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Writing Trays for Handwriting

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Child's fingertips drawing a letter S in sand. Text reads sand writing tray

Writing trays are a fantastic way to help kids work on handwriting, letter formation, and pre-writing skills.  There are so many benefits to a sand tray (or other sensory writing materials) in helping with letter formation and handwriting. There is a reason that writing trays are a popular way to encourage fine motor skills and an introduction to handwriting; They use a tactile sensory strategy to encourage movement in learning in a multi-sensory way.  Writing Trays make letter formation fun and meaningful in a play-based manner.


Try this easy rice writing tray for a simple sensory writing experience.

Writing trays are sensory activities to teach handwriting

Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

What is a writing tray?

I’ve used writing trays in my occupational therapy interventions and with my own kids for years. Writing trays are such a powerful tool to add a multi-sensory component and moveemnt to learning to write.

Writing trays are a dry or wet sensory material in a low tray or bin type of container. Children can use their finger or a tool such as a pencil, paint brush, or other item to draw, write letters, or form numbers into the sensory material.

Writing Trays are a creative way to help kids learn to write letters, numbers, shapes, and pre-writing strokes.  There are a ton of different ways that writing trays can be set up and used in letter formation. Essentially, a writing tray uses a low container (or TRAY) and a medium that can be moved and shifted for writing.

Sensory writing trays can contain sensory fillers of any type. If you are able to move the material in a way that letters can be drawn in the tray, then the sensory writing tray is a success. With a sensory writing tray, children can write letters independently or copy letters from a visual letter card.

You can find them used in schools, clinics, preschools, early learning centers, and homeschool dinging rooms.  

Writing trays are one tool to support development of Near point copy skills skills.

Writing tray sensory filler ideas for handwriting

Writing Tray Sensory Filler Material

Affiliate links are included in this post.

What is in a Writing Tray? (Writing Tray Fillers)

Writing Trays are filled with a filler that us manipulated and shifted so that letters or writing lines are visible.  Some ideas for filling a writing tray include the sensory materials listed below.

Sand (affiliate link)
Colored Sand (affiliate link)
Rice
Dyed Rice
Salt
Dyed Rice
Play Dough (affiliate link)
Other Doughs
Sugar
Flour
Cornmeal
Slime (Check out the fun we had with slime in a writing tray!)
Spices (affiliate link)
Crushed Chalk (affiliate link)


While sometimes, a child can use their finger to form the lines in their writing tray, a writing tool is typically recommended. (More on that below.)
Use writing trays for handwriting and letter formation

Sensory Writing Tray Benefits

Kids can use writing trays to practice letter formation, or pencil control and stroke sequence in writing letters.  
 
Typically, they will be provided with a visual cue or cue card for copying the letters/numbers/shapes.  
 
Other times, kids can form the letter/number/shape independently when prompted to make a specific letter. This is a great way to work on visual memory and independent letter formation.
 
Be sure to verbally prompt children to form letters or build letters with correct stroke sequence.  This is essential for carryover of accuracy with letter formation in handwriting.  
 
Otherwise, the child is simply playing in the sensory tray and not effectively using the writing tray as a tool for improved handwriting.  
 
Encouraging the child who is learning pre-writing strokes and beginning letter formation can use a writing tray as a base for forming letters independently. Try using visual and verbal cues to promote correct letter construction.
 
A few more must-dos when using a writing tray for addressing letter formation:
  • Make sure letters are not formed in parts.  In other words, don’t allow kids to make a circle and then a line to form an “a”. 
  • Make sure letters are formed from top to bottom. 
  • Realize that the motor plan to form letters with your finger is different than the motor plan to form letters with a pencil or other pencil-like writing tool.

The nice thing about writing trays is that they are very versatile. Students of all ages can use writing trays to work on different levels of handwriting. Some ways to work on handwriting include:

  • Copying pre-writing lines
  • Copying shapes 
  • Letter identification
  • Uppercase letter formation
  • Lowercase letter formation
  • Letter copying
  • Letter writing from memory
  • Cursive letter formation
  • Cursive letter writing from memory
  • Word copying
  • Sight word writing
  • Spelling word writing
Writing trays for handwriting, letter formation, and fine motor skills.

 

Fine Motor Skills and Writing Trays

A writing tray can be an effective tool in boosting fine motor skills.  Kids can use their finger to form lines and letters while strengthening finger isolation and separation of the two sides of the hand, including an opportunity for the ulnar side fingers to tuck into the palm for a more effective pencil grasp when writing.
 
Children can also use a tool to form letters in a writing tray.  This can be an opportunity to develop pencil grasp.  
 
However.  There are a few items that should be mentioned about using a writing tray to address pencil grasp and appropriate motor plan for letter formation.
 
Writing Trays are a common tool.  But if you just place a writing tray in front of a child, you will likely see an inefficient writing activity.  You will probably see most kids forming letters with an awkward grasp on the writing tool, a flexed and deviated wrist, an abducted shoulder, and generally ineffective positioning.  


Positioning absolutely carries over to letter formation and handwriting.
 
A writing tray can be used to address pencil grasp and handwriting needs.  However, it is essential to use the tray in a proper manner.  There are a few ways to do this:
  • Place the writing tray on a slight slant. Try using a DIY slant board.
  • Use a low edged tray.
  • Use verbal, physical, and visual cues for appropriate positioning. 
  • Position the writing tool in your child’s hand with an appropriate tripod or modified tripod grasp.
  • Show the child how to hold the tool at the end of the tool as if they were holding a pencil.
Once you’ve got your writing tray set up and positioning taken care of, it’s on to the fun stuff…making a writing tray!
 
 

How to make a Writing Tray

Making a writing tray to gain benefits of teaching sensory handwriting is easy. You can use materials found around the home.

The options are limitless when it comes to writing tray combinations! You can create a writing tray in any theme or to meet any need. You’ll need just a few items: a container, a filler, a tool, and letter cards.

Writing Tray Ideas

First, you’ll need a low tray, basket, bin, or other container. We’ve used a variety of containers in our sensory writing trays. You’ll want a container that will hold the sensory writing material within its edges.

In some cases, you can even scatter the sensory material on a flat surface like a table or a plastic table cloth on the floor. For example, we used dyed rice right on the kiddie picnic table for a pre-writing and hand strengthening activity.

Kids will be using a tool or their hands to write letters and the sensory material can scatter. Some specific ideas include:

  • Kitchen baking trays (jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with edges)
  • Food storage containers
  • Melissa and Doug wooden puzzle boxes
  • Cardboard boxes cut low on the sides
  • 9×11 cake pan
  • Shirt box
  • Tray
  • Low basket

Writing Tray Tools

Next, you’ll need a tool to use to write the letters. This can be items found in the home as well.  Some writing tray tools include:

  • Finger
  • Eraser end of a pencil
  • Paint brush
  • Feather
  • Straw
  • Pointer stick
  • Stick from a tree
  • Craft stick
  • Chopsticks
  • Toothpick (Incorporate our toothpick holder activity to further fine motor skills!)
  • Craft pom pom attached to a clothes pin

Writing Tray Letter Cards

Next, an important part of a writing tray is the letter model. As mentioned above, writing trays are great for copying pre-writing lines, shapes, letters, numbers, and words. 

Cards can be used as a visual model for forming letters or words. Some cards include direction arrows. Others might include a sight word or spelling word for the child to copy. These cards can be positioned in different positions to address different needs. 

  • Position the letter cards right in the tray for near-point copying.
  • Position the writing tray cards in a vertical position near the writing tray to challenge vision shift. 
  • Hang the writing cards on a wall for far point copying to work on visual shift, visual attention, visual memory, and copying from a distance. 

Writing Tray Fillers

You’ll also need a sensory material to act as a filler. This is the material that the child will actually “write” in. When we say “write”, they are using the tool to form letters as the sensory filler moves in the tray. They will not actually write a letter with a pencil or other marking device. Sensory filler material can be as creative as you let it. Some writing tray fillers include these materials:

Click each link for ideas on how to set up these creative writing trays.

 
 
 
 
Dyed Rice
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
As you can see, the ideas are limitless when it comes to sensory handwriting! Use a theme or materials that meet the needs of your child or client and are motivating and fun!
 

More sensory Handwriting Activities

Sensory Writing Bag

Sensory Handwriting Camp at Home

Teach letters with sensory textures

Pencil pressure activities

 

 
 
 

 

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.

Sand Writing Tray

One very easy way to create a sand writing tray is to use a child’s picnic table placed either outside in a sandbox or over a tarp (or outdoor space where it’s ok that sand goes into the ground and lawn).

We loved using our kid’s picnic table in this way to make a sand writing tray.

sand writing tray

For this sand writing tray, we made it super simple and just dumped a thin layer of sand onto our (Amazon link) Little Tykes picnic table. Then, I invited the kids to all sit down and draw in the sand using their fingertips. This is a great exercise in finger isolation.

sand writing tray

Practicing letters in a sensory surface like writing and drawing in sand on a picnic table surface is a motivating and fun activity for kids because it’s not something they typically do.

Kids learn new skills well with a multisensory learning experience and a sand writing tray is a great, inexpensive way to do just that.

