Letter Formation Resistive Surface

Today I am SO excited to share our new favorite way to practice letter formation, handwriting, tripod grasp, strengthening, and up-cycling.  (Yep, up-cycling at it’s finest, here!)  We have been using foam vegetable trays for handwriting and letter practice a lot.  If you purchase any fruits or vegetables in foam trays, SAVE them!  They will come in handy for a fun handwriting activity! 
 

Work on handwriting and letter formation with a tripod grasp and hand strengthening with this activity.  A foam tray and a chop stick make a great handwriting activity for kids working on writing their name and letters.

 

 

Teach letter formation and handwriting with a foam tray!

We are including affiliate links in this post, however you can find these items for free (well, after you purchase food).  We’re sharing this post as part of our 31 Days of Learning with Free (or almost Free) Materials series and joining 25 other bloggers in homeschooling and learning at home ideas and tips with the 31 Days of Homeschooling Tips series.

 

Work on handwriting and letter formation with a tripod grasp and hand strengthening with this activity.  A foam tray and a chop stick make a great handwriting activity for kids working on writing their name and letters.
 
Save those foam trays from fruits or vegetables.  These foam trays are primarily found holding meats, but even after a thorough washing, I would feel nervous about allowing my kiddo to write and play with a foam tray that held raw meat. You can purchase the foam trays here

 

if you are having trouble finding them in the produce department of your grocery store. SIDE NOTE- You can also use take-out containers. Wash and dry the lid and cut the flat part. You’re now ready to practice letter formation and handwriting. 

 
We asked for an extra set of chop sticks after a recent dinner of Chinese food take-out.  Use the chopsticks as a writing utensil on the foam tray.  
You can have the child write their name and letters for handwriting practice.  
 
Encourage appropriate letter formation by starting at the top and forming the letter appropriately.  The resistive surface of the foam tray will provide feedback through the hand as the child writes the letters. 
 
 This is a great name writing activity for young kids.  For younger kids, I would write the name or letters first lightly on the foam.  
 
Because of the surface of the foam tray, it can be easy for the chopstick to go off course when writing.  A “track” for them to trace would help with appropriate letter formation.
 

Tripod grasp and strengthening during handwriting

Using the chopsticks on the foam tray is excellent for fine motor strength and tripod grasp.  The small diameter of the chopstick requires a close and tight grip.  
 
It may be easy for a child to assume an ineffective grasp on the chopsticks, but encourage then to hold the tip of the chopstick with the thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger with an open thumb web space as they write.  
 
Maintaining this grasp while forming letters on the resistive foam will strengthen and encourage a memory of a motor plan as they form the letters.  
Work on handwriting and letter formation with a tripod grasp and hand strengthening with this activity.  A foam tray and a chop stick make a great handwriting activity for kids working on writing their name and letters.
 
 

 

Fun ways to work on Letter Formation:

Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.