Yesterday I finally finished writing 84 cards to all the children in four classes at one of the schools where I work. I’m expanding my mailbox program this year to give it a try. I got one fourth-grade, two third-grade, and one first-grade classes to do it with me! (For those who aren’t familiar with … Read more
Something that I desperately wish that we saw more of in the US is letting kids learn literacy on their own terms, without the intense pressure that it often carries. (I know that this is rampant outside the US, too. I just can speak the most authoritatively from within my own window of experience.) Children … Read more
A fun idea for the big kids. This one is pretty involved and takes prep time. (You could delegate the steps of figuring out what supplies you will need to an older child who can tackle that challenge!) These are the instructions that I used originally. The gist of what you need is…a blacklight/UV light, … Read more
Here’s a quick little puzzle that I made for some of my OT kids. I have a little “mailbox program” with a few of my kids — sort of a pen pal situation — they have a mailbox in their classrooms and I write them little notes, games, letters, puzzles etc and they write back … Read more
I knew that among the play invitations that I had available at camp*, that I would want to have one more structured, writing-based invitation every day. I wanted this for a variety of reasons: there were several older kids who were going to be coming to camp; writing and literacy is an avenue to so … Read more
I originally recorded this lecture for a group who work tutoring children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties. It’s based on a lot of experiences I’ve had with children getting referred to me in my occupational therapy role, with goals to improve their handwriting. But how can I, an occupational therapist, work within the bounds … Read more
I had a student recently who I wanted to give a fidget to. He already had a fidget for his classroom, but I had recently got a big bag of fidgets and found a particular one I thought he’d enjoy, that I would gift to him. I set up a little scavenger hunt for our … Read more
One of my favorite tools for building a whole bunch of skills— hand strengthening, finger strengthening, hand-eye coordination, and then copying from a visual model, and occupationally meaningful writing— are these toys which I originally found in a closet and have since googled to find out are called “Zoomorphs” and, more specifically, “Dinomorphs”. They’re basically … Read more
With the big kids in my action room who still have handwriting or letter formation goals, one of the activities I set out is a big huge grid on the floor drawn on butcher paper, with my gigantic Sharpies, and offer to make a word search themed about whatever they’re interested in. The sheer size … Read more
Child’s favorite activity: searching for something hidden somewhere in the room My goal for child: that they would not feel completely threatened by the concept of writing/drawing/touching a pencil, but begin to see ways in which it could be meaningful My plan: hide a lot of things around the room, make a checklist for those … Read more