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Proper Posture:

Proper writing position and posture at desk:
1.  Both feet should be on the floor
2.  Angles, knee and hip should be at right angles (90 degrees)
3.  Forearms should be resting on the desk or table
4.  The child’s back has to be supported by chair.
5.  The child’s bottom has to be pushed into the back pocket of his/her chair.

The top of the desk or table should be about 12 inches above the elbows when the arms are at the student's side.

 

 

 

Prewriting Exercises:

  • Chair Push Ups-While sitting, put your hands on your chair seat and raise your bottom off your chair by pushing up 10 times.
  • Shoulder Shrug-Move your shoulders up toward your ears 10 times.
  • Finger Taps-Place both arms comfortably on the desk top. Lift and tap each finger in succession...thumb, pointer, middle ring and pinky.
  • Palm Presses-Put palms together in front of the body, fingers heading in opposite directions and push palms together and stop. Do 10 times.
  • Finger Push/Pulls-Gently grasp each thumb and finger in turn and lightly push and pull 10 times and then do the other hand.
  • Pencil Walks-The object is to walk your fingers/thumb up and down the shaft of the pencil from the tip to the eraser by flexing/extending fingers (shortening/lengthening) to work your way from one end of the pencil to the other. Pencil walks are important for quickly positioning your hand and fingers into writing position when initially picking up the pencil for use.


Where do we put the paper?

Never assume children know where to put their paper. Teach and practice! Teach children to follow the natural arc of the writing hand. This is easy to remember, for right handed children, the right corner is higher, for left handed children, the left corner is higher. The non dominant hand or helping hand supports or holds the paper.

How do we hold the pencil?

To encourage the most efficient form of pencil grasp, instruct the child to hold the pencil between the tips of the thumb and the index fingers and supported against the side of the middle finger. The last two fingers are curved and rest against the writing surface. The wrist is bent back (extended) slightly, and the pencil is held about 1" from the tip (slightly more for left handed children).

One way to remind children to get this position is have them make the A-OK sign with their thumb and index finger. Place the pencil between the thumb and index finger and tell them to pinch it. Then have them drop the other fingers. (Please click the link http://parentchildeducation.com/how_to/PencilGrip.php to view a video)

How do we hold scissors?
Remember "thumbs up" when cutting!
The optimal position is to hold scissors with middle finger and thumb in finger loops and index finger supporting scissor blade from the bottom.

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    Last Modified: Tuesday, May. 25, 2010
     
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