The Shape Robots

This is a great project for practicing the major lines in handwriting.  This robot is constructed using shapes and lines.  This helps develop visual perceptual skills, eye-hand coordination, and fine motor control.  I think it is very important to develop a climate of safety in drawing.  Each child will have their own level of capacity.  I insist on complete appreciation of all levels of execution.  It is very rare that I have a child who will feel frustrated.  I make it clear - no two drawings will look the same because we are not the same.

I use sharpies and crayons for this project.  I lead the children in drawing the robot in a "I draw - you draw" format.  I let the children have total freedom in choosing colors and how to decorate the robot.

 Draw a square.  This is the robot's body.

 Draw a small rectangle on top of the square.  This is his neck.

 Draw a circle or square for his head.

 Draw two slant lines to make the top of his arm.  

It is like a rectangle.

 Draw two more rectangles to finish his arm.

Add small circles for his hands.

 Draw two rectangles for the legs.

 Draw two rectangles for the feet.

 Draw two small rectangles for the eyes.

Draw a curved line for the mouth.

 Make two dots for the eyes in the rectangles.

Draw two square shapes for the ears.

 Add lines around the eyes and on the neck to give him the Robot look.

 Let's have fun and give him triangle hair!

 Ohhh! Let's add curls!

 Let's add slant lines on his body.

 Add a line to each segment of his arms and legs.

 Add details with your crayons.  Try to use just lines

and very little coloring.  Remember we are going to watercolor this!

 Let's watercolor him!

So fun!

A Handwriting Helper

This is an idea that comes from one of my interns this year, Tracy.  She saw it in another classroom.   I could not find anything about it online so I just had to make my own poster.  When you begin teaching handwriting on the "lines" this is such a helpful visual for the children.

• Chicken letters are the smallest.  They stand between the ground (bottom line) and the fence (dotted line).

• Giraffe letters are the tallest.  They stand from the ground up to the sky.  (top line)

• Monkey letters hang down below the ground.  They always hang down like the monkey's tail!

Handwriting Helper

Handwriting Helper 2

Handwriting Practice

Recently on one of the yahoo groups I belong to someone posted the best idea for writing.  It was from the program - Write from the Beginning.  I do not know how the program is structured but what I gleaned from the post on yahoo - this is what I have adapted for my classroom.

The writing process begins with a topic and the class brainstorms what they already know about this topic.   This is captured in a bubble map (I did not get a photo of this).   Next that information is transferred to a t-graph.  These are thinking maps.

We use the t-graph to form a sentence for handwriting practice.  I love this for several key reasons:
1.   The word choices are directly related to our current topics of study.
2.   Most of the sentences are just three words - simple, clear and easy to write.
3.   We work from one t-graph a week.  This gives students an opportunity to see how one topic can be written about in many ways:

 Seeds can transform.

Seeds have roots.

Seeds are plants.

Seeds grow big.

Occasionally, I may tweak a sentence like the one above.  On the t-graph the sentence would read "Seeds have sun."   I felt it was important to use the correct vocabulary for our sentence that related directly to our study of plants. 

I lead the children through handwriting each letter - one by one.  They write the sentence on their own one more time.  It is engaging and they seem very excited about the new topics.   It has made handwriting practice creative and from their words.

Another note about handwriting practice.  I keep handwriting and writing (journal writing) as two separate practices in the kindergarten.  The stage of writing development that most of my kinders are at is invented spelling.  I want their entire attention to be on the sounding out process and to not be concerned with forming their letters inside of lines at this point.  It is a complex process for a five year old to write down their thoughts with the correct sounds, putting spaces between words, and such.  I noticed that when I gave them lined paper for journal writing, they would stick to what they knew they could write.  I encourage my young writers to take risks and to build their writing.

And when they are practicing handwriting, I want them completely focused on the formation process.  I feel both processes are in the early stages of development and each need to be tended to with special care.

The Stages of Hand Grip for Writing

As a teacher and educator, I am very concerned about the push down of handwriting.  It is scary to see the wide spread practice of teaching three and four year olds to write before they are physically ready.  I wanted to share a few developmental pieces I have regarding the development of the hand grip. 

