June 18, 2014
Did you know handwriting is an important aspect of your child’s learning? Handwriting influences success in reading, writing, language use and critical thinking.
Now that summer has arrived, you can use this time to help your child excel in school next year by creating engaging activities that focus on handwriting development.
Not sure where to start? Our therapy team in North Houston shares these fun activities children will enjoy:
- Finger painting
- Activity workbooks with mazes
- Easels/dry erase boards
- Operation board game, fishing games
- Spinning top toys, scissor tasks, Play-Doh, etc.
- Sidewalk chalk writing
- Scavenger hunts
- Writing lists (grocery lists, planning an outing, etc.)
- Creative writing or storytelling
- Journaling through drawings and words
- Speed writing
Working on these skills over the summer will increase your child’s readiness for school, reinforce skills through practice and prevent regression of skills over the summer break.
Aim for at least 10-15 minutes of activity per day to increase your child’s confidence with visual memory skills, letter/number formation, spacing/sizing and writing within set boundaries.
Handwriting also incorporates many skills that are important to everyday tasks such as good posture, fine motor coordination, hand dexterity, grasping and visual motor skills.
Don’t limit these activities to summer fun. Use them throughout the school year to develop your child’s skills year-round!
Source: Handwriting Without Tears