Home Based Exercises to Improve Handwriting

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HOME BASED EXERCISES TO IMPROVE HANDWRITING
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Plenty of children struggle with messy
handwriting and sometimes simply "practicing"
doesn't always help. And, while pediatric
occupational therapy will definitely help, there
are things you can do at home. Below are three
home-based exercises you can try with your child
to improve their handwriting skills. 
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1. Egg Carton and Beans

• This is an inexpensive activity you can have your
  child do at home with household materials. It
  uses an egg carton and dried beans. You will
  write a number inside each of the egg carton
  holes to reinforce a number and have your child
  toss in the right number of beans that go with
  that number. Make sure they hold the beans in
  their hand and then place each one by one into
  the container by moving one bean up to their
  fingertips every time. It's more difficult than
  it sounds, particularly for children who lack
  fine motor skills. 

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2. Forget the Pencils and Paper

• There are many ways of practicing handwriting
  skill basics without using a pencil and paper,
  particularly if your child is a little reluctant
  to write. Fine motor activities and sensory
  activities that focus on the use of a pincher
  grasp on items are a perfect way of involving
  handwriting skills in a non-traditional manner.
  Some ideas you can start off with are
• Use fingers or a paintbrush to write in cornmeal,
  salt, sand, or other fine sensory mediums
• Use playdough letter mats or playdough
• Form letters with WikkiStix
• Write in whipped cream or shaving cream (perfect
  if your child enjoys tasting things)

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3. Towel Scrunching

• This activity works best when your child is
  sitting at a table where there's support for
  their forearms. Lay the towel down flat on the
  table with the shorter side facing your child.

• Keep your child's arm flat on the table and then
  ask them to use their fingers so they're
  "walking" up the towel as they "scrunch" the
  towel as they go. Once the towel is scrunched as
  far as possible in their hand, have them reverse
  the process, pushing the towel away little by
  little.

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http//writesteps.com/handwriting/
Danielle Shulman
MSOT, OTR/L11172 Corte Pleno VeranoSan Diego,
CA 92130
858.401.2677
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