Sensory Handwriting

6 months ago, Zachariah, age 5, struggled to draw a circle or draw lines.  In late February he started a sensory ABC class at The Handwriting Clinic. After only 12 weeks of sensory adapted instruction he can now copy most letters of the alphabet.
I am still working hard with Zachariah for him to retain the visual memory component of being able to write a letter by recall and or his name un assisted.  I sat down with Jan, the founder and director of The Handwriting Clinic the other day.  She walked me through a home program to benefit Zachariah to enhance his progress between sessions with her.
I wanted to share a glimpse of our day with you in the hopes it might help you with your preschooler if you need help in this area.
First up…..fine motor labs. Jan recommends 5 minutes of “lab work” each day. I am setting up 3 labs each day…and having all 3 of my kids rotate through the labs. So Zachariah is essentially getting 15 minutes of fine motor labs each day. (5 days a week)  Lab Work consist of cutting, tong work, adaptive coloring, and Punch Art.

Punch Art
Zachariah works on improving eye hand coordination and tripod grasp development by using an adapted golf tee to punch holes around a small picture of a race car.

 
Tong Practice
Zachariah is developing separation of two sides of the hand to have good stability with the 4th and 5th fingers using tongs. He is also sorting colors, identifying patterns, sorting and counting with one to one correspondence.



Cutting
Levi is developing eye hand coordination by cutting angled, curved and forward lines. He is also developing stability with his 4th and 5th fingers and learning to manipulate the scissors with his thumb, index and 3rd finger.



I will share other labs as we complete them this summer!
After “lab time” we go outside for a movement break.
Here is a short video of a movement break.
Movement Break
Another fun movement break is this new swing from Ikea!

After about 15-20 minutes of a movement break we come back inside for a sensory activity.
Each week we will make a tactile flashcard of the 3 letters and letter strokes we are focusing on for the week.



This is simply glue with jello sprinkled on top like you would sprinkle sand or glitter on a craft project.  This project reaches multiple senses including his sense of smell!
Another sensory activity (also about 15 minutes) is SHAVING CREAM! We stayed outside for this one after a movement break.
And then all boys love their trucks…I ask him to drive his car over the letters one more time before letting him have “free play".”




Zachariah also needs medium and large motor practice (about 10 minutes a day) with his letters. We are doing this with pool noodles, lazer light, water swords…basically anything fun that he can use to write the letter in the air.  This picture shows him writing the letters first with a “pointer finger” on his paper on the easel.

and then eventually we do have to put the pencil to the paper!

If you want to see more really cool sensory activities click here.
I have a HUGE binder full of activities and labs to do with Zachariah this summer….so stay tuned for more ideas…..as the days get hotter and hotter in Texas this summer!
Oh yeah….and we go swimming everyday after all our work is finished! Huge motivation activity!