Month: December 2021

#Christmas Fun That Develops Handwriting Skills and No Pencil!

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Handwriting skills don’t start with pencil and paper they begin with earlier play opportunities. Using play-dough type modelling materials is great for developing hand and finger strength, bilateral coordination, sensory perception and for learning and perfecting different grips for using tools.

Salt Dough

So, why not make some great salt dough Christmas gifts and tree decorations with your child. Not only will they melt the hearts of those who receive them but you will be developing your child’s fine motor skills (needed for good handwriting) while having fun, can’t be bad!

Go to our ‘More fun handwriting activities’ page (https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/more-activities.html ) in our Resources section for a salt dough recipe, that I have found good to use with children, and just download the ‘Salt Dough Modelling’ pdf.

#Christmas Finger Printing a Fun Way to Support Handwriting

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Hand and finger printing can be a fun way of getting your child used to touching and using different textured mediums. The creative element can help some children to cope with, and learn to overcome, some sensory tactile defence difficulties. Being happy holding objects allows them to hold a pencil comfortably, leading to better handwriting.

Handwriting requires a child to apply the right amount of pressure to get the pencil marks of the letters on to the page. Too little pressure and the writing is often faint and wriggly in appearance (like a spider has walked across the page). Too heavy and the marks are very dark and can tear the paper; often the writing looks big, angular and laboured. Not being able to apply the correct pressure also affects how a child holds the pencil, which can cause the hand and fingers to tire more quickly, making writing tasks challenging.

Printing activities help your child to start to become aware of how to control the amount of pressure they use and the effect that this has on the quality of the work produced. Learning to control the amount of pressure exerted and how it feels can be very difficult for some children and it takes time and a range of experiences to develop these skills.

There are some fabulous printing ideas out on the internet; one of my favourite art resources is The Usborne Art Idea Books. Hand and finger printing can create some amazing artwork which can be used to make wonderful personalised Christmas cards, tags and paper.

Who could not be charmed by these fun thumb and fingertip snowmen or robins or delighted by a hand print angel?

For other useful tips on printing and setting up a printing work station, check out our ‘More fun handwriting activities’ in our Parents section under Learning Through Play: https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/more-activities.html

Why do young children love to draw on walls?

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Young children love drawing on walls due to the stage of their physical development. They draw from the shoulder, rather than the elbow and wrist, using large arm movements. At this stage they prefer vertical drawing and painting surfaces as it allows a free range of movements. This is why they will write on walls (often newly decorated), not because they are meaning to be naughty but because it just feels comfortable and so more enjoyable.

Drawing and writing on a vertical surface is important at this stage as it helps young children develop the wrist strength and flexibility needed later to hold a pencil correctly for handwriting. Having the freedom to move more instinctively without restrictions means that a child is free to focus on other aspects, such as feeling the movement as they make shapes and gaining the confidence to have a go without fear of getting it wrong.

Case Study

Esme at the age of 3yrs 9mths was very happy to draw (more scribbling) and colour sitting at the table but Mum was not quite sure how to move her on. So, the following idea was suggested; to tape some large pieces of plain paper up on a suitable wall for her to draw on with appropriately sized pens, crayons or chalks.

This was the response:

Message from Mum was:

“She’s loving this idea. She did a triangle and a ‘s’ all on her own with no encouragement.” As the day went on Esme revisited the drawing wall and later on that day this photo arrived: 

Message from Mum: “She just did her name.” This had been the first time she had done this.

An easel was then ordered!

The jump from a vertical to a horizontal writing surface can seem too great for some children; due to their stage of development. If they are still using some large whole arm and/or big elbow movements then they may benefit from the paper being positioned on a sloped board.