Homeschool Kindergarten Curriculum Review

I received a nice note today from Imaginative Homeschool, a homeschool blogging Mom.   She wrote a review of Lowercase at Last, both free and paid products, on her blog as part of a Kindergarten Curriculum review.  


I am especially interested in her description of her son's struggles with learning to print using a traditional 'ball & stick' or Zaner Bloser -style font.  My district has never used a ball & stick font so it is nice to hear a personal story!  

My Life's Work


CESA 1 Wisconsin School-Based OT PT Conference!


Next month I'm going to be presenting my work on the automaticity of handwriting to a group of 150 Wisconsin school-based occupational therapists. 

I have a little little sneak preview for you, and a free gift - for a limited time.
Read More!

Have Fun Learning NAMES: Kindergarten & Preschool

We all know that building classroom community is HUGE, and that the time we invest from the beginning will pay off -big time.  Learning to identify names, write names, and say classmate’s names is essential for classroom community in preschool and kindergarten.  Here are some cool ways to get started!


Read More...








Handwriting Sheets: A dime a dozen.

Actually, you can get a zillion free all over the internet. So then, why do I spend so many hours researching and creating quality handwriting products?

I have spend a good deal of my life’s work around developing effective handwriting products that adhere to research based best practices.  If you are a parent, teacher, or a therapist, your efforts at teaching efficient legible penmanship could be enhanced by using these best practices.

Hole Punch Cards - Initial Consonant Blends


Hand strength and endurance is one factor limiting sustained writing.   As an occupational therapist I am always looking for ways to improve kid’s hand strength!  Since punching holes is so motivating for kids, these phonic cards are a great way to combine phonics and motor skills into a fun task for independent or partner work. 





Using Calendars for Math and Handwriting -Pre-K, K, and First Grades


Have you ever passed out a blank calendar and half of your class finishes it in two minutes and the other half are unable to complete or even crying over the frustration of not being able to understand what to do?


How would you like to easily differentiate so that you could meet the needs of all your learners and help each one learn a bit?
Read on!









Tips For Reluctant Writers and Ways to Make Handwriting FUN!

Is this too difficult for this child right now?

We all know that finding the just right challenge for our students is essential! By following a developmental sequence of writing expectations we can avoid many behavioral problems.
4 years: Research ...
5 years: When ...
6 years: Once...
7 years: By...
8 years: Children...
9 and older: Most reluctant writers...

Fun and Engaging Multisensory Methods to Teach handwriting. 

Multisensory does not just mean writing in shaving cream! Multisensory does mean engaging all the senses and teaching to all learning styles. Shaving cream can be a fun activity at home or a special treat in the classroom but is not a practical three times a week handwriting station!

Imitating:
Pairing language with movement:
Constructing:
Motor:
Standing:
Tactile:
Visual Model:

Celebrating one year of Fine Motor Gains!

Watch this Awesome Guy show us his amazing growth in hand skills in one year’s time.  
It all began here when he learned to isolate his index finger, but take a look at him now!




Also learn an Occupational therapist’s trick for teaching pencil grasp to a child with low muscle tone and poor hand strength!

Reversal Repair- Reading & Writing


Do you have children who have problems with persistent reversals? 

Do you know a child who consistently confuses the letter 
b with d, d with p, p with q, 
or other combinations?  

Phonics, reading, & handwriting instruction is not enough for some children! 

Would you like to teach your children to consistently read & write these confusing letters?



With these simple directions I have found that I can substantially improve reading and writing of children with learning disabilities in as little as two months.