February
This week in Handwriting Club we did jumping jacks, cross crawl (right hand touches left knee etc.)and windmills (right hand touches left foot) which are all great activities for using both sides of your body and crossing midline. Since we are still working on slanted/diagonal letters, these are great activities to get us ready for writing them. We did handwriting warm-ups and for more hand strength practice, we squeezed stress balls, a hole punch, and clamps, like we did a couple of weeks ago. Then we reviewed the letters V W X Y and practiced letters A K N M Z on the tri-lined and color coded dry-erase boards using dry erase crayons to help practice letter alignment. Some students needed verbal cues to start at the top (green) line and stop on the bottom (red) line. We did table top yoga pose and bear walks at the end for strength.
January
This week in Handwriting Club we did jumping jacks, cross crawl (right hand touches left knee etc.) and introduced windmills (right hand touches left foot) which is another great activity for using both sides of your body and crossing midline. Some students got it and others really had to think about it and needed help. Since we are working on slanted/diagonal letters this week, these are great activities to get us ready for writing them. We reviewed the different groups of letters: Steering Wheel (curve letters), Blaster Rockets (blast to the top letters), Shovel ( dig down letters). The students did a good job at remembering them. Before practicing the Slanted Sword letters (V, W, X, Y, A, N, M, Z, v, w, x, y, z, k), we pretended to have a sword in our hand to practice diagonal strokes. Next, we practiced the letters V, W, X, Y, A in the air, did hand warm-ups, and then practiced writing them on the chalkboards. We also did down dog yoga pose then went into plank pose then back up to down dog pose, which is great for strength and focusing.
December
In Handwriting Club, we reviewed directions of our own body (top, middle, bottom,
right and left). Next we did jumping jacks to practice using both
sides of our body together (gave visual cues of soldier and X).
We reviewed the "Blaster
Rocket" letters by
pretending that we were rockets. We had our hands together above our
heads, like a rocket. We then touched our toes then blasted to the
top! We did our handwriting warm-ups and then positioned
our self on our bellies for writing. We also reviewed finger
positioning when grasping dry erase crayons and made sure our wrist
and elbows were on the floor when writing. We used the tri-lined dry erase boards to practice
letter alignment again. We finished the "Blaster Rocket"
letters I, J, T, H, t, i j. I also noticed some students using more wrist
muscles instead of finger muscles. So, I gave them them wrist
support which forced them to use
finger movement. I emphasized keeping wrist and elbow on the floor
(table) when writing. Then we ended with table top yoga pose and counted
to 15. Next week we will be going to take a break from letters and really
work on using finger movement.
November |
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In Handwriting Club, we reviewed
directions of our own body (top, middle, bottom, right and
left). Next we did jumping jacks to practice using both sides of our
body together (gave visual cues of soldier and X). We started our next
group of letters called "Blaster Rockets." We
practiced letters P, B, R, D, F, E by using our bodies. We pretended that
we were rockets. We had our hands together above our heads, like a
rocket. We then touched our toes then blasted to the top and drew a
little curve line in the air to make the letter
"P." We practiced the other letters, I
mentioned this way. We did our handwriting warm-ups and for
more finger and wrist practice, I brought in paper airplanes and
foam rockets for fun. Each student held a rocket or airplane with
thumb and pointer finger, just like holding a pencil. They also made
sure their wrist was extended back. I put a target on the floor for
them to hit (this works on eye-hand coordination). Then we practiced
these letters using our small chalkboards on the floor. We
also reviewed finger positioning when grasping chalk and made sure
our wrist and elbows were on the floor when writing. At the end we
did bear walks or table top yoga pose.
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October
In Handwriting Club, we reviewed directions of our own body (top, middle, bottom, right and left). We reviewed the different lines straight (vertical), sleepy (horizontal), curve and slanted (diagonal) lines. We did slow jumping jacks to practice using both sides of our body together. Next we did our weekly handwriting warm-ups while standing. For more finger practice, we practiced spinning a top using thumb and pointer finger on the floor . Then reviewed curve letters C, O, Q ,S, G. We have been practicing forming these correctly on a chalkboard. So this week we concentrated where each letter starts and ends by using tri-lined dry erase boards with top line colored in green, middle in yellow, and bottom in red. I emphasized starting on the top (green) line and stopping on the bottom (red) line. We used dry erase crayons, like chalk, it gives more feedback to the brain and also slows down the motion when writing. These are better for motor control than dry erase markers. When erasing the dry erase crayons, the students have to press harder with a cloth to erase it, which is great for strengthening! Also, I have observed some students using more wrist movement by flexing their wrist instead of using finger movement to write. When writing please make sure students elbows and wrist stay on the table/floor. At the end we did table top yoga pose for strengthening.
September
In handwriting club, we practiced side steps to the right/left and added windmills (right hand to left foot) this week. These help with right and left concepts, using both sides of the body, and crossing midline. We also reviewed the different lines (straight, sleepy, slanted & curve). The students remembered them, especially the sleepy lines. Some students even remembered the slanted lines. I brought in a frisbee for each student to pretend to use as a steering wheel. We sat with legs straight out in front of us and held the steering wheel out in front (this postion helps with posture and works our core muscles). We started with the steering wheel at the top and curved to the left and stopped at the bottom to make the letter "C". Then we went all the way around to make the letter "O". I hope this will reinforce students to start "curve" lettes on the top line and form in the correct direction. We did our "handwriting warm-ups" and most students remembered them. We practiced making uppercase C and O starting on the top (green) line and stopping on the bottom (red) line.