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Monday, February 23, 2015

Handwriting milestones at the age of 5-6

Handwriting is a complex skill.  Most children are not ready for the complexity of the task until approximately 6 years of age while some children will be able to write prior to beginning school.

Children at the age of 5 can do the following:

  •  Fold paper diagonally
  •  Write their first and last name
  •  Write the entire alphabet with varied neatness
  •  Draw objects and thread beads onto string









By age 6 fine motor skills also include:
 
·      Tying a knot and bow
·      Copying letters and numbers and printing their name
·      As fine motor skills become stronger, children gain better control in writing letters.
·      Children at this age have adequate hand strength for sustained pencil work.
·      Children usually identify hand preference around age 3 and so hand dominance should be well established.
·      Children at this age will learn that when one hand is the writing hand and the other hand is to be the helping hand to stabilize the writing paper.


Activities to develop handwriting skills
  • Bubble Wrap – children love to play with bubble wrap. The action of popping the bubbles between the thumb and index finger helps to strengthen fingers for a more controlled tripod grasp.
  • Clothes pegs – helping to hang washing on the line and hang up clothes improves finger movements and strength.
  • Water pistols – children love water pistols and squirt guns. The pulling of the trigger is an action, which develops a strong index finger, which again supports the tripod grip.



Children develop fine motor skills at their own pace. Let’s be resourceful to enhance their skills.


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