To encourage vocabulary and verbal expression, tell stories on the table surface and ask questions that extend the story further. Then, while practicing lines and drawing shapes and figures, gently smooth the sand with the palm of your hand and start over again!

sand writing tray for preschool

Preschoolers can practice pre-handwriting lines, while older kids can form letters and numbers in the sand. They can also copy and trace letters to improve their penmanship skills.

DIY Light Box for Tracing

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Child tracing letters with a pen on a light table. Text reads DIY light table for tracing

This DIY light box for tracing is an easy light box we put together in minutes. All you need is an under the bed storage container and a string of lights to make a tracing tool that kids will love. There are benefits to tracing and this tool is a fun way to build fine motor skills and visual motor skills as a visual motor skill leading to better handwriting.

Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

DIY light box for tracing

A light box is a fun activity, and one you see in preschool classrooms, as it’s intended for hands-on play and exploring the senses. But did you know there are many benefits to using a light box for tracing (and other exploring play)?

How to Make a DIY Light Table for Tracing

This DIY Light Box was something I’ve seen around Pinterest and have wanted to try for a while…Once we had our Christmas lights outside, I thought we would definitely be doing this project after we pulled all of the lights back in.  So, after we brought the Christmas lights in from the outside bushes, this was easy to put together for a cold evening’s play!

You need just two items to make a DIY light table:

(Amazon affiliate links)

  1. Strand of white Christmas lights
  2. Clear, plastic under-the-bed storage bin

Important: The under the bed storage bin needs to be made of clear plastic or have just a slight opaque color to the plastic. Also, the top should be smooth. Many storage bins have textured surface or a white surface. The flat, smooth lid is important for sensory play as well as tracing with paper on the DIY light table. This brand (affiliate link) is a good one to use.

Instructions to make a DIY light box:

  1. Plug in the lights.
  2. Place them into the bin.
  3. Either cut a hole in the base of the bin for the lights to go through or cut a small notch into the lid so the strand of lights can go under the lid.

To make this homemade light box safer and not use plug in lights, you can use battery operated button lights (affiliate link) inside the storage bin. Or, there are many battery operated LED lights available now too. These are a great idea because many of them have a color-changing capability and can be operated from an app on your phone.

IMPORTANT: This homemade light box project should always be done under the supervision of an adult. The lights can get warm inside the bin and they should be unplugged periodically.

This is not a project that should be set up and forgotten about. The OT Toolbox is not responsible for any harm, injury, or situation caused by this activity. It is for educational purposes only. Always use caution and consider the environment and individualized situation, including with this activity. Your use of this idea is your acceptance of this disclaimer.

I put all of the (already bundled-up) strands of Christmas lights …seriously, this does not get much easier…into an under-the-bed storage bin, connected the strands, and plugged in!

 

DIY light box for tracing

A DIY light box made with Christmas lights
 

Once you put the top on, it is perfect for tracing pictures!
 
Tracing on a DIY light box
 
 

Tracing pictures on a light table

 
This is so great for new (or seasoned) hand-writers.  They are working on pencil control, line awareness, hand-eye coordination…and end up with a super cool horse picture they can be proud of!
 
Use printable coloring pages and encourage bilateral coordination to hold the paper down. You can modify the activity by taping the coloring page onto the plastic bin lid. 
 
Tracing a picture on a DIY light table
 
 Big Sister LOOOOVED doing this!  And, I have to say, that she was doing the tracing thing for so long, that we had to turn the lights off because the bin was getting warm. 
 
 
 
trace letters on a light table
 

Other ways to use a DIY Light Table

 
We went around the house looking for cool things to place on top of the bin.  Magnetic letters looked really neat with the light glowing through…Baby Girl had a lot of fun playing with this.
 
You can add many different items onto the DIY light table:
  • Magnetic letters (the light shines through them slightly)
  • Sand for a tracing table- We cover how to use a sand writing tray in another blog post and all the benefits of tracing in a sensory medium. With the lights under the tracing area, this adds another multisensory component to the learning.
  • Shapes (Magnatiles would work well)
  • Feathers
  • Coins
  • Blocks
  • A marble run
 
letters on a light table
 
What a great learning tool…Shapes:
 
 
Letter Identification, spelling words:
 

 

 Color and sensory discrimination:
 
 
 
…All in a new and fun manner!  We had a lot of fun with this, but have since put our Christmas lights back up into the attic.  We will be sure to do this one again next year, once the lights come back out again 🙂
 

 

Please: if you do make one of these light boxes, keep an adult eye on it, as the box did warm up…not to burning warmth, but I would worry about the lights becoming over heated.  This is NOT something that kids should play with unsupervised!

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.

Working on fine motor skills, visual perception, visual motor skills, sensory tolerance, handwriting, or scissor skills? Our Fine Motor Kits cover all of these areas and more.

Check out the seasonal Fine Motor Kits that kids love:

Letters Fine Motor Kit
Kit de motricidad fina de verano
Summer Fine Motor Kit
Outer Space Fine Motor Kit
Space Fine Motor Kit
Spring fine motor kit
Valentines Day fine motor kit
winter fine motor kit
Winter Fine Motor Kit

Or, grab one of our themed Fine Motor Kits to target skills with fun themes:

Want access to all of these kits…and more being added each month? Join The OT Toolbox Member’s Club!

Pre-Writing Lines Fine Motor Activity

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Child's hand holding a pencil top eraser with beads inside. Text reads pre-writing strokes activity

This prewriting strokes activity targets the motor plan needed for forming prewriting lines. In this blog post, you’ll find a creative way to target pre-writing strokes using a hands-on activity. Creative ways to practice handwriting can be the trick for helping kids write with better legibility.  But what if you are starting at the very beginning?  Preschool kids who are working on pre-writing lines can use creative techniques, too!  Be sure to check out this resource on pre-writing skills that need to be developed before handwriting and using a pencil is possible.

Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Pre-writing strokes activity

Pre-Writing Strokes

We have covered pre-writing strokes in detail in our blog posts covering this developmental progression, so adding this particular activity idea to your toolbox just adds an additional way to work on the pre-writing strokes that young children need prior to writing skills are established.

This pre-writing lines activity is a winner because it’s a novel way to target strength and motor planning without using worksheets.


Copying the straight lines, crosses, and circles over and over again can become a little boring for preschoolers.  Try this creative way to practice pre-writing lines while working on fine motor skills with preschoolers.

By targeting the motor plan to create pre-writing strokes, we can support young children in the visual motor integration needed for more precision, crossing midline, and then the more complex pencil control needed for letter formation.

What are pre-writing Strokes?

We cover pre-writing lines in more detail here in this pre writing strokes PDF. 

Pre-writing strokes include:

  • Horizontal line
  • Vertical line
  • Circle
  • Cross
  • Square
  • Diagonal Lines
  • “X” Shape
  • Triangle

Pre-writing lines are an important step for preschool-aged kids and for developing a basis for proper letter formation.  Establishing pre-writing lines allow kids to strengthen hand muscles, promote pencil strokes needed for letters, and improve pencil control.  

 

 
Try this pre-writing lines fine motor activity with preschoolers.
 

Pre-Writing Lines Activity 

 
This post contains affiliate links. 
 
 
 
You’ll need just three items for this activity:
 
 
This pre-writing lines fine motor activity can help kids improve hand strength while promoting a tripod grasp.  I pulled out our stash of pencil eraser toppers (affiliate link) and a handful of pony beads (affiliate link). 

 

Try this pre-writing lines fine motor activity with preschoolers.
 
1. Kids can start the activity by pushing the pony beads (affiliate link) into the eraser toppers (affiliate link). This is a strengthening activity in itself, allowing children to strengthen their intrinsic muscles which help with arch development.  
 
This is important for proper pencil grasp and for smaller controlled pencil motions when writing letters. 
 
2. You will need to add the pony beads (affiliate link) to the erasers to provide a stable eraser (affiliate link) when pinching.  Without the pony beads (affiliate link), kids will pinch the eraser too much and it will squash closed.
 
3. Next, with a pencil, draw pre-writing strokes on a piece of paper.  For younger children, you can form the lines more lightly.  For older kids, or those who need to address strengthening issues, draw the lines a little darker. 
 
Here is another pre-writing lines activity kids will love as well.
 
 
4. Use a marker to draw a starting dot and ending dot.  Form the pencil line between the dots.  The dots provide a starting and ending point for the child to trace the pencil line.  

 

5. While the child is erasing the pre-writing lines, be sure to provide verbal and visual cues to ensure proper direction formation.

Try this pre-writing lines fine motor activity with preschoolers.
 
 
Try this pre-writing lines fine motor activity with preschoolers.

Looking for more ways to address handwriting needs? Try these:

Try this pre-writing lines fine motor activity with preschoolers.
 
  

                                

http://www.sugaraunts.com/2015/10/visual-tracking-tips-and-tools-for.html 
 
 
 

 

Try this pre-writing lines fine motor activity with preschoolers.

 

The handwriting Book

The Handwriting Book   

Want to know more about The Handwriting Book?  Click on the image above to find out how to address every underlying area related to handwriting skills.     Click here to BUY NOW.

