I used to be a teacher– a pretty good one in fact. Parents even paid me real money to tutor their children after school in areas such as reading, writing, AND handwriting. So you may be surprised to find MY kid at a handwriting class with an occupational therapist.
Well, weird things happen when you have children. 1. Your brain melts. 2. Your child doesn’t think you’re as smart as his/her teacher. 3. You reach out to others for advice and input on your child’s wellbeing.
So folks, mix that with the fact that somehow I created a lefty who grabbed his pencil as if he were trying to kill it. Oh, and occasionally he decided he was right handed which resulted in all letters to be reversed. Confusion and frustration built, it was time to bring on the professionals.
I came across The Handwriting Clinic in a magazine at my pediatrician’s office. I decided to call and see if it would be a fit. I explained that I didn’t want my 4 ½ year old son to be advanced or better than others, just to pick a hand and get more comfortable with holding a pencil/writing letters. Heck, if he learned something along the way, that’d be great too.
He’s now on week 5 and loving it. He’s officially a lefty and is going easier on his poor pencil. Not only is he learning a lot but so am I! Each week the parents have a review session and are given some tips to help support their growth. And lucky for you, The Handwriting Clinic said I could share some of them with our readers. So, grab your pencil (correctly) and take some notes.
The Slant Board
Grab a 3 ring, 3” binder to use as a base for your kiddo’s paper. The elevated surface will help with posture as well as help with forearm and wrist support. I saw the difference for myself today in class and will be purchasing one tomorrow!
Green and Red Dots
Day one, the teacher drew with washable markers on my son’s fingers. Green dots, or “go” dots, on his thumb, pointer, and middle finger. These are the fingers used when gripping the pencil. Red dots on the ring and pinky to say “stop!” These fingers get tucked out of the way. What a great visual to help kids understand how to hold their pencil!
Pipe Cleaners and Beads/ Cheerios
Have your child hold the pipe cleaner with the weaker hand and string the bead or cheerio on with the dominant hand.
Nuts and Bolts
Go to a hardware store and grab matching nuts and bolts. Have your child screw the nut onto the bolt to build hand strength. If this task it too challenging, your child can hold the bolt on the table with their weaker hand and screw the nut on with his/her dominant hand.
I hope these tips/activities help you out a bit! And if you ever seem to lose your mommysuperpowers, reach out to the professionals. Your kids will think they are smarter than you anyway.
Sally wrote about The Handwriting Clinic in Plano because she loves what both she and her son are learning. She did not receive any sort of compensation for this post.
Interesting article. And lefties rule!
Thank you, this is awesome information. My sons are 2.5 and 4 and they both use both hands. We still haven’t figured out what hand is their strongest because they use both almost equally.