful ways for them to develop the foundational pre-writing skills they are going to need for school.
Tactile discrimination is the ability to use the touch information from the fingers and hand to identify an object without seeing it. The brain uses this touch information to know which fingers are holding onto the pencil. In addition to the the information from the touch preceptors of the fingers, it also gets information from… Read more »
It is no secret that one of my favourite working positions is the vertical surface. I have always said that if you wanted to take one thing out of my occupational therapy practice, you could have my tables. I just needed the walls! So let’s look at why kids should work on a vertical surface… Read more »
Our children’s first works of art are random scribbles on a page. Within a few short years these scribbles have been transformed into the beautifully crafted letters that make up handwriting. Handwriting is a critical scholastic milestone because it is the foundation for story writing and composition. Some children make the transition from scribbles seamlessly,… Read more »
From time to time we hear of children who are ambidextrous. This seems such an amazing thing! Imagine being able to write with both hands! Does it matter if a child hasn’t established a hand preference or hand dominance? Is it really an important thing and when, if at all, should we intervene? Although only… Read more »
