What do children need to be successful in beginning handwriting experiences? Four and five-year-olds in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms will benefit most from handwriting lessons if they have developed the necessary strength and flexibility in their hands and fingers to hold and manipulate a pencil. Children who begin handwriting before they have sufficient strength and dexterity in their hands may develop an inappropriate pencil grasp. The activities listed below will support fine motor control and help build the necessary strength and flexibility to hold a pencil appropriately.
*Pick up small items such as Cheerios, small cubes, buttons, pennies, mini marshmallows with a large tweezers.
*Trace around stencils
*String beads, macaroni, etc.
*Use scissors to cut up magazines, cut out shapes and/or fringe the edges of scrap paper (The correct scissor position is with the thumb and middle finger in the handles of the scissors, the index finger on the outside of the handle to stabilize, with fingers 4 and 5 curled into the palm.)
*Lacing activities
*Play dough activities
*Eye dropper activities (Drop colored water onto paper toweling to see it spread)
*Spray bottle (Spray snow sculptures with colored water)
*Write with finger in wet sand, salt, rice etc.
*Pick out small objects hidden in a tray of salt, sand, or rice (try it also with eyes closed.
*Use a paint brush to paint at an easel
*Peg board activities
*Lite Brite
*Cut a 1 inch curved line in a soft inexpensive tennis ball along the “u” curve of one of the lines. Have the child try to pick up pom poms by squeezing the ball so the cut opens like a mouth. Have Pac Man races with two children trying to pick up pom poms.
Time spent supporting the young child’s developing fine motor control will result in a stronger more mature pencil grasp and facilitate the development of good handwriting skills.
