Children, in their preschool and kindergarten years, are introduced to handwriting, art projects, and activities that require accurate cutting and writing. How well your child uses his fine motor skills determines the success they have in these activities. It takes a lot of practice for your child to refine their fine motor skills. However, randomly scribbling on a […]
Author: Danielle Shulman
5 Home-Based Activities to Keep Your Kids Fresh During the Summer
Summer vacation can be lots of fun when your children have plenty to do. Learning and playing go hand in hand. Your children won’t enjoy staying indoors when it’s warm and sunny outside. With this in mind, take a look at the following ways to keep your little ones busy outdoors while also helping to […]
Back-to-School Shopping List
Kids rarely enjoy thinking about the prospect of going back to school. Even so, you need to do your back-to-school shopping. Try to get your children involved so they look forward to using their new school supplies. Many kids’ supplies focus on the use of fine motor skills. These are the small muscle movements of the […]
Fine Motor Activities to Prepare Kids for Kindergarten
Fine motor activities are important because they encourage and help your child work on developing their fine motor skills. These skills are essential for proper handwriting. Before being introduced to writing, your child should get plenty of practice developing fine motor skills. Your child uses their small muscles of their body when practicing their fine motor […]
The Benefits of Cursive
In today’s age of iPhones and tablets, you may wonder why your child even needs to learn cursive handwriting. Chances are most people will simply be dictating and typing in the future, right? Although electronic devices are making the writing process much easier and more convenient, evidence shows that using a pen and paper offers a number of […]
Fidget Spinners? Good or Gimmick?
Fidget spinners are small and made of metal or plastic. In the center, they have a bearing and have a few prongs that spin around it. The intent of the gadget is to provide mindless play while sitting in class. Although they have been around for some time now, they are just recently growing in […]
Why Does My Child Fidget?
You may recognize fidgeting when your child makes small movements with their body, generally their feet and hands. Their teachers may tell you that they often tap their pencils or wiggle around in their chair in the classroom. It’s something that most children do. It’s often linked with not paying attention. It often reflects restlessness […]
Elements of a Sensory Gym
Being a parent brings you lots of joy. However, if your child is struggling with a sensory processing disorder (SPD), there is a whole range of other challenges you may be facing. Everyday environments often don’t accommodate children with SPD. For instance, if you have a child whose over-sensitive, they may find things like physical […]
What are the Signs of Sensory Overload in Children?
Parents who have children with behavioral and learning disorders will likely tell you their children also struggle with sensory overload problems. Sensory overload, or also referred to as sensory overstimulation, is when an environment’s sensory experiences are too overwhelming for a child’s nervous system to process it successfully or make any meaning out of the […]
What are the Signs My Child is Having Handwriting Difficulties?
Handwriting can be a very difficult skill that many children find hard to master. Handwriting difficulties in children can cause distress and frustration and can even affect your child’s willingness to write. It might even cause you anxiety. There are a number of difficulties children can struggle with and you and your pediatric occupational therapist […]
What are the Factors that Influence Handwriting?
Shortly after your child learns how to grasp a pencil or other writing tool, they begin scribbling on paper. As your child matures, this “scribbling” begins forming into handwriting. There are a number of factors that can influence handwriting and even cause handwriting problems in children. Let’s take a look. Visual-Perceptual Skills Deficits If your […]
5 Finger Activities to Improve Handwriting
Finger and hand strength is essential and needed for children to perform daily activities, like climbing monkey bars, zipping or buttoning up their clothes, or cutting up their food. It’s also needed for endurance so that he or she can perform activities like handwriting. Your child’s pencil grasp can be influenced by a number of […]
4 Wrist Activities to Improve Handwriting
When your child starts learning handwriting, fine motor skills are very important. Your child needs to have good posture and physical stability, strong hands, fingers and wrists, and a good pencil grasp. Before your child starts working on pre-handwriting patterns and letter formation, it’s a great idea to help him focus his brain and body […]
The Underactive Child
Are you concerned your child may have sensory integration dysfunction (sensory processing disorder)? This is where she is unable to process the transmitted information from her senses accurately. Although children can have either overactive or underactive sensory systems with this disorder, many are under sensitive to particular stimuli, which causes them to look for intense […]
The Overactive Child
If you have an overactive, or as they say, “spirited” child, he may appear to be strong-willed, super active, and yes, at times difficult. He may be more persistent, energetic, and intense than average. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and can mean that he is determined and enthusiastic. Still, his behavior and temperament […]
What are the Prerequisites to Handwriting Readiness?
Kids often struggle with handwriting, and this difficulty is referred to as dysgraphia. Handwriting skills are very important. In fact, around 30 to 60 percent of the class time spent in elementary schools is spent on writing activities and fine motor skills. It’s important for your child to learn prewriting skills so they will be […]