Methuen, Massachusetts

D.P. Timony Grammar School

Home

Kindergarten Info

Monthly Newsletters

Monthly Calendars

Snacks and Lunch

Bear Binder

Handwriting Skills

Mathematic Skills

Educational Websites

Scholastic Book Order

Handwriting

           The Timony Grammar School will be using the Zaner-Bloser handwriting program.  Their website offers a free tool to create handwriting worksheets and papers.  This is a great resource for home practice.  Just click on ZB Fonts Online.  Another great resource for creating handwriting pages is the handwritingwizard.com

                     

 Here are some things to look for and tips:

  Desk Height-Students should sit so that their ankles, knees, and hips are at a 90 degree angle.  The desktop should be 1-2” above the elbows.

  There should be no sign of tension in either the knuckle or the fingertip.

  Fingers need to learn the feel of moving to make the letters.  If children learn the wrong way, it is hard to correct later on.

  Thicker, shorter pencils and crayons make the hand use a more efficient tripod grasp.  Golf pencils are great!

 

Making Handwriting Fun!

  Use a small whiteboard and dry erase marker.

  Rainbow Writing-retrace a letter or a word with lots of color to make it look like a

       rainbow!

  Write in shaving cream!

  Finger Painting Bag- Put ½ Cup in a Ziploc bag and push the air out as you       close the bag.  This also works with hair gel.

      The Vtech - Write & Learn Letter Pad was recommended to me by a fellow

             teacher.  Her daughter has had great success and fun learning to write with it.

 
Lots of great writing activities at: Kindergarten Writing Activities

 

 Pencil Grip 

How to Hold a Pencil: The Correct Pencil Grip
http://drawyourworld.com/grip.html
Illustrations of Inefficient Grips
http://jset.unlv.edu/15.3/asseds/edyfig2.gif

 

Fine Motor Skills

 

Fine motor skills are important for all children.  Fine motor skills help us to write, draw, cut, tie shoelaces, button shirts, etc…

Here are some activities to help strengthening these skills:

  Lacing/sewing

  Puzzles

  Connect the dot puzzles

  Play dough

  Use tweezers to pick up small items

  Computer activities

  Games like Jenga, Operation, Trouble, Cooties, etc.

  Make collages from magazine pictures

  Screw and unscrew objects such as nuts and bolts and caps from jars

  String beads onto a shoelace

  Crumple paper into a small ball and then flick it with the finger 
(play "soccer" with the paper ball)

  Put keys into locks to open doors

  Place clothespins on the edge of a box or container (put letters on the clothespins for added letter recognition

            Use Wikki Stix to form shapes, letters, numbers, and other 

              designs. You may want to use a template. (available at craft stores or online)