FUN Ways to Improve Fine Motor Skills

See you later boring penmanship worksheets! Practicing handwriting skills can be a blast with these FUN and creative methods I recently shared on Fox 4's Mom Squad.

Watch the segment FUN Ways to Improve Handwriting to learn unique ways to improve fine motor skills that will have your kids begging for more "handwriting" activities. (Shhhh! Don't let them know these activities will strengthen their hand muscles and help their penmanship. Just let them be kids and have some fun.)

Did you catch the last tip at the end?

That is always my favorite one to share since parents rarely associate Playdough with handwriting. CLICK HERE for the recipes I discussed, and you have to print these cute (and free) Playdough Mats.

For more handwriting tips, check out my posts:
Cursive Handwriting- Should we still teach it?
Handwriting Practice Tips
Lauri Products are perfect for fine motor skills (I still use these puzzles with my little ones. The puzzles are over 15 years old, yet they are so durable and still look brand new.)
Sweet Success! (Trust me, your kids will LOVE this activity!)
I have many more handwriting tips in my best-selling book How to Teach Your Child

Enjoy these tips!

Click HERE for more Mom Squad segments and scroll down.

FREE Playdough Mats

I am a huge fan of using playdough.  You can read HERE how I like using playdough to improve fine motor skills with my own children. 

Did you know that you can use playdough to reinforce math skills and literacy skills, too? I recently found a couple of sites that offer playdough mats for FREE- Yessirree! I am printing several off right now for my younger kids (on cardstock and then I will laminate them or use contact paper to cover them).

Planet of the Apels has a very thorough post on how to use these mats and lots of cute mats to download.

Sparklebox has tons of topics and teaching skills you can choose from.

Enjoy!

The best way to improve fine motor skills!

If your child needs help with handwriting, STOP having him practice writing letters sheet after sheet. Let’s go back to the underlying cause, which is more than likely weakened muscles in your child's hand and arm. Counteract this weakness with strengthening of your child’s hand and arm muscles.

Your child will exercise many muscles in his hands, which strengthen his fine motor skills. Have your child use his hands, fingers, knuckles, nails, palms, and wrists while he molds his playdough. You can also have your child use playdough to make the letters in his spelling words. Here are some homemade playdough recipes.

Homemade Playdough Recipe

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
1 tablespoon of oil
2 teaspoons of cream of tartar
1 teaspoon of food coloring

Place all ingredients in a pan, stir, and heat gently until it forms a lump and leaves the sides of the pan. Once it has cooled, knead the dough. You can add a few drops of scented oils for different scents. Allow to cool thoroughly. Store in an airtight container.

Edible Peanut Butter Playdough Recipe

Here is my children's favorite kind of playdough- the kind you eat. We make this at our home every couple of months. Yummy!

1 cup peanut butter 1 cup white corn syrup
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar (10x sugar)
1 1/4 cups dry milk powder

Mix peanut butter, corn syrup, and powdered sugar together. Add powdered milk and knead until smooth. (It gets very thick and must be kneaded with your child's hands for awhile, which is a great workout for your child's hands.) Your child can mold any shape he likes then eat it. We usually have a lot left over, so my children get to play with and eat peanut butter playdough for several days.

For a variation, I like to use Floam and clay. I find Floam is much easier and quicker to clean up than play dough. If your child works with clay, there are some types that can be baked, so your child can keep his creation forever. I like to integrate my children's clay projects with what they are learning in school. For example, my sons were learning about volcanoes, and they created erupting volcanoes with clay.

Check out this AWESOME and CREATIVE way to use Playdough in this best-selling unit!

Enjoy making learning FUN!

Cursive Handwriting- Should we still teach it?

About a month ago, one of my best friends and I were at a homeschool convention discussing all the different handwriting programs that are available. We were both trying to decide on a program to use this upcoming school year, which was a little overwhelming with so many choices.

I briefly mentioned that after all the years I spent instructing my oldest child in writing in cursive, he could not write out a complete sentence in cursive now that he is in high school. I felt embarrassed. Should I have caught this sooner?

The majority of handwriting programs end in the elementary grades after the children have mastered the lessons. In middle school, most children will use one preferred method of writing- cursive or manuscript- for handwritten assignments. Therefore, I never paid close attention to my son exclusively using print. In fact, I write primarily in print so I assumed my son was just following my lead.

And then my friend asked, "Do you think we should even teach cursive anymore?"

And the famous Arsenio Hall line from many years ago came immediately into my head-

"Things that make you go hmmm..."

Wow! That is a great question. Since most school work is done on the computer after the elementary grades, should our instructional method switch from a strong focus on teaching cursive to teaching typing?