Occupational Therapy Equipment List Writing Pages

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occupational therapy equipment list handwriting worksheets

Today, we have another OT PDF, this one is an occupational therapy equipment list. We created this printable list of OT equipment as a writing exercise. It’s another free download that you’ll want to grab for OT month! For occupational therapy month, we’ve been sharing free OT-themed tools and this occupational therapy equipment list handwriting pages is today’s freebie! Pediatric occupational therapists have some cool tools, so why not use those OT equipment items in handwriting practice? It’s a great way to promote the profession during OT month and all year long!

OT practitioners work with clients on myriad aspects of daily life tasks. Because an OT professional can support their clients in essentially any aspect of living, the equipment used is vast and can be unique to each individual. However, the OT or OTA has a commonly used list of occupational therapy equipment that is found in almost every OT clinic or therapy bag. In today’s blog post, you’ll find an occupational therapy equipment list PDF which providers can print off to use as a handwriting exercise with clients and students. Put those OT items students use each therapy session to greater use!

Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

occupational therapy equipment list handwriting worksheets

Occupational Therapy Equipment List

Occupational therapy (OT) helps people become more independent. Whether it is babies, toddlers, students, people who are disabled or have had an accident, or those being rehabilitated from surgery, OT’s play a vital role. 

The cool thing is that OT equipment can literally be anything that helps people achieve functional goals, in any aspect of life!

OT equipment items could be the toys, tools, and games that help to develop skills:

This list of OT items are just the beginning of our arsenal of tools!

When it comes to school-based occupational therapy and outpatient occupational therapy equipment, there can be differences based on the educational modal vs. the medical modal of therapy intervention.

Having the right equipment and tools is essential for facilitating the development and progress of students. Here’s a list of commonly used occupational therapy equipment for school-based OT:

  1. Fine Motor Therapy Tools:
    • Pencil grips or adaptive writing tools for improved grip and control.
    • Precision toys
    • Tweezers or tongs and small objects to manipulate
    • Coins and slotted containers
    • Scissors with spring-loaded handles or loop scissors to assist with cutting skills.
    • Play dough or thera-putty
    • Paper for coloring drawing, cutting and tearing
    • Manipulative toys like pegboards, lacing cards, and building blocks to enhance fine motor coordination
  2. Sensory Integration/Sensory Processing Tools:
    • Sensory balls or therapy putty for tactile stimulation and hand strengthening.
    • Sensory play materials like sensory bins, shaving cream, writing tray materials, etc.
    • Weighted blankets or vests to provide calming input and promote self-regulation.
    • Therapeutic swings or therapy bands for vestibular and proprioceptive input.
    • Ball pit
    • Fidget toys
    • Tunnels
    • Floor markers, masking tape for obstacle courses
    • Deep breathing exercises
  3. Seating and Positioning Aids:
    • Adaptive seating options like wobble cushions, therapy balls, or stability discs to improve posture and core stability.
    • Adjustable-height desks or tables to accommodate different student needs.
    • Lap trays or angled writing boards to provide a stable surface for writing and activities.
  4. Cognitive Tools:
    • Visual timers or schedules to assist with time management and organization skills.
    • Memory games, puzzles, or matching activities to enhance cognitive skills
    • Cooking activities and materials
    • Games
    • Visual schedules
    • Checklists
    • Scheduling tools and planners
  5. Visual Processing Tools:
    • Visual supports such as visual schedules, picture cards, or visual cueing systems for task completion and transition support.
    • Mazes
    • Puzzles
    • I Spy
    • Word search activities
  6. Gross Motor Equipment:
    • Balance beams
    • therapy balls or therapy mats for improving balance and coordination
    • Scooters, tricycles, or adaptive bikes
    • Cones or targets for obstacle courses
    • Mini trampoline
    • Masking tape for obstacle courses
    • Hula hoops
    • Bean bags for gross motor games
  7. Adaptive Tools for Self-Care:
    • Adaptive utensils, plates, or cups for promoting independence in eating and drinking.
    • Adaptive paper for addressing handwriting skills
    • Dressing aids such as buttonhooks, zipper pulls, or elastic shoelaces for developing self-care skills.
    • Adaptive equipment for toileting, including raised toilet seats or step stools.
  8. Assistive Technology:
    • Alternative keyboards, computer mice, or speech-to-text software for students with fine motor or writing difficulties.
    • OT apps
    • Visual or auditory aids, such as timers or reminders, on tablets or smartphones to support organization and time management.

While these look like toys (and in some cases are), they are often valuable tools to build independence, strength, focus, and help bridge the gap between functional and chronological age.

Use this word copying worksheet to talk about what each of these tools are, while building some great skills. 

Amazon has great occupational therapy equipment and OT tools and we’ve created a bunch of (Amazon affiliate link) OT equipment lists and suggestions for OT toys and tools.

We serve people from birth to the end of life. Did you know that April is OT Month?  A month-long celebration to advocate for the work we do. The OT Toolbox will be offering several valuable activities to share with your learners to educate them about our role. 

Occupational Therapy Equipment List Handwriting Worksheets

Today’s freebies are occupational therapy tools handwriting worksheets.

These occupational therapy equipment handwriting worksheets PDF highlight just a handful of the tools we use to help learners grow.

The occupational therapy tools, handwriting activity is presented with two sets of lines, to use with different levels of learners. Each picture is presented in simple black and white to encourage coloring as well as copying the words. 

How can I modify this task to work with all groups of learners?

  • Lowest level learners can cut and paste the words into the correct rows
  • Middle level learners can copy each word into the lines

Use OT equipment writing lists.

  • Higher level learners can write a sentence using the key words or write how these items can be used in therapy
  • Take away the word bank for higher level learners to sound out the words, or dictate the spelling aloud for a higher level challenge
  • Make this occupational therapy, copy the word sheet part of a larger lesson plan including gross motor, sensory, social, executive function, or other fine motor skills
  • Print in black and white or color for different levels of difficulty
  • Cut the shapes and make a matching activity instead of using a writing tool to copy the words
  • Talk about the equipment, describe their characteristics, and give context clues to help your learner understand why these tools are helpful
  • Enlarging the font may be necessary to beginning handwriting students who need bigger space to write.
  • Project this page onto a smart board for students to come to the board and write in big letters.
  • More or less prompting may be needed to grade the activity to make it easier or harder.
  • More advanced learners can work on social skills by talking to the group about these therapy tools
  • Write a report about occupational therapy, types of equipment, the history of OT, different disabilities, or how the equipment is used
  • Turn it into a gross motor task, sensory activity, following directions, or combination of all of these
  • Work in pairs or in a small group to address problem solving, turn taking, and sharing information with others

Talk to young learners about the role of occupational therapy

It is difficult enough to talk to adults about what occupational therapists do.  Now try describing this to a group of first graders!  If you describe it as playing on swings, trampolines, riding scooters, and getting fun fidgets, you will have everyone in the school trying to figure out a way to sign up for OT! 

Instead talk about the kinds of goals we address, and how we help other students to be more independent using the tools described on the occupational therapy tools, handwriting worksheet.

Start the conversation to promote the OT Profession

The conversation about what occupational therapists do might sound like this:

  • OTs might help a student who can not open all their lunch containers by themselves
  • If a student can not use the bathroom independently, put on their coat, wash hands, or eat their lunch with utensils, they might need occupational therapy
  • Not everyone is able to write their letters, cut, and color like the rest of the class.  OTs work on helping students to improve these skills so they can keep up with the class
  • Some students have difficulty making friends, playing with other people, following directions, sharing, taking turns, or standing in line.  Some of these students might need occupational therapy to help them with these skills
  • Have you noticed some students get in trouble at school?  They don’t finish their work, their stuff is a mess, they don’t listen to the teacher very well, and seem to make a lot of mistakes?  These are not bad students, they may need some help to get better.  There is a whole team to help students like these, OTs are one of them.
  • How do you think some of the items on the occupational therapy tools handwriting worksheet help students?

The month of April is specially dedicated to sharing our knowledge with other people.  Take a moment to give yourself a pat on the back while you are at it!  Keep an eye out for several posts this month dedicated to advocating for the OT profession.

Free OT Equipment Worksheets

Grab these OT equipment list handwriting worksheets and get started to open conversations about what we do as occupational therapists! AND work on the functional task of handwriting skills during your conversations.

Want to add this resource to your therapy toolbox so you can help kids thrive? Enter your email into the form below to access this printable tool.

This resource is just one of the many tools available in The OT Toolbox Member’s Club. Each month, members get instant access to downloadable activities, handouts, worksheets, and printable tools to support development. Members can log into their dashboard and access all of our free downloads in one place. Plus, you’ll find exclusive materials and premium level materials.

Level 1 members gain instant access to all of the downloads available on the site, without enter your email each time PLUS exclusive new resources each month.

