Inclusive Resource on Sensorimotor Child Development for Parents and Teachers

No More Worksheets for Me!

As the school year ends, parents and teachers are always asking me how to help their children with handwriting.  Especially  as the “Summer Activities” get doled out. I can’t think of a bigger kill joy than asking a six year old to sit inside and copiously copy letters and complete hand writing drills.  Moving the activity to the picnic table under the maple tree really doesn’t reduce the drudgery.

IMG_2894So, embrace the reading list carefully crafted by experienced teachers with their breadth and depth of knowledge of children’s literature.  These books will bring joy and entertainment to your children.  But if the packet includes worksheets to practice writing…those just may have to “accidentally” get tossed in the trash…or eaten by the dog…

There are so many ways to entice your children to write, but worksheets are NOT the way.  Today we’ll begin with how The Children’s Garden encourages and MOTIVATES the children to write.  In the days to come, more specific information on how to build hand writing skills and activities to foster proficiency will be covered.

The last blog post, Creating Signs, featured the creation of signs by older students.  I mentioned that the activity can be adapted to a younger crop of students and indeed just the next day, we had torrential rains, forcing the after school garden group inside.  The children ranged from kindergarten to second grade.  We made beautiful signs.

The kids came up with their own strategies of how to proceed:IMG_2889

  • Some practiced with pencil and paper before sketching and painting on the wood shingle.
  • A first grader made lines for each letter to help keep the letters uniform.
  • Pairs of children shared the plate of paint and a paper cup of water to wash off paint from the brush.
  • Given enough time, much creative elaboration ensued!

IMG_2897

 


Equipment:

IMG_2902

  • Paints (Tempra or Acrylic)
  • Paint Brushes
  • Paper cup & water
  • Paper & pencils (to practice)
  • Wood Shingles

 


Directions:IMG_2899

  • With a group we found pairing up the children worked best.
  • The name of each plant grown in the garden was written on a piece of paper and put in a hat; children picked out a word to draw and illustrate.
  • Suggestions were made to practice if they liked.
  • Paper and pencil were provided as requested.
  • Help with spelling and reminders of what the plant looked like were provided as needed.
  • Some asked for the word to be written for them to copy. Others had the spelling dictated.

Benefits:

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_2891


This post reflects the partnership and creative collaboration between The Motor StorySustainable CAPE , Truro Public  Library and Truro Recreation.

 

 

 

Similar posts
  • A Shining Star! In our youth oriented culture, getting older tends to herald the decline of bodily functions and a wistful outlook, with memories of good times receding in the past. The silver lining of growing older, is that you get to witness how things turn out. In my case, I get to hear about the kids I [...]
  • Holiday Sponge Art Ten days ’til Christmas!  Planning simple holiday themed activities helps to channel some of that palpable energy.  The trick is to keep the projects simple. When kids’ sensory systems are overloaded with multi-colored lights, never-ending Christmas music and constantly changing routines, they don’t need any motor planning challenges. Activities that incorporate easy to do steps [...]
  • Gingerbread Houses I have been making gingerbread houses as a holiday celebration activity with the students for many years and it has become almost legendary. The children are thrilled. While it looks like all fun (and is!), I glean a great deal of information from this holiday activity. Benefits: I use the activity as an assessment of each [...]
  • Travel We are approaching the most heavily traveled season on the year.  Along with the joys of visiting family and friends, we often struggle through traffic jams of mammoth proportions.  Whether facing flying delays or miles of crawling traffic, when kids are in tow, the frustration and anxiety can multiply. No matter whether you take a [...]
  • Lasagna Gardening It’s time to Tuck in the Garden.  As Daylight Savings ends and temperatures plummet, the days of growing delicious food at the Truro Community Children’s Garden is ending for the season.  We’ll still be able to snitch kale and mint leaves for smoothie snacks, but our big job right now is preparing the garden beds [...]

No Comments Yet

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *