Enjoy Learning: Spelling Words

This is a simple activity that can help kids to remember spelling of words.  You randomly write down alphabet letters on a piece of paper.  You can also have your child to write down the letters.

Then use a color dot to stamp on the letters.  You can practice spelling sight words or everyday words with your child.

How do you give extra visual cues?  For those kids who need more help with spelling, I usually go over the spelling with them before they stamp on it.  

Adult: "So give me a word."

Kid: "say" "It's one of my everyday words."

Adult: "Spell it for me."

Kid: "s...a...y"

Adult: "Can you use the word and make a sentence for me?"

Kid: "Why did he say..."        

Adult: "Ok, now you can stamp the word on your paper." "Spell it for me."

(You can leave the writing on the board for extra visual cues or erase the word to challenge the kid.)

My child is too young for spelling words.  Can this activity be modified?  Of course.  You can have your child to find alphabet letters in order. "Let's stamp on ABC's in order!!"  It is good for recognizing alphabet letters and sequencing letters.  And it is FUN!! 

Use different colors and make it more colorful.  Kids LOVE colors.  They are usually more attentive to the task when they perform activities that involve colors.  I usually suggest kids to pick up their favorite color.  You can also think about the color theory and let them choose either warm or cold color depending on their needs.  This picture was excerpted from blog.edynco.com.

What's the purpose of this activity? My kids will improve their visual attention, visual motor skills by tracking and scanning the letters, and short term/ long term memory performance by remembering words.  Ultimate goal is to become a better speller.  In addition, they can do something fun!  

Play and Enjoy learning~!!     

Tie your shoes: Break down into simple steps.

Cross. 

Use the child's index finger on both hands to teach the concept of "Top/Over" and "Bottom/Under."  You can also teach the left and right side of his/her body at the same time.  But do not focus on too many things (left, right, top and bottom) at one time.  Focus on telling the top and bottom. 

One goes in and out.

Bring the bottom string in and out.  Again, teach the concept of "In" and "Out".  You see tying shoelace is not too simple.  It requires spacial perceptual skills very much.  

Pull each end.

Kids sometimes try to pull the each string upwards.  Demonstrate pulling to the side way like playing tug-of-war.  It is a good chance to teach kids directionality (up/down/sideways/opposite directions).   

Ta-da!! The first part is done.  Before we move on, I would like to point out that I made a mark on each string, approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of the string from the shoe. I used a marker on one side and a piece of tape on the other side.  It will give kids visual and tactile cues for next steps.  

Make a bunny ear. 

Make a bunny ear all the way down to the shoe (head of the bunny), not on the tail (end of the shoelace).  If making the bunny ear is too hard, tell him/her to pick up the dot (black mark on the string) and hold the both strings together at the bottom.

Grab the other shoelace.

Grab the Snake's body (piece of the tape on the other side).  Then give a gentle hug around the bunny.  Tell him/her not to give a hug too tight or too many times.  One time and gently hug is enough and sweet!

Push the shoelace through the hole.

Push the snake's body (tape) through the hole that the snake just made.  "The hole is right around your thumb." Sometimes I make a mark on kid's thumb nail with a washable color marker to give extra visual cues.  

Hold two loops.

Hold the tape and the dot. Pull-Pull-Pull! Another round of playing the Tug-of war.  

Ta-da!!

Of course, tying his/her own shoe is a different story.  But I believe this is the beginning.  I use this wooden toy shoe for the table-top activity because not all the kids wear shoes with shoelaces to school.  You can surely use child's own shoe at home.  Like I said in the previous blog, there are many more ways of tying shoelaces.  If one way is not working, then try another way.  But you have to give enough time to your child to learn.  

Enjoy teaching and Enjoy learning!!

Tie your shoes!

Throughout the school year, my kids in school (my workplace) practice tying their shoelaces during therapy sessions.  Experts say typically developing kids can learn tying  shoelaces at the age of 5-6 years.  There are so many different ways of tying shoelaces.  You can try different methods and find the one way that works for your child. Practice tying shoes with your child at home and boost his/her skills and confidence.   