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Free Occupational Therapy Handwriting PDFs

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    Don’t miss the other OT month freebies! This month the OT Toolbox is highlighting occupational therapy month by providing insight into what occupational therapists do, along with offering FREE resources to add to your lesson plans.  Keep an eye out for more posts from this series, including:

    Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

    How to Write C in Cursive

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    Cursive c

    we’ve covered many cursive letter resources here on the site, and this blog on how to write c in cursive is one of the top! There’s a reason why: Cursive c is a building block for forming other cursive letters. After learning how to make cursive c, students can then easily transition to several other cursive letters! Let’s get started with how to teach cursive, starting with the lowercase letter c.

    Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    how to write c in cursive

    How to Write C in Cursive

    Cursive handwriting can be a difficult thing to teach kids.  Today, I’m starting a new series on how to teach cursive letters in fun and creative ways.  

    In this series, we’re starting with how to write cursive c first.

    Letter “c” is one of the first letters that kids are taught when learning cursive. The letter is directly related to it’s printed counterpart.  The curve of the letter is one of the most basic pre-cursive strokes that are made and helps to build several other cursive letters (a, d, g, q, and o).    

    In the Loops and Other Groups cursive writing program, these letters are called Clock Climbers. They are the letters a, d, g, q, o which start with the cursive c formation. The lines “climb a clock” around a curve.

    The fact is that fluent cursive writing predicts high level spelling and
    composing skills, more so than manuscript or typing. And, in fact, studies show that test completed in cursive receive higher scores than those completed in manuscript.


    First up is how to make letter c in cursive.  This series will most definitely not be in alphabetical order for many reasons, mainly because the cursive writing alphabet is typically not taught in alphabetical order.  Rather, the letters are taught in groups of related pencil lines. This supports the motor plan of forming each individual letter and helps with carryover skills. Read more about this concept in our post on cursive letter families.

    Let’s start with addressing cursive letter c!

    In this blog post, images show use of raised line paper. While this type of adapted paper isn’t a must, the raised lines support development of line awareness when teaching this lowercase cursive letter formation.

    Cursive c


    How to Teach c in Cursive:

    This post contains affiliate links. 

    Beginning Upstroke

    The beginning upstroke of the beginning lines in cursive “c” can be practiced in creative ways in order to help with re-trace when forming the curve of the letter.

    Curve up to make cursive c on raised line paper.

    There is research that shows teaching the cursive letter c like a cursive “i” with a hooked top, the carryover of legibility is better.    

    Re-trace-

    After forming the up-stroke of the letter, the curved top, and the re-trace back to the bottom of the letter, it is helpful to work on sliding the pencil along the baseline of the paper to develop letter connectors and to improve legibility. Read about tips to teach cursive letter connectors. The letter c has a re-trace at the beginning of the letter and traces back over the initial letter connection from the start of the letter.

    Practice-

    The final step of writing cursive c is to practice, practice, practice! When it comes to writing c in cursive, there are many tips that you can use. Try the activities listed below as well as these practice tips:

    Teach kids how to make letter c in cursive with the tips in this cursive letter writing series, perfect for kids who are working on their handwriting.

    Write Cursive C with Gross motor practice- Use whole body movements to practice formation. This can occur on the ground with chalk, on a dry erase board at the vertical, in the air with air writing, or using the ideas listed below.

    • Air writing
    • Ribbon wand writing
    • Sidewalk chalk
    • Laser pointer or flashlight writing
    • Writing tray
    • Vertically mounted chalk or white board
    • Rainbow writing- The child writes the letter in one color and then trace over it with another color. Continue to trace over the letter with each color of the rainbow. This can be done on a large scale with chalk, markers, etc.

     

    Teach cursive c by showing how the pencil traces back over the first line, or re-trace.

    Tips for helping kids stop at the baseline when writing the letter “c”: 

    Use a verbal prompt to bump the bottom line. Trace the baseline with a highlighter for a visual prompt.  Try some of these tricks for writing on the lines. 

    Establish a motor plan to make cursive c consistently

    After cursive letter c has been taught, the next step is multisensory exposure to the motor plan to complete the letter consistently. This establishes the kinesthetic input and practice trials. We cover this in more detail in a blog post on motor planning and handwriting.

    With different tactile and sensory-based movements of handwriting, repetitions allow information to be embedded in the brain.

    Here are some activities to work on cursive c:

    The Handwriting Book is a comprehensive resource created by experienced pediatric OTs and PTs.

    The Handwriting Book covers everything you need to know about handwriting, guided by development and focused on function. This digital resource is is the ultimate resource for tips, strategies, suggestions, and information to support handwriting development in kids.

    The Handwriting Book breaks down the functional skill of handwriting into developmental areas. These include developmental progression of pre-writing strokes, fine motor skills, gross motor development, sensory considerations, and visual perceptual skills. Each section includes strategies and tips to improve these underlying areas.

    • Strategies to address letter and number formation and reversals
    • Ideas for combining handwriting and play
    • Activities to practice handwriting skills at home
    • Tips and strategies for the reluctant writer
    • Tips to improve pencil grip
    • Tips for sizing, spacing, and alignment with overall improved legibility

    Click here to grab your copy of The Handwriting Book today.

    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.

    A final note on Cursive C

    Learning cursive c is a common starting point for other cursive letters due to the beginning formations of the pencil strokes. Once a learner has cursive c down pat, you can add a single stroke or combination of pencil strokes to form cursive d, g, o, and q.

    Use the strategies shared above to work on the visual motor, sensory motor, and muscle memory to create cursive letters with fluency and efficiency.

    Handwriting Assessment: Occupational Therapy

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    occupational therapy handwriting assessment

    Occupational therapy handwriting assessments analyze the components of handwriting to discover what may be leading to sloppy or illegible handwriting. One way that occupational therapy practitioners work with students in school based OT is by conducting handwriting assessments in occupational therapy. Here, we are covering areas that an OT looks at in an occupational therapy handwriting assessment.

    Occupational therapy practitioners tend to get a bad rap in the schools because they are the go-to service for supporting handwriting needs. While we aren’t “handwriting teachers”, we do know a lot about the intricacies of underlying skills that impact legibility! Identifying those specific needs all starts with the handwriting eval!

    To get started, you’ll want to begin with the occupational therapy eval request, and then we can go from there…

    handwriting assessment occupational therapy

    Handwriting Assessment Occupational Therapy

    When it comes to analyzing handwriting, there is no escaping handwriting if you are a pediatric OT.  Handwriting evaluations and interventions is a main task of school-based occupational therapists. It’s no wonder when you consider that handwriting is one of the primary tasks that school-aged children engage in, and is one of the most prominent reasons for an OT referral in the school and outpatient settings.

    Today we’re talking handwriting analysis and clinical observations related to assessing handwriting.

    Check out our informative video on handwriting evaluations in the classroom environment:

    Seems like handwriting should be pretty easy right? The challenge in teaching kids to use legible handwriting is often the limited exposure we receive prior to entering the field, and ensuring that we are providing a skilled service and not tutoring.

    Handwriting analysis of writing samples is an important part of a handwriting evaluation. These underlying skills are essential clinical observations in handwriting assessment.

    Handwriting Clinical Observations

    In a handwriting assessment occupational therapy providers look at specific areas. These are the skilled components that are necessary for figuring out what’s going on.

    When I was in school, we briefly touched on fundamentals of handwriting, and the Handwriting without Tears program. I later had some great exposure to handwriting during my Level 2 fieldwork in a school setting, but still felt unprepared to really dive into what prohibited kid’s from learning to write, and to then decipher those findings. For information on Handwriting Without Tears letter order, we have a comprehensive explanation on that aspect of this program.

    Since practicing on my own, I have developed a set of clinical observations that are relevant to the handwriting process as it relates to OT and what they meant in terms of function. Check out the list of clinical observations below.

    Working on handwriting and pencil grasp? Be sure to join the Pencil Grasp Challenge…a FREE five day challenge loaded with information, strategies, and resources related to a functional pencil grasp.

    Below are strategies to use in analyzing handwriting. These are clinical observations that can impact the legibility of written work.

    Fine Motor Skills in an Occupational Therapy Handwriting Eval

    One major component to handwriting is fine motor skills, and this motor aspect is assessed in the handwriting assessment occupational therapy practitioners conduct.

    Fine motor skills play a HUGE role in a child’s ability to participate in writing activities. From grasp patterns, to which hand they use, to endurance and in-hand manipulation skills—there’s a lot to make sure you are checking off during your observations and evaluations.

    Let’s break down the components that are assessed in a handwriting evaluation. OT’s typically look at:

    We’ve broken these skills down into categories below.

    • Pencil Grip/Grasp pattern
    • Dynamic finger movements
    • Finger mobility
    • Joint positioning and joint integrity
    • Hand and wrist mobility
    • Posture
    • Segmental Drawing
    • Hand dominance
    • Visual motor skills (segmental line skills)
    • Letter formation
    • Sizing, spacing, line use
    • Sequence and strokes of pencil lines
    • Uppercase and lowercase letter usage
    • Fluidity of handwriting

    Pencil Grip

    This one seems like an obvious one, but there have been many times that I have sat down to write an evaluation and realized that I didn’t note anything about the grip pattern.  Yikes! The major points of clinical observations of pencil grips to keep in mind are that you watch for dynamic finger movement, hyperextension of joints and overall functionality.