I tried to recall when I use cursive in daily life and the only time I can think of is when I sign my name. Cursive is faster than print but typing surpasses them both. Printing is more legible and there are many times when people are forced to print, but I cannot think of any times when a person is forced to write in cursive. Even everything that we read is in print, unless it is an old historical document, such as the Declaration of Independence. So do I teach cursive at all? Is it one of those things that die out with new generations like chalkboards and quill pens did?

A little bit of handwriting history

I briefly researched the history of handwriting when I returned from the convention since my curiosity was now sparked. I learned that when the tools for writing were pointed nibs affixed to the end of sticks and feathers (quill pens), writing in cursive was actually a necessity. These tools would produce blotches instead of strokes when a little downward pressure was applied. Cursive letters were produced by sliding the pen sideways and they allowed us to take advantage of the tools of the time.

The invention of the pencil changed things dramatically. Ink wells, blotters, and nib pens disappeared and were replaced by pencils. The print alphabets were then introduced in our schools. So the question again arises- should I teach cursive?

I still do not know my final decision and I am not trying to encourage you either way. It was just something that makes you go hmmm.

Here is a great article about handwriting from Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries-

To all of you moms who worry, fret, and are appalled by your seventh grader's terrible handwriting, let me just say, "Let it go!!!"

My friend Bill is a highly educated, successful engineer who is gainfully employed, has raised a great family, and plays a vital role in our church,    BUT. . . Bill has the not-so-great handwriting.

My brother, bless his soul, has a vital ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ in a college town and has about the worse handwriting of anyone I've seen . . . including his college-educated wife's (whose handwriting skills are not much better).

My mother taught me how to write my cursive letters nice and straight . . . and no one cares. I hardly have to write anything now-a-days except to fill out a form or sign up for free windows down at the county fair. And you know what? I can't even remember how to write in cursive anymore . . . especially the letters Z and Q.

If you think that what I'm suggesting has gone too far . . . "Let it go!!!!"

The absolute truth is . . . handwriting doesn't really matter. We live in a day and age where hardly anyone writes with pen and ink anymore. We use keyboards and cell phones for most everything. Yet, I know many moms who are in constant turmoil because their teenager's writing looks like scribbles and scratches on paper.

"Let it GO!!!!!"

January 2011 UPDATE: Cursive handwriting has been omitted from the Common Core State Standards, the new curriculum standard that more than 40 states adopted last summer, the Associated Press reports.

Typically taught in third and fourth grade, cursive is already disappearing in some classrooms. With students widely using computers or text messages instead of handwriting their communications, teachers are choosing to spend less time teaching script, the news service says. Even when handwritten assignments are required, many students reportedly prefer to use printed block letters instead of script.

Source: www.parentdish.com

February 2014 UPDATE: I am still continuing to teach my children cursive through the elementary years. It will be up to each individual child if he decides to continue using it afterwards. I want to at least introduce the option to them and have them be able to read historical documents that are written in cursive.

January 2016 UPDATE:
I thought this is a creative way to get your kids to learn cursive. LOL

Lauri Products perfect for fine motor skillls!

Lauri Perception Puzzles

My children love these brightly colored puzzles because they are challenging, the texture is appealing, and the rubber pieces are flexible and durable. Don't worry about missing pieces because Lauri has a replacement service and guarantee. Lauri's pieces are washable and virtually indestructible for years of quiet, safe play. I recommend purchasing these puzzles in sets, as they are definitely worth the investment.

Little ones need practice in mental exercises, such as perceiving sight differences, so they will be prepared for reading by helping their brains make important neurological connections. In more technical terms, these perception puzzles help your child connect his dendrites to his neurons in his brain, which are the main connections that occur during reading. Thus, you are setting a firm foundation for reading even before you teach your child a letter sound. Isn't that cool?

Lauri Stacking Pegs

The stacking pegs can be used for sorting, counting, creating patterns, and developing fine motor skills. The brightly colored pegs nudge into the rubber pegboard base and can be stacked securely on top of each other, higher and higher.

Lauri Shape and Color Sorter
 

The shape and color sorter has chunky shapes that are bumpy on one side and smooth on the other. Children slide these rubber shapes over glossy pegs. This activity promotes dexterity, sorting skills (shape and color), and eye-hand coordination.

Lauri products are excellent to use with a young child while you are working with an older child. The younger child still feels involved in school time, and these products will keep him interested for awhile. This will allow you to concentrate on your older child. I keep the Lauri products hidden away and take them out only during school time, so my children are more focused and excited to play with them during our learning time.