September 6, 2016

Fun news! I am joining a bunch of bloggers in an exciting series starting next week. The Virtual Book Club for Kids is a book club that uses awesome children’s’ books to encourage learning and play…and it’s all virtual! The best part is that YOU are invited to join in on the fun. Join us as we read, create, and share creative ideas based on children’s books in this Virtual Book Club!

Virtual Book Club

Want to get the inside scoop on the books, fun ideas and creative ways to use the books in the series each week?

Here’s how you can participate in the virtual book club:
1. Check out the books listed below. Select a book.

2. Read the blog post with the hands-on activity associated with that book. Gather any needed materials.

3. Read the book and do the activity!

This virtual book club can be done on your own or with friends. The sky is the limit!

Virtual book club books and hands-on activities

For now, check out the books that we’ll be reading in September and October and read along with us! Start planning out your fun activities to go along with the books because you can share your ideas in the Facebook group. OR, try out some of the ideas that us co-hosts share each week.

Each week has a theme and a specific book. Check out the virtual book club books below and then do the activity.

(Affiliate links are included in this blog post.)

Theme: Apples

Featured Book: Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss

OUR HANDS ON ACTIVITY: Pre-Writing Apple Themed Activity

Theme: Friendship

Featured Book: Should I Share my IceCream? by Mo Willems

OUR HANDS ON ACTIVITY: Gross Motor Bean Bag Group Activity Friendship Theme

Theme: Leaves

Featured Book: Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Book-Related ACTIVITY: Leaf Auditory Processing Activity

Theme: Pumpkins

Featured Book: 5 Little Pumpkins by Dan
Yaccarino

Book-Related Activities:

–Pumpkin Emotion Activities, Pumpkin Scissor Skills Activity

Theme: Farms

Featured Book: Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle

OUR HANDS ON ACTIVITY: Farm Themed Brain Breaks for the Classroom

Theme: Spiders

Featured Book: The Very Busy Spider by
Eric Carle

Hands-On Activity: Spider Web Obstacle Course

Theme: Night

Featured Book: Time for Bed by Mem
Fox

Hands-On Activity: Relaxation Stretches for Bedtime

Theme: Owls

Featured Book: Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Hands-On Activity: Owl Activities

Each week of this virtual book club includes activities designed to promote development through play! Read the blog posts to find activities and crafts that will build developmental skills. We’ve linked them all here so you can save this post for easy locating.

Books for kids and creative crafts and activities based on these preschool books while developing motor skills needed in functional tasks.

Want to see more creative ways to play and learn with books? See what we did with these awesome children’s books:

Many parents and teachers that ask about pencil grasp have questions about their child or students’ handwriting and grasps on the pencil. Sometimes, kids hold the pencil with very awkward grips! This super simple trick for helping kids hold their pencil with a more efficient pencil grasp is really so easy and one that will help promote thumb IP joint flexion and open up the thumb web space for more movement of the fingers while writing.

Looking for more creative ways to build handwriting skills? Join me in the Sweet Ideas for Handwriting Help Facebook group!

Try this simple trick to help kids use a better grasp and thier pencil with a tripod grasp

Related Read: Try these handwriting accommodation strategies to address a variety of handwriting challenges.

Simple Trick for a Better Pencil Grasp

This post contains affiliate links.

Pull out a washable marker. We chose red. You can pick a color that your child likes best. Scented washable markers might be fun for this simple activity, too.

Next, draw a single dot on the thumb IP joint of your child’s dominant hand. You want the dot to be on the inside of their thumb, so that when they make an “OK” sign with their thumb and pointer finger, they can see the dot.

What is Thumb IP Joint Flexion?

The dot will go on the IP joint of the thumb, or on the last joint before the end of the thumb. The thumb interphalangeal joint is responsible for flexing or bending the end of the thumb. the joint allows us to pick up very small items in pincer grasp and enables a functional tripod grasp while holding a pencil.

Sometimes, kids hold their pencil with the thumb IP joint in a hyper-extended position as a result of weakness or lax ligaments and in effort to provide stability while moving the pencil. Other times, kids wrap their thumb over the pencil in a thumb wrap grasp as a result of weakness and also in attempt to provide stability in handwriting.

Tripod Grasp Trick

When kids use these types of inefficient pencil grasps, they are putting their joints at risk for wear over time. One easy trick for addressing thumb IP joint flexion while writing is using that single dot on the thumb’s joint.

Show your child the dot that you have made on their hand. This visual cue can help kids become aware of how their thumb is holding the pencil. You want to see that joint bent. Show them how to make the “OK” symbol with their hand. Tell them that they need to remember to make the dot bend when they are writing. A verbal cue that can be used if they slip into an inefficient grasp is to “make their thumb look OK!” When the child is writing with their pencil, they can see the dot and remember to keep that joint bent.

What is happening?

By actively trying to use thumb IP joint flexion while holding the pencil, the writer uses the Flexor Pollicis Longus muscle with Opponens Pollicis. This creates an open thumb web space and a more efficient pencil grasp. You can read more about this type of grasp and open thumb web space in this very popular post.

Simple trick for helping kids use a tripod grasp while writing.

Looking for more creative ways to build handwriting skills? Join me in the Sweet Ideas for Handwriting Help Facebook group!

This post is part of my 30 day Handwriting series. Stop by and see all of the Handwriting ideas.

More tricks for helping with handwriting:

Toys and Games for Reluctant Writers

Gift Ideas for Spatial Awareness

31 Days of Occupational Therapy with Free or Inexpensive Treatment Materials

Toys and Tools to Improve Visual Tracking

Get 29 pages of modified paper with a Christmas Theme for legible and neat Letters to Santa, Christmas Wish Lists, Thank You Notes, Holiday Lists, and MORE!

GET YOUR Christmas Handwriting Pack!

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