    Here are some important things that therapists wish parents and teachers knew about pencil grasp.

    Grasp pattern in a handwriting Assessment Occupational Therapy

    When an occupational therapist conducts an OT handwriting assessment, they look at the grasp pattern the student is using when writing. The occupational therapist asks themselves what does this look like while the child is writing? Is it a dynamic tripod? Static tripod? Or some form of primitive grasp pattern like a fingertip pattern or a gross grasp? 

    Make sure that you watch throughout the evaluation to see if they have any regression to a primitive pattern or switch how they hold the writing utensil frequently. 

    If you notice grasp pattern regressions, fidgeting or switching of grasp positions frequently, it’s a sign of fatigue related to poor muscle endurance and strength. It may also be an indicator that there is poor separation of the two sides of the hand, under development of the arches of the hand, and finger to thumb opposition, and even potentially poor web space development. 

    Bonus Tip! Watch for consistency of skills. If you notice that a skill is consistent, even if it’s an immature pattern, you can determine what is due to poor muscle strength and fatigue (inconsistent patterns) versus an established pattern or compensatory pattern (consistent patterns) that’s going to be difficult to change. 

    Dynamic Finger Movements and Pencil Grip

    Dynamic finger movement is a big key to preventing fatigue. If the hand or wrist move as a unit, fatigue and endurance significantly increase. Dynamic movements also allow for more control of the utensil within a given space.

     Once dynamic movements have developed, it is exponentially easier for the kiddo to color or write in small spaces, form multi-step lower case letters and produce smaller sized letters and numbers.  

    Occupational Therapists Look at Finger Mobility in a Handwriting Eval

    Similar to wrist and hand mobility, you will also want to assess finger movements and joint isolation. 

    Mature patterns will allow for the thumb, index and ring fingers to move in synchronized flexion/extension patterns to great dynamic movements. If you don’t see this, or notice that the child uses their whole hand to form letters, this is another inefficient pattern that you’ll want to address in your treatment. 

    If you’re not sure that this is an issue, have the child walk their fingers up and down a pencil to evaluate their in-hand manipulation skill focusing on shift. 

    Whether you are assessing an 8th grader or a preschooler, fine motor components are addressed across the continuum to promoting independent and successful handwriting experiences. Working from this list of skills you can develop these skills further and take the stress out of handwriting!

    Functionality of Pencil Grip

    Current evidence-based practice in occupational therapy indicates that there are several functional pencil grip patterns outside of the standard tripod grasp pattern that we all identify as “the best” or “most functional” grip pattern. Other patterns include static and dynamic variations of tripod and quadropod grips.

    However, I really encourage you to just take a minute to see if the child is functional with their current grip pattern. Trying to change the pattern they are functional with is not always the best option for addressing handwriting.

    If they are able to control the utensil for accurate execution of strokes, are able to remain in the given boundary and are not showing signs of poor endurance or fatigue—then they are functional and other components of handwriting should be addressed.

    Hyper-Extended Fingers and Pencil Grip

    When a child hyper-extends a joint when holding a writing utensil, the grip typically appears “tight” or “too hard”. Hyperextension can lead to damage in the joint itself, along with uncomfortable feelings to the fingers, increased levels of fatigue, poor overall endurance, and hinder dynamic movement. 

    Children with poor overall joint stability or poor strength often exhibit this pattern of pencil grips. The “tight” or “too hard” grip that leads to hyperextension is a compensatory strategy to increase motor control and dexterity within the task. Due to the variety of pencil grips that children display, it is important to assess the functionality of the grip before attempting to change it.

    Analyzing Joint Integrity in an OT Handwriting Evaluation

    Joint integrity of the joints of the fingers, hand, and wrist when holding a pencil is an important component of pencil grasp that needs to be assessed and documented during a handwriting assessment by the occupational therapist.

    Joint integrity is super important because a child that has a grasp pattern that is too tight or too loose can have compromised joints. 

    A grasp pattern that is too tight puts undue stress on the joints, ligaments and muscles which will lead to poor endurance, and hand cramps. And even potentially repetitive stress injuries. 

    On the opposite end, a grasp pattern that is too loose or where the child has hyper extended joints, they will experience similar pain and concerns. They are more likely to have joint pain due to the bone on bone of hyper extension patterns. 

    Both patterns are inefficient and will need to be addressed to help the child be successful with handwriting.

    Analyzing Wrist and Hand Mobility

    Related to the above factors is a more proximal look at the motor component. Occupational therapists will assess the wrist and hand mobility in a handwriting eval because the stability of the joint proximal to the arches and fingers offer the support to provide distal mobility and dexterity.

    In this category, we want to look at how the wrist and hand move both as a unit, but also separately. Ideally, the hand and wrist should move independently of one another when writing with the wrist being stable and the hand moving.

    If you see that the child is moving their hand and wrist as a unit with stabilization coming through the forearm, that is an inefficient movement pattern that you will want to work on addressing. This pattern is inefficient because it requires more energy from large muscle groups instead of utilizing them for stability.

    Posture and handwriting

    I want to touch on posture’s impact on handwriting quickly because you can learn some interesting things about a child’s handwriting this way.

    If they are slouched over or use their hand to hold their head up, poor core and upper body strength may be the culprit. This will greatly impact their fine motor skills. Without a strong foundation, dexterity skills will not develop.

    It’s also important to note if the hand that is holding the child’s head up is covering one eye consistently. This may indicate that there is an underlying vision issue that needs to be addressed. Children typically cover the eye that is making them see double or causing blurred vision.

    This is not only an issue from a vision standpoint, but also because you now don’t know what the child is seeing for letters or strokes. Once the vision concern is addressed, the child may have to “relearn” the letters and strokes which can appear as a regression of skills.

    Similar concerns are also noted when the child is consistently adjusting their head position in location to the paper.

    Hand Dominance

    Dominance plays a large role in handwriting and if a child does not display a dominant side, or has mixed dominance, delays in handwriting can occur.

    Lack of dominance can prevent adequate levels of motor practice of strokes and letters from being completed. This can then lead to sloppy or illegible writing, along with confusion on the sequence of strokes to form letters. Children who display these motor patterns typically have delayed automation of handwriting, may have a higher incidence in reversals and struggle with getting their thoughts onto paper.

    These three simple tips on hand dominance, laterality, and functional activities are a resource in establishing this essential skill.

    When looking at hand dominance, you want to look and see if they are consistent with the use of one hand, or if they are trying to switch hands. If you observe challenges with consistency, this may indicate poor muscle strength and endurance. 

    Visual Motor Skills

    Visual motor integration is a major piece of the handwriting assessment that occupational therapists analyze. Visual motor skills enable us to write using specific aspects that highly contribute to overall handwriting legibility:

    Each of these components plays a different role in overall handwriting legibility. In general, writing that has poor sizing, spacing, and letter formation will have challenges with letter formation. However, when some of the components are addressed (spacing between words and baseline use), legibility increases greatly allowing for functional handwriting. In most cases, functional and legible writing is possible even with mixed case use and inconsistencies with letter size. Think about your average medical doctor, whose scripts are written in mixed case and mixed size. Many adults work with these handwriting inaccuracies and the written output is legible and functional.

    However, in the teaching moment of working on these skills, legible handwriting for children and students has a different version of functional, so that for the child, addressing letter size along with line use and spacing supports legible written output.

    The handwriting occupational therapy assessment then needs to take all of these contributing factors into consideration in order to create an individualized plan of care to support legible written work.

    Segmental Drawing

    Segmental drawing is when a child “draws” or writes a letter using singular strokes with clear, and abrupt stops between the strokes. This is time consuming, and requires a high level of active thought for the child. Essentially, it’s very non-functional and needs to be addressed.

    Segmental drawing not only provides a picture about the child’s writing skills, it also provides insight to the therapist on how they process information. Children who typically utilize segmental drawing are only able to process small or shorter pieces of information at one time. For example, they may need directions given in short bursts or in simple statements to be successful.

    Sequence of Strokes and Handwriting

    Building on segmental drawing is the sequence in which strokes are completed. Letters in our culture flow from top to bottom, and left to right. A child who is demonstrating a bottom to top orientation or sequence of strokes, when writing may have a significantly harder time learning to form letters correctly and fluidly. Their brains may be “wired” naturally to move in this pattern, or they may be compensating for a visual motor impairment such as spatial relations deficits.

    uppercase/lowercase letters Assessment

    The case a child chooses to write in, or the combination of case they use provides information on letters that they may be unable to recall, are unsure of their direction (reversal prevention/compensatory strategy), or are unable to execute. By analyzing the use of upper case and lower case letters you can determine where the break down in skill is.

    Fluidity and Handwriting

    Finally, as all of these observations come together, the final piece is fluidity.  This looks at a few different things including the child’s speed of writing, whether they talk to themselves or watch their hand when they write, and if they demonstrate any motor overflow.

    The amount of time that a child takes to write can be an indication of poor memory recall and lack of automation of the writing process. The longer the task takes, the more difficulties the child is having retrieving the information from their memory and utilizing it effectively.