As you look at the physical developmental picture of a child's capacity to hold a writing instrument, think of the practices in your classroom or with your child.   While we all know every child's readiness is individually based - for most four year olds,  the fine localized movements required to write effectively have not developed.  Looking at Stage Four, we see that many children will not develop this until age 6.  In countries like Finland, Switzerland and Sweden, children are not formally taught to write until seven years old.  This allows for the vast differences in readiness.

Additionally, I think it is vital we remember the child in a holistic picture.  Not only is there the development of the hand grasp - there is the development of visual motor perception,  cognitive capacity and the ability to attend to the task.

STAGES OF PRE-WRITING SKILL DEVELOPMENT 
(Physical Domain)

Fine and Gross Motor Skills, Body Awareness, Physical Health

Stage One     Palmar-Supinate Grasp  (1 to 1.5 year olds)

                      Held with fisted hand

                      Wrist slightly flexed

                      Wrist slightly supinated away from mid-position

                      Arm moves as a unit

Stage Two    Digital-Pronate Grasp (2 to 3 year olds)

                     Held with fingers

                     Wrist straight

                     Wrist pronated

                     Wrist slightly ulnar deviated

                     Forearm moves as a unit

Stage Three   Static Triposture  (3.5 to 4 year olds)

                     Held with crude approximation of thumb, index, and middle 

                     fingers

                     Continual adjustments by other hand

                     Ring and little fingers only slightly flexed

                     Grasped proximally

                     No fine localized movements of digit components, hand moves as

                     a unit

Stage Four   Dynamic Tripod Posture (4.5 to 6 year olds)

                     Held with precise opposition of distal phalanges of thumb, index 

                     and middle fingers

                     Ring and little fingers flexed to form stable arch

                     Wrist slightly extended

                     Grasped distally

                     MCP joints stablized during fine, localized movements of PIP 

                     joints (test by drawing tiny circles)

More photos of what these grips look like.

Comprehensive Book on Grasp Development

Tripod Grasp (efficient)

 Quadropod Grasp (efficient)

Palmer-Supinate Grasp (inefficient)

 Digital-Pronate Grasp (inefficient)

Photos from www.elmbrookschools.org

Interestingly, many researchers have found that the dynamic tripod grasp is not the only functional pencil grip.  In fact, a grip called the lateral/dynamic quadrupod and four finger pencil grasp were nearly equal to the dynamic tripod grasp for functional writing.  There are efficient and inefficient grasps.

I have seen in many kindergarten classrooms, the practice of using adaptive pencil grips for a large number of the students.  Hello!  Is this not a huge wake up call?!   Adaptive pencil grips are not the answer.  These devices can help a student achieve a tripod pencil grasp but that does not mean the quality or timeliness of the student’s handwriting will improve.

What we know is that handwriting readiness involves not only the hand grasp but such things as visuomotor skills, proprioceptive-kinesthetic awareness & handedness.  There is a development moment for teaching handwriting (that includes writing the name, tracing letters, etc).    I am concerned about the current trends.

It's the Handwriting Fairy!

 I begin handwriting with a very special pencil!  It is quite a big deal.  I wait until October before formally introducing the pencil.  I tell the children that this is a special pencil that has a special way to hold it - the tripod grip!  I teach the proper pencil grip.  I do use a triangular pencil that helps the children succeed.  If they are using the proper grip - I put a "sprinkle" of fairy dust on their hand!  Here's what I use to make the pencil:

 I purchased a glitter glue that I painted on the pencil and let dry.  Next I added three to four feathers per pencil.  The easiest way to attach the feathers is with duct tape (it comes in fancy designs).  I do not worry about the eraser at this point.

A quick and easy way to make your own fairy dust solution is to sprinkle a little glitter into about a tablespoon of hand lotion.  I love vanilla.  I have a stash of little plastic containers I keep my glitter mixture in.  To use - simply dip your finger into the lotion and gently sweep on hands that are writing in the tripod grip!