Below are some tips and tricks to help your child's learning journey.
1) Before any physical activity we should always warm up, and it's the same with writing!
• Play an 'air piano' for a few seconds.
• Place the tip of the little finger on the tip of the thumb and tap quickly 5 times, using both hands.
• Repeat the finger tap exercise with the other fingers.
• Grasp your right wrist with your left hand and gently 'pull' your arm 10 times. Change hands and repeat.
2) Teaching your child how to develop a good tripod grip and how to hold a pencil correctly is one of the biggest differences you can make on your child's writing journey! Proper grip of the tripod on a pencil allows the hand to have the greatest range of motion, using as little effort as possible. This will help your child develop their pencil skills and increase their fluidity of movement.
This is an exercise to encourage your child to use the tripod grip:
• Place the pencil on the table with the tip pointing towards your child
• Have them squeeze the pencil between their thumb and forefinger
• When they lift the pencil, let it fall back into the weft space while holding it firmly
• Place your middle finger under the pencil so it's steady and ready to write (and draw).
3) Develop thumb opposition. Thumb opposition refers to the ability to turn and rotate the thumb so that it can touch the tip of each finger on the same hand. This allows children to grab objects.
Activities to help include:
• Pick up, throw and squeeze rubber balls and tennis balls.
• Squeezing large sponges to get the water out is great for strengthening your hands.
• Placing discs in narrow slots; so a coin in a piggy bank is perfect or a Connect Four game.
• Tops, Jenga, windup toys, delicate winking games, buttoning, tying chains, stringing beads, and peeling stamps and stickers are also fun activities that really help.
4) Writing with different tools and using different surfaces helps to stimulate muscle memory:
Activities to build muscle memory include:
• Write letters in the air, on a sand tray, in shaving foam cream, in water or flour.
• Find ways to make writing fun and playful.
5) Some extra tips for lefties
• Tilt the paper (about 45 degrees) so the writing goes down.
• All left-handers must sit to the left of a right-hander.
• Left-handers should be encouraged to hold the pencil slightly higher (about 3-4 cm) from the tip of the pencil. This helps the left-hander see the tip of the pencil more clearly, without having to lean over excessively. An appropriately placed rubber band or loom band may initially serve as a reminder.
What age group are your products suitable for?
Our product range is suitable for ages 3-9 years. Love Writing Co. pencils and activity books are divided into ages 3-5 and age 6-9, with age-specific activities and exercises to help your child through each of their writing developmental stages. .
Do your books teach precursive or cursive writing?
Our Hands-on Handwriting and Alphabet Books for Ages 3-5 teach precursive writing, while our Hands-on Handwriting and Alphabet Books for Ages 6-9 help children learn cursive writing. Learning cursive writing is important when children are at the right stage because it activates different parts of the brain in addition to printing and is good for their fine motor skills.