    Children who are struggling with writing often talk themselves through the process—from where to start to the verbal cues taught to them. This external processing further indicates poor processing speeds. This can also be seen in the form of oral motor overflow. This is when a child’s mouth moves in odd patterns, they stick their tongue out or some combination of jaw and tongue movement.

    Along with motor overflow and outward verbal processing, a child may watch her hand when writing. By watching her hand, the child ensures that the stroke she recalled from her memory is indeed correct and that she is able to execute it. This pattern further hinders the automation of handwriting and indicates challenges with processing and memory recall. When writing requires this much active thought for just the formation of the letters, spelling, sizing, spacing, and thought completion often go by the way side.

    Use these handwriting analysis strategies to analyze pencil grasp and writing components during handwriting evaluations.

    Final Thoughts

    Handwriting is such a large part of being a kid, and being a pediatric OT, that it deserves more attention than it often gets. There are so many foundational skills that go into handwriting, and many places for the skills to become a challenge for a kiddo.

    Hopefully everyone from seasoned OT’s to brand new grad’s found this post helpful and learned something new in handwriting analysis and clinical observations needed to assess handwriting.

    The Handwriting Book is a comprehensive resource created by experienced pediatric OTs and PTs.

    The Handwriting Book covers everything you need to know about handwriting, guided by development and focused on function. This digital resource is is the ultimate resource for tips, strategies, suggestions, and information to support handwriting development in kids.

    The Handwriting Book breaks down the functional skill of handwriting into developmental areas. These include developmental progression of pre-writing strokes, fine motor skills, gross motor development, sensory considerations, and visual perceptual skills. Each section includes strategies and tips to improve these underlying areas.

    • Strategies to address letter and number formation and reversals
    • Ideas for combining handwriting and play
    • Activities to practice handwriting skills at home
    • Tips and strategies for the reluctant writer
    • Tips to improve pencil grip
    • Tips for sizing, spacing, and alignment with overall improved legibility

    Click here to grab your copy of The Handwriting Book today.

    Winter Number Tracing Worksheet

    by
    Winter number formation

    When it comes to managing the long winter with activities, this winter number tracing worksheet has you covered. Be sure to read up on our recommended use of tracing sheets as a tool to support functional writing. Use the printable below along with our winter number tracing worksheet to talk with kids about winter clothing AND work on number formation. It’s a winter printable that you’ll want to add to your therapy toolbox! Also be sure to grab our winter crossword puzzle and our winter clothes worksheet (for visual perception) as a tool to build visual motor skills.

    You’ll want to grab this winter worksheet because it covers number formation and writing numbers with a wintery theme!

    Kids also love this mitten printable to race the mittens across the page whild building motor skills.

    Winter clothing worksheet

    Free Winter Number Tracing Worksheet

    On the winter worksheet, you’ll find number writing spaces where the user can trace numbers. By practicing numbers through tracing, you give the user the opportunity to practice the motor plan needed to form the number. We talk about the occupational therapy provider’s perspective on tracing in our resource on tracing sheets. Specific for this winter clothing activity, we wanted to add the number practice option along with a few other ways to practice specific skills.

    This winter number tracing worksheet is similar to our recent Christmas lights number tracing printable.

    Winter means different things for different people depending on their climate. Winter in the southern United States means adding a sweatshirt, possibly a hat at the bus stop early in the morning.  In the northern states winter is a different story.  Up north, winter starts in mid- September and seems to last until May.  I have northern roots but am a southern girl by heart. 

    Winter months in cold areas of the world mean bundling up and adding clothes.  Mittens, hats, coats, snow pants, boots, gloves, earmuffs, thick socks, long johns, and lots of layers are the customary daily garb.  Imagine trying to put this on and off a toddler each time you head out!  As soon as you get your child decked out in all these layers, they usually announce the need to go to the toilet!  It never fails.

    Since bundling up is a daily chore in the frozen north, why not add it to your treatment plan? The Warm Winter Clothes Number Trace Worksheet is a cute printable to build essential skills while using meaningful, relevant content.

    This free winter number tracing worksheet is a winter clothes activity for kids that helps with motor planning of number formation using a winter clothing printable.

    Tracing Numbers Worksheets

    Let’s talk tracing so you can use it to the maximum benefit and its intended purpose. 

    I am not a fan of tracing unless it is used correctly, or the objective is understood. Here is information on the benefits of tracing. 

    • Tracing is not going to teach number/letter formation if the learner does not know what those figures are.  To a learner who does not know these symbols, they will be tracing lines, not numbers or letters
    • Know your audience. If your learner does not know the letters or numbers, use the activity as a fine motor task to develop dexterity
    • Kinesthetic awareness.  This long word means to learn by doing.  Theoretically if a person writes the number 5 enough times, the body will start to recognize this pattern and commit it to memory.  This only works if the learner understands what is being traced. Using our sandpaper writing trick is one great way to incorporate kinesthetic awareness into number tracing and number formation.
    • Tracing for dexterity. This is the type of tracing I like best.  Tracing for dexterity works on staying on the lines, fine motor control, building hand muscles, scanning and a whole host of other important skills as defined below

    Winter Clothes Worksheet

    While worksheets are not a favorite among occupational therapists, there are ways to support skill areas by using worksheets to meet the needs of kids. When we address the underlying skill areas to support function, printables like this winter clothes worksheet can address a variety of areas.

    What does this winter number tracing worksheet work on besides tracing?

    1.  Kinesthetic awareness – This means learning by doing.
    2.  Hand strength and dexterity – staying on the lines builds hand muscles and develops muscle control. Check out the In Hand Manipulation Printable Worksheet to incorporate developing the intrinsic hand muscles.
    3. Visual motor skills –Combining what is seen visually and what is written motorically.  This takes coordination to be able to translate information from visual input to motor output. Coloring, drawing, counting, cutting, and tracing are some visual motor skills.
    4.  Visual Perception – Developing figure ground to see where one item start and finishes, scanning to find all answers, and visual closure to understand that dotted lines will create something.
    5. Strength – Core strength needed for sitting, shoulder/elbow/wrist stability, finger strength, and head control all play their role in writing.
    6. Bilateral Coordination – Be sure your learner uses their helper hand for stabilizing the paper while using their dominant hand for writing.
    7. Counting/Learning Numbers – Count the items to understand number concepts in addition to tracing them.
    8. Social/Executive Function – Following directions, turn taking, task completion, orienting to details, neatness, multi-tasking, attending to task, and impulse control can be addressed using this Warm Winter Clothing Printable PDF.

    When using a task such as this number tracing worksheet, therapists can utilize and focus on all the above skills or just one or two.  There are times when I am working more on executive function than fine motor skills but will use this task with more of my focus on these executive function skills.  My note might not say much about their number formation, counting skills, or neatness, but how well they were able to attend to the task, complete the task, follow directions, and control their impulses.

    Number Tracing worksheet for winter

    Winter Clothing Printable

    There are so many ways to use this winter clothing printable to work on number tracing, and more.

    How do I incorporate or modify this task for the needs of all my learners?

    Lots of ways!  As always, this sheet can be laminated for reusability or marker use, printed on different colored paper for readability, enlarged or made smaller, made simpler or more complex. Try having learners color the shapes and write the numbers independently on the back to add more visual motor tasks to this winter clothes worksheet.

    This covers one day of winter, what about the other 240?

    Glad you asked!  The OT Toolbox is stuffed with activities, blog posts and work pages to fill those winter days. The Winter Fine Motor Kit full of handouts and PDF files provides several visual motor tasks to be used throughout the winter season.

    Plus, in The OT Toolbox Members Club, you’ll find winter clothing printables and resources to address a variety of needs.

    Winter Fine Motor Kit Deal

    In addition to these handouts, you can also read this article on Winter Fine Motor Activities for more great ideas and suggestions:

    Winter Fine Motor Activities

    Winter is a very long season. Especially if you are not a fan of the cold weather (author raises hand).  Adding fun activities and games can take some of the monotony and sting out of the long cold days. 

    Brrrrrr, bundle up!

    Free WINTER NUMBER TRACING WORKSHEET

    Want to access this printable number tracing worksheet? Enter your email address into the form below. You can also find this winter clothing printable in The OT Toolbox Member’s Club.

    Winter Clothing Number Tracing Worksheet

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      Victoria Wood, OTR/L is a contributor to The OT Toolbox and has been providing Occupational Therapy treatment in pediatrics for more than 25 years. She has practiced in hospital settings (inpatient, outpatient, NICU, PICU), school systems, and outpatient clinics in several states. She has treated hundreds of children with various sensory processing dysfunction in the areas of behavior, gross/fine motor skills, social skills and self-care. Ms. Wood has also been a featured speaker at seminars, webinars, and school staff development training. She is the author of Seeing your Home and Community with Sensory Eyes.

      Watch for more winter clothes worksheets and winter printables coming to this space.

      Tips for Legible Handwriting

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      legible handwriting

      When it comes to legible handwriting, there are a few tips that occupational therapy practitioners suggest. Handwriting is a complex task that incorporates motor skills, sensory processing, executive functioning skills as well as the creative writing aspect when it comes to thinking about what is being written.

