Upper Extremity strengthening

Here's a great idea for kids: tape a piece of paper to the bottom of a table.  Have the child lay on his back and color on the paper.  This is great for shoulder strengthening and upper extremity control. 

Ways to transition

Watching some little friends line up today got me to thinking, "there's got to be an easier way!"  There are many things you can do to help kids transition to lining up or between one activity and another.  Using a sound (ringing bell, buzzer, that was easy button from Staples) will help kids recognize it's time to move.  Lots of times a set of commands like "2 minutes, 1 minute, let's go" works well.  When a child needs more help or cues than those try these:

• call kids by attribute (shirt, hair, eye color, etc.)
• have them crawl, hop, or spin to the target area
• sing a familiar song like The Ants Go Marching, or Clean Up, Clean Up
• use a long caterpillar or footsteps taped to the floor, or colorful cones for a visual cues
• use a picture schedule and have the child place the picture of the activity that's over into an envelope or pocket and do what the next picture on the schedule indicates

Remember when starting a new thing in the classroom, say taking your clothespin and pinning it to the center in which you're playing, lots of kids may get it right away.  Some are going to need direct teaching a few or many times before it makes sense.  Try a few ways of explaining, demonstrate with popsicle stick people or dolls, have the child draw himself doing it, we all learn differently!

What's your favorite way to transition?

Pencil Control

Now, let's get started drawing shapes, begining with a circle.  Have your child imitate a circle, with the end points meeting.  Next, try a square and triangle, or intersecting lines.  Have your child focus on the corners so that they are not rounded.  Continue with this until the shapes come naturally.  Dot-dots are another great way of improving pencil control.  

Getting Ready For Kindergarten

So, it's that time of year when parents of pre-kindergarteners start to think about their little ones going off to school. Kindergarten is not what it used to be and much more is expected of your little ones. Now days, most kids going into kindergarten are able to write the letters of his/her first name. Some are even able to write the letters of their last names. Most kids are able to cut across a piece of paper, and some can cut out shapes. The most common concern that I find parents having is that their child is not yet able to write their first name. Parents want their kids to have this skill and focus solely on teaching their kids how to write their names. They, as well as their kids, become frustrated by lack of progress. So, I am going to tell you what I tell them- some kids are just not ready to write their names. They just don't quite have the required pencil control to form letters. So, let's back up a few steps and work on the pencil control, then, once they get that, we can start to work on letters. Start by having your child draw straight horizontal and vertical lines across a piece of paper. Once mastered, have them draw these lines within pathways, trying not to cross the lines. Next, have him/her draw within curvy pathways. Try these on paper, with chalk on a chalkboard, or with paint. I will post next time about the next steps.

To improve a child's grasp, try a small, broken crayon (see post "school readiness skills".

Another cute snowman

Here's yet another way to make a fluffy snowman.  Have your child draw the snowman using different size circles then pull apart cotton balls and glue them on.  Great for pencil control, as well as finger strengthening and bilateral coordination.

Here's an easy snowman.  Just use 2 different sized paper plates and a circle (have your child draw and cut out) and glue them together.  Use buttons for the mouth (or anything else) and pompoms for the buttons.  Or, have your child draw all of this one.  Your child can braid 3 pieces of yarn together to make a scarf and he/she has a cute little snowman.

Cute tree

Here's a tree personalized by your child.  Apply paint to your child's forearm and hand then push them down on a piece of paper to make the trunk and branches.  Have your child crumble paper to make leaves.