This is one of many ways.  

1. Two untied shoelaces
2. Cross. One goes in and out.
3. Pull each end.
4. Make a bunny ear all the way down to your shoe: not too big, not too small.
5. Grab the other shoelace and go around the bunny ear one time. 
6. Push the shoelace through the hole and make another bunny loop. (You can put a little piece of tape around the shoelace for your child to push through the lace easily.)
7. Hold two bunny ears, one on each hand. 
8. Pull the bunny ears.

Corresponding Shoelace Story: "One-eared Bunny"

(This is a story that goes with the steps of tying shoelaces.)

(Complete step #1 to #3 before the story begins.) Long time ago, there was a bunny with only one ear (step #4).  So no one wants to be a friend of the bunny.  The bunny was sad and lonely.  One day, a snake came to the bunny.  The bunny was so scared.  But the snake said, "I want to be your friend."  The snake slithered around the bunny gently, not too tight (step #5).  Then he curved himself and gave the bunny another ear (step #6).  Finally, the bunny had two ears (step #7).  The bunny and the snake lived happily ever after (step #8).  The End. 

More resources on www.goodreads.com

Parenting School Age Children

Do you think organic chemistry or biology the most difficulty subject?  I believe parenting is the hardest subject ever.  Sometimes I wish there is a definite strategy or solution for every problem that I face with my two little ones.  Unfortunately, there is no perfect strategy but maybe better strategy.  In order to find the “better strategy”, I believe that parents should study, experiment, find the results and review the strategy.  If it works for you and your child, you should be consistent with using the strategy.  I know it’s easier said than done.  In addition, it is much harder when you have more than one child because you have to consider the dynamics among siblings as well.

  

Here are some websites that support and provide ideas for positive parenting. 

Parenting School Age Children on www.about.com

www.parenting.org

www.parents.com

Enjoy Learning: Sand Writing

Sand writing is one of the popular therapy activities to improve handwriting skills. It also helps with remembering letters and words by giving different feelings on the fingertips.  And it is fun!

1. Parent writes first.

Have your index cards ready and draw lines to help with writing alignment. Then you (parent) write a letter or word with a pencil lightly for your child to trace the letter or the word. 

2. Child traces the letter/word with different writing tools.

Child will trace the letter or the word a few times with different writing tools such as a pencil, color pencils, crayons, and different color markers. Please encourage your child to start writing at the top line and to trace it neatly.

3. Trace the letter/word with liquid glue.

If your child is done with tracing the word, use the liquid glue tracing it one last time. This step is not too easy and you can give some help here.  If your child wants to do this part, let him or her try it.  If it gets too messy, you can always start from the beginning. 

4. Sprinkle sands over the glue.

Before the glue gets dried, sprinkle sands over the glued letters.  This is fun part and it can get messy.  Children love playing with sands and love to get messy too. 

5. Let it dry.

Let it dry for a few minutes.  Depending on how much glue you used, it can take longer than a few minutes. 

6. Practice tracing

After it is dried completely, have your child trace the letter or the word multiple times with his/her fingertip on the writing hand. Spell it out loud while tracing each letter.  It will help your child with remembering the letter or the word.

 Let's get ready to be messy and have fun with your child.  Enjoy learning!

Ways You Can Help a Stuttering Child

Many young kids go through a stage when they stutter.  Stuttering usually goes away on its own, but in some cases lasts longer.  Here are some suggestions for parents to help child who goes through the tough time.

Listen patiently to what your child says, not how it is said.

Allow your child to complete her thoughts without interrupting.

Keep natural eye contact while child is speaking.

Allow the child to finish his/her thoughts. Avoid filling in or speaking your child's thoughts or ideas.

After your child speaks, reply slowly and unhurriedly, using some of the same words.
For example, if he/she says, "I w-w-w-w-w-want a c-c-c-c-c-cookie."  You reply in a relaxed way, "You want a cookie. They are very tasty."

Wait a second or so before responding to your child.  This helps to calm and slow things down and should help his/her speech.

If child begins to talk to you while you are busy, tell him/her that you can't look away right now but that you are listening to him/her that he/she has your attention. 

Spend at least 5 minutes a day devoted to talking with your child in an unhurried manner.

Don't make him/her give little speeches, plays or read aloud to visiting friends, relatives, or neighbors.

This list was provided by my colleague, speech therapy teacher. -xoxo

Do you need a pencil grip? Why?

Do you know what is a pencil grip? Not the way of you holding the pencil but the tools that actually help you to hold the pencil properly...

You would probably think 'why do you need a tool to hold a pencil?'

As younger kids (I would say pre-k or earlier) are demanded to write at such a young age, they obviously start writing with their immature hands.  Or on the other hand, kids never experienced proper writing or holding a pencil before schooling, then they will have difficulty writing and/or holding pencil when they start school.

I'm not saying all kids are not ready for writing at this age.  I am trying to say that their tiny hands are still developing.  And some kids can struggle with holding the pencil and/or writing, which is "normal".

I have a three-year-old boy at home who goes to a nursery school while I am working with other kids in school.  He recently started tracing letters at the school.  I have noticed that he tries to hold the pencil in different ways.  It seems that he did not figure out the proper way or the most comfortable way of holding the pencil yet.  We will see.

This is what I think...(when I think of typically developing kids or kids with mild development delays)
Pencil grips are surely helpful.  But not all the pencil grips are good for my child.  Before you try to give any pencil grip to your child, try to teach your child the proper way of holding the pencil verbally and with your demonstration.  Give some time to your child and see if she/he tries to follow directions.  You can let your child struggle a little bit (with your supervision).  You know struggling is a learning process.  Kids may like to use a pencil grip because it looks cool.  Long term goal will be writing without a tool.  One more thing! Before you give a pencil grip to your child, try to use it and see what it does and how you feel on your hand.  Think of the size difference between your hand and child's hand.  Then start the process.  Don't forget to observe how your child using it.  FYI, I like to use a pencil grip sometimes.  It just feels different!  I believe the most important thing is that we make the writing the fun, enjoyable, and exciting activity for kids.  If the pencil grips are the tools to make the writing cool experience, WHY NOT!

Handwriting milestones at pre-k and kindergarten

As mentioned in the previous blog, handwriting is a complex skill.  Most children are not ready for the complexity of the task when they start Pre-K or Kindergarten in school. Surely, some children will be able to write prior to beginning school. Although we do not expect them to have good handwriting skills in the beginning of the school year, we encourage parents to teach them to write their name and some numbers independently. Please refer to the picture that shows handwriting milestones. Some strategies to improve children’s handwriting skills are listed below:      

Pre-Writing Activity

The pre-writing activities are a great way to build essential, foundational fine motor skills and handwriting skills. By practicing pre-writing activities, children will improve hand strength and fine motor control. Children soon will learn how to draw shapes and write letters. It will also encourage effective hand positions.    

Little Crayons for the Little Hands

Children love new pencils and crayons. However, little pencils and crayons are much better for children to improve their fine motor skills and handwriting skills.  Try to break the crayons in half. Children will have fun breaking the crayons. Then encourage them to use those tiny crayons for drawing and coloring. Do the activities with your children.   

Work Together & Praise good effort and behavior

Spend time working together with your child.  As a parent or guardian, you want to show your effort  (modeling) for your little one.  Practice saying followings and more: “Good job trying so hard.” “Nice drawing.” “Wow! Impressive! You’re holding the pencil so nicely.”

We want to acknowledge their hard work and effort. While there's no secret formula of praising children, experts say understanding the when, where, and how of praising is an important tool in raising confident kids with a healthy sense of self-esteem.  Let’s be resourceful for better parenting.  I would like to add an article on your reading list.  Go click on www.webmd.com/parenting/guide

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.

www.education.com

www.donnayoung.org

www.kidspot.com