      We’ve explored handwriting analysis in the past, including specific areas too look at when observing handwriting. In this blog post, we’ll cover skills needed for legible handwriting. 

      Legible handwriting tips and resources

      What is Legible Handwriting?

      Legible handwriting means written work that is overall able to be read and understood by the writer as well as others. Legible written work can be achieved in both print and cursive writing formats, as well as at each stage of writing:

      • Learning letter formation of upper case letters
      • Learning formation of lower case letters
      • Writing on lines (primary paper)
      • Writing on smaller lined paper (small ruled paper)
      • Learning formation of cursive lower case letters
      • Learning formation of cursive upper case letters

      Bad habits can start at each one of these stages.

      Legible handwriting is something most teachers hope for when it comes to a classroom of students!

      Putting it all down on paper can be where you see one or more of these contributing factors fail. 

      Handwriting legibility occurs when one is able to read their own handwriting. Think about the student that writes down a list of homework assignments in the classroom. They may be writing quickly as the bell is about to ring. When they get home at the end of the day, are they able to read the page numbers and words describing the assignment? This is where legible writing is important. 

      • Things to consider in this situation may include: increased writing speed, an unknown amount of time remaining to complete the written work, and a small writing space in the homework tracker, given for the written material

      Legible handwriting also refers to others being able to read the written material. Think about the student that writes letters, sentences, and paragraphs on a homework assignment. When the student offers the assignment to their teacher, they may not be able to read the written work. Then the student misses points or gets answers marked wrong because of the illegible materials. This can especially be the case on math assignments or spelling tests where letter formation and number formation is essential for legibility.

      • Considerations in this situation may include: The student rushing to complete materials, Poor letter formation, words or letters written in a small given area on worksheets or homework papers.

      Handwriting readability can also be related to habits. We all get into a habit when it comes to forming letters, and we all have quirks when it comes to how we hold the pencil, letter formation, and writing styles. The important thing to consider here is: is the written work functional.

      As a side note, you’ve probably seen a physician referral that has very bad handwriting and even illegible handwriting. In these cases, the script is almost a scribble. Why is this a stereotype? One reason may be the continued practice of writing very quickly during medical school and residency studies. You can see how practice results in an established writing form! Similarly, the medical professionals that need to read that chicken scratch handwriting have a lot of practice in reading those sloppy scripts in order to process the medical advice!

      Functional and Legible Handwriting

      Functional handwriting refers to handwriting that is efficient. Can the student write in the given amount of time? And in that given amount of time, is the written material able to be read by the writer and by others?

      We’ve covered a great deal on the aspect of a functional pencil grasp. A functional handwriting style is similar!

      Kids often write so quickly that the handwriting impairs legibility. They may get into a bad habit of forming letters incorrectly, using poor use of the lines, letter size, or spatial awareness. 

      Fluency also has a huge impact on functional written work. When we say fluency, we refer to the typical speed of written work. For younger kids, fluent handwriting is longer because the child needs to think about the motor plan for each letter. They are still working on the fine motor skills needed for pencil grasp as well as other areas of development that impact written work.

      In older children, handwriting fluency increases as students gain motor skills, motor planning, and letter formation becomes more natural.

      Then you’ll see similar examples of handwriting fluency as the student learns cursive. At first, the child needs to think about the motor plan for a letter and letter connectors, especially after they’ve learned the printed version of the letter’s formation. Then, with practice, cursive fluency increases.

      By second grade, printed formation is established in most handwriting curriculum, but there is still room for increased legibility, especially with practice and effort.

      By third grade, most students are learning cursive letters and you’ll see fluency for handwriting decline if cursive is being used. 

      Fine Motor Skills and Legible Writing

      Fine motor skills play a HUGE role in a child’s ability to participate in writing activities. From grasp patterns, to which hand they use, to endurance and in-hand manipulation skills—there’s a lot to make sure you are checking off during your observations and evaluations. 

      To make sure you don’t miss anything, check out the tips below! They can make a huge difference when it comes to handwriting help.

      Skill #1: Hand dominance—When looking at hand dominance, you want to look and see if they are consistent with the use of one hand, or if they are trying to switch hands.

      If you observe challenges with consistency, this may indicate poor muscle strength and endurance. 

      In a previous blog post, we discussed how switching hands impacts neatness in written work.

      Skill #2: Grasp pattern—what does this look like while the child is writing? Is it a dynamic tripod? Static tripod? Or some form of primitive grasp pattern like a fingertip pattern or a gross grasp? 

      Take a look a the placement of the fingers on the pencil:

      • Where is the middle finger on the pencil?
      • Where is the index finger on the pencil?
      • Where is the thumb on the pencil?

      Each of these considerations can make an impact, but are not essential when it comes to a functional grasp on the pencil or neat handwriting. And, importantly, pencil grasp development plays a huge role.

      Make sure that you watch throughout the evaluation to see if they have any regression to a primitive pattern or switch how they hold the writing utensil frequently. 

      If you notice grasp pattern regressions, fidgeting or switching of grasp positions frequently, it’s a sign of fatigue related to poor muscle endurance and strength.

      It may also be an indicator that there is poor separation of the two sides of the hand, under development of the arches of the hand, and finger to thumb opposition, and even potentially poor web space development. 

      If pencil grasp impacts handwriting, work on pencil grasp through play.

      Bonus Tip! Watch for consistency of skills. If you notice that a skill is consistent, even if it’s an immature pattern, you can determine what is due to poor muscle strength and fatigue (inconsistent patterns) versus an established pattern or compensatory pattern (consistent patterns) that’s going to be difficult to change. This is called carryover of skills in handwriting.

      Consistency in motor skills can impact legible and neat written work because when the hand becomes fatigued, you may see legibility decline. 

      • Also take a look at how diagonal lines, vertical lines, horizontal lines, and shapes are formed
      • Assess written work in a variety of environments and when required to write at different paces or speeds.

      Skill #3: Joint Integrity—This is super important because a child that has a grasp pattern that is too tight or too loose can have compromised joints. 

      A grasp pattern that is too tight puts undue stress on the joints, ligaments and muscles which will lead to poor endurance, and hand cramps. And even potentially repetitive stress injuries. 

      On the opposite end, a grasp pattern that is too loose or where the child has hyper extended joints, they will experience similar pain and concerns. They are more likely to have joint pain due to the bone on bone of hyper extension patterns. 

      Both patterns are inefficient and will need to be addressed to help the child be successful with handwriting 

      Skill #4: Wrist and Hand Mobility—in this category, we want to look at how the wrist and hand move both as a unit, but also separately.

      Ideally, the hand and wrist should move independently of one another when writing with the wrist being stable and the hand moving. Read here about wrist extension and stability.

      If you see that the child is moving their hand and wrist as a unit with stabilization coming through the forearm, that is an inefficient movement pattern that you will want to work on addressing.

      This pattern is inefficient because it requires more energy from large muscle groups instead of utilizing them for stability. 

      Skill #5: Finger Mobility—similar to wrist and hand mobility, you will also want to assess finger movements and joint isolation. 

      Mature patterns will allow for the thumb, index and ring fingers to move in synchronized flexion/extension patterns to great dynamic movements. If you don’t see this, or notice that the child uses their whole hand to form letters, this is another inefficient pattern that you’ll want to address in your treatment. One way to support this skill is through finger isolation activities.

      If you’re not sure that this is an issue, have the child walk their fingers up and down a pencil to evaluate their in-hand manipulation skill focusing on shift. 

      Whether you are assessing an 8th grader or a preschooler these skills apply across the continuum to promoting independent and successful handwriting experiences. Working from this list of skills you can develop these skills further and take the stress out of handwriting!

      Letter Size and Spacing for Legible Written Work

      What Inconsistent Letter Size and Poor Spacing Means for Writing…

      A key component to legible writing are three important components:

      Letter formation can vary, much like the functional aspect of a pencil grasp, letter formation can take a functional form as well.

      However, without proper letter size and space, valuable thoughts and ideas are lost, along with the student experiencing frustration and potential feelings of failure. 

      When a student demonstrates consistent challenges with scattered letter sizing, and overlapping letters or words it may cause a teacher to refer the student to OT for a writing evaluation to take a closer look at where the child is struggling. 

      As OTs, we are the experts in writing and decoding what these challenges mean for a child’s overall foundational writing skills. 

      Observing the letter size and spacing during a writing evaluation provides valuable information regarding how the child’s fine motor, visual motor and coordination are functioning. 

      Inconsistent Letter Size 

      Inconsistent letter size can come in a variety of patterns. Letters may be all over the place on the line with short letters being the same size as tall letters, letters varying in size within a given word or with collections of letters with similar strokes being the same size. An example of this would be all letters that start with a “C” are all the same size. 

      Taking the size awareness piece into consideration is an overall understanding of size both on paper and outside the body in the world around us. This tall and short worksheet has a fine motor and visual motor component that can be incorporated into whole-body movement activities to teach these concepts that carryover into handwriting.

      You may also see letters getting progressively smaller throughout the writing sample, which is known as micrographia. Or you may see the size get larger as the sentence goes on. 

      Regardless of the pattern you see, inconsistent letter size is an indication of:

      • Poor fine motor control 
      • An immature tripod grasp 
      • Fatigue or pain 
      • Limited joint movement for dynamic patterns 
      • Potential visual spatial deficits 
      • Poor fine motor coordination 

      Along with inconsistent letter sizing, poor spacing or overlapping letters/words is also common. 

      Overlapping Letters 

      If a student is struggling with letter size, it is likely that they will have challenges with overlapping letters or words. This is because many of the same skills are needed for spacing letters and words that are used when producing consistent letter sizes. 

      Overlapping letters and words may also be an indication of: 

      • Poor fine motor control 
      • Poor visual motor control 
      • Visual spatial deficits
      • Tracking deficits 

      If you observe consistent letter size, and only challenges with spacing, this is an indication of poor visual spatial skills being the primary deficit affecting the students writing performance. It is also likely that they have more difficulty when completing copying tasks. 

      Use Writing Samples to assess handwriting legibility

      When collecting your writing sample, make sure that you ask the student to complete words and sentences. This will help you to further determine what skills will need to be addressed during therapy. 

      A writing sample can be used along with a handwriting rubric to collect the data needed to monitor progress on handwriting goals.

      Make sure that you are actively watching how the child writes. This will also provide more clues to the pre-writing and foundational skill challenges that they may be experiencing. 

      Letter sizing and spacing is just one of the many components needed for legibility.

      Development of these skills will significantly increase a child’s overall confidence and ability to participate in written activities, and you may even see development in other areas such as reading and hand eye coordination with your treatment! 

      Looking for more writing skill break down and a handy way to collect your observations? Check out the Handwriting Observation Kit!

      Tips for legible handwriting

      Tips for legible handwriting

      Working on the instruction for establishing a functional and efficient motor plan for letters, letter connections, and line use is important.

      So how do we support legible writing skills?

      Beyond addressing the physical motor skills as covered above, there are a few strategies that can support the development of legible handwriting. Use these resources to help.

      Practice formation in sensory activities:

      • Use sensory writing trays
      • Practice good writing habits by forming letters in sand
      • Write letters in shaving cream
      • Take a look at pencil grip
      • Try a slant board
      • Use modified or adapted paper styles
      • Focus on letter size (size awareness)
      • Highlight writing lines (line awareness)
      • Focus on spacing between letters and words (spatial awareness)
      • Use the digital download tools in our Member’s Club to practice proper letter formation
      • Look at upright posture when writing: how the hips are seated in the chair, chair height, desk height, posture, positioning of the knees, and placement of the feet and ankles
      • Use play dough for fine motor skill work, to improve hand strength, and dexterity
      • Practice letter groups- Group similar letters together and practice the letters that are in the same group based on the lines used to form that letter. Use cursive letter groups and printed letter groups based on writing lines.
      • Teach letters in specific orders: There is a printed letter order and a cursive letter order.
      • Use our Fine Motor Kits as tools to develop all of the underlying skills needed for written work; Each kit includes modified writing lines, handwriting opportunities, fine motor activities, visual motor opportunities, and fun and meaningful ways to support practice in each of these areas. 

      When a student’s learning and educational participation is impacted as a result of handwriting legibility issues, be sure to consult a pediatric occupational therapist to assess the potential for other underlying considerations. These may include:

      • Visual motor issues
      • Visual perception considerations
      • Sensory processing considerations
      • Fine motor delay
      • ​Developmental delay
      • Other considerations

      Legible handwriting can impact learning, lead to better grades, and result in overall improved confidence at school. Use the suggestions to establish good habits that carryover. Hopefully this resource had a few suggestions that impact your writer’s legibility!

      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.

      Working on fine motor skills, visual perception, visual motor skills, sensory tolerance, handwriting, or scissor skills? Our Fine Motor Kits cover all of these areas and more.

      Check out the seasonal Fine Motor Kits that kids love:

      Letters Fine Motor Kit
      Kit de motricidad fina de verano
      Summer Fine Motor Kit
      Outer Space Fine Motor Kit
      Space Fine Motor Kit
      Spring fine motor kit
      Valentines Day fine motor kit
      winter fine motor kit
      Winter Fine Motor Kit

      Or, grab one of our themed Fine Motor Kits to target skills with fun themes:

      Want access to all of these kits…and more being added each month? Join The OT Toolbox Member’s Club!

      Writing Spacer Craft

      by
      Writing spacer tool

      This handwriting tool is a writing spacer that supports spatial awareness between letters and words. To make this writing tool we used simple craft materials of a pipe cleaner and a craft pom pom, but you could use any items. The best thing about this handwriting spacing tool is that kids can make it their own. Add this writing spacer to your list of ways to use pipe cleaners in occupational therapy…and ways to use craft pom poms in OT!

      Writing Spacer

      When it comes to legible handwriting, spatial awareness between letters and words makes a huge difference! One way to go about this use of space between words is using finger spacers for handwriting. However, this can become an issue when kids are self-conscious placing their fingers between each word. Also, for the left- handed writer, the spacing finger is in the way when the writing hand moves over to write the next word.

      Whether you are a teacher in the classroom, a parent who is struggling to find the trick to get your child to write legibly, or a therapist working on the underlying skills needed for functional written work, you’ve probably noticed that when letters are smashed up against one another, it’s really hard to read what’s been written!

      Stretching out spaces between words makes a huge difference in legibility. And there’s more; Using consistent spacing between letters can help with legibility too. In fact, there is great benefit to using toys to support spatial awareness to develop these skills.

      That’s why we’re sharing this easy DIY handwriting spacer. It’s a do it yourself version that kids will take pride in making and using.

      Many of us have used and love spacing tools made from craft sticks.

      Use a pipe cleaner spacing tool to write with spaces between words.
      Use a pipe cleaner to make a writing spacer.

      Handwriting Spacing Tool Craft

      We actually have a few different options for making a writing tool to address spacing:

      • This craft stick spacing tool is very simple and has just a single visual cue to support visual tracking skills that play a role in spatial awareness.
      • This clothes pin spacer is unique in that it can be attached to a pencil pouch, folder, or papers so students always know where it is. It can also be accessorized and personalized by the student. It’s also a nice clothespin pencil gripper.

      Today, we’ve got a spacing tool that doesn’t use a craft stick…it’s another fun DIY spacing tool idea, but the difference is that this writing tool can be used to space between letters and between words.

      Use a Pipe Cleaner for a Spacing Tool

      This spacing tool uses items that you probably already have in the house or classroom. Kids can use their creative style in making their spacing tool and really make it their own. We used a few materials to make our spacing tools.

      Materials needed to make a spacing tool: 

      • Pipe cleaners
      • Craft pom poms (You could also use beads for a smaller space between words.)

      This project is super simple to put together. Creating the DIY spacing tools is a nice fine motor warm up to writing, too!

      If you are using a crafting pom pom like we did, use a smaller sized pom pom. A 1/4 inch crafting pom pom is a good size. Once the pipe cleaner is wrapped around the pom pom a couple of times, the size will increase.

      1. Wrap one end of the pipe cleaner around the craft pom pom several times so the pom pom is secure.
      2. A dab of craft glue can be used to secure the craft pom pom to the pipe cleaner, if you like.

      You won’t want the top of the spacing tool to be too wide, otherwise the space between words will become too stretched.

      A bead makes a nice spacer for spacing between words. Once the pipe cleaner is wrapped around the bead, there is a nice sized spacer for words.

      And that’s all there is to it!

      Use the spacing tool to space between words using the top of the space tool. The width of the pipe cleaner can be used to maintain a consistent space between letters.

      Use a pipe cleaner to space between letters when writing.

      These handwriting spacing tools can be as varied as the students in a classroom. Allow the kiddos to use creativity when making theirs. Bend pipe cleaners, add additional beads or other embellishments like ribbon or twine.

      Students will be proud to show off (and use!) their spacing tool when practicing handwriting and spacing between letters and words!

       

      Kids can use pipe cleaners and craft items to make their own DIY handwriting spacing tool for writing neatly and improving spatial awareness in handwriting.

      Working on spacing in handwriting? Why not start a handwriting club for kids? Kids can work on handwriting skills in a fun way. Here’s how to start a handwriting club kids will WANT to join!

      The Handwriting Book is a comprehensive resource created by experienced pediatric OTs and PTs.

      The Handwriting Book covers everything you need to know about handwriting, guided by development and focused on function. This digital resource is is the ultimate resource for tips, strategies, suggestions, and information to support handwriting development in kids.

      The Handwriting Book breaks down the functional skill of handwriting into developmental areas. These include developmental progression of pre-writing strokes, fine motor skills, gross motor development, sensory considerations, and visual perceptual skills. Each section includes strategies and tips to improve these underlying areas.

      • Strategies to address letter and number formation and reversals
      • Ideas for combining handwriting and play
      • Activities to practice handwriting skills at home
      • Tips and strategies for the reluctant writer
      • Tips to improve pencil grip
      • Tips for sizing, spacing, and alignment with overall improved legibility

      Click here to grab your copy of The Handwriting Book today.

      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.

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