That Doesn’t Even LOOK Like Writing, Part 2

Posted by Angela | 0 comments

Last month we talked about how you can teach your child fine motor skills to get the writing. Now I want to equip you with websites to keep you going.

I don’t know about you but one of our greatest frustrations has been the use of scissors in our home. Our budding writers have cried, have thrown them and we have spent countless amounts of wasted time trying to master the skill of cutting. You may be wondering what the solution was. No it wasn’t those fancy ‘bounce back’ scissors that they have in the pre-school classrooms. It wasn’t ‘grown up’ scissors. It wasn’t quitting.

We went back to the basics. I printed out single straight-lined worksheets for them to cut. We cut one page a day, per week until they mastered it. One page did not overwhelm any of us. I would add in ‘cutting’ playdough with those silly bounce back scissors. They did not mind this because playdough has no rules.

You can find some good cutting printables here:

Positively Autism: Scissor Activities

So back to writing. Again…hours of lost time trying to force the issue. Kicking and screaming, hair pulling…exhaustion. (The kids too.) I finally decided that if I could get both children to write their name (in any dialect of their choosing) once a day then we were making progress. I would be able to add tracing and mazes masked in other ‘school work’ in other places. It worked!

Here’s some printable tracing activities for you:

TLSBooks: Tracing Activities

Don’t you just LOVE playdough? I admit, I was not a fan at first until I found out how many wonderful things you could do with it within the school day. I mean, what kid doesn’t love playdough?? And as an added bonus for those of us who have children who still put everything in their mouth–it’s non-toxic. You may be wondering why that would be a concern for me since my kiddos are 7 and 6, but as a mother of a 7 year old boy who swallowed a bouncy ball last month I will tell you–it’s a BIG bonus. (By the way, my copycat 6 year old daughter had to follow suit and swallowed a ring a few days ago.)

Anyhow, here are some super wonderful playdough activities and recipes:

PreKinders: Playdough Ideas

PreKinders: Playdough Recipes

Here are two of my favorite websites. I mention them because I am very much a person who learns by having things ‘spelled out’ for me. I need steps. I need to be able to copy and paste these items into my personal schedule. If you look closely at the second link you will see that the pig graphic gives detailed pictorial instruction. Those young children who cannot read the word ‘glue’ will surely recognize the picture and this builds confidence.

Hummingbird Educational Resources: Recipes, Great Fine Motor Activities

Education.com: When Pigs Fly

And finally.. for you visual learners, a special treat. The following link will take you to step by step videos that teach you how to strengthen your child’s fine motor skills. Ah, the beauty of the internet!

Expert Village: Wonderful Videos on How to Teach Your Child Fine Motor Skills

Angela DeRossett is military wife, homeschooling mother, and an advocate for autism research. Angela can be found blogging at Homeschooling the Chaotic Family and Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommy.