Final Products5,6,7

“Best Effort”“It is not enough to do your best, you must know

what to do, and then do your best”-W. Edwards Deming

The above quote taken out of a law document pertaining to “Best Effort” is being used to define the use of this term within the camp. The instructor will explain and reinforce effort in regard to learning new methods of letter formation, self-assessment and responsibility to write so others can read. The campers will hopefully exit the handwriting camp with increased self-awareness and the importance of self-assessing written performance and taking responsibility for the learning of correct letter formation. Campers will be encouraged to set a standard based on their effort.

The camp instructor will explain “Best Effort”. The instructor will demonstrate correct letter formation of the alphabet using verbal and visual cues from the Handwriting Without Tears program. The campers will then write a sample of the uppercase and lowercase alphabet, writing following top to bottom progression as neatly as possible. This sample will be placed on the “Best Effort” bulletin board. Each day a new alphabet sample will be written and compared to the original. Campers can replace the original, it they feel a later sample is better. Other samples are placed in their work folder Campers will label each side of the folder copying from sample provided by instructor. Daily samples will be assessed and either placed on the “Best Effort” side or the “I can do better side” of the folder.

Campers are instructed to raise their hand when they have a sample that is as good, or better than the original. The instructor then assesses the sample and gives feedback. During the first week of camp, this sample is held up for all to see and a sticker or stamp is given to the camper as a reinforcer for the child’s effort. After campers practice forming a letter across the paper, they will be asked to assess the row and place a star next to the one they feel is best and circle the one they feel did not demonstrate best effort.

At the start of the second week, the instructor will explain that everyone is to try and maintain their “Best Effort” everyday. A special prize will be given to all those campers who achieve this continuity in written performance.

Handwriting Without Tears Activity Focus and Summary

Since the camp is focusing on children exiting Kindergarten; the suggested Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) curriculum for this age group will be used as a guideline in activity selection.

Handwriting Without Tears Kindergarten Curriculumwww.hwtears.com/educators/teachers

The HWT curriculum follows a developmental progression. The program provides hands-on learning and exercises incorporating focus on the foundational skills necessary for handwriting success. The learning sequence moves from imitation, copying to independent writing. Lowercase letters that are similar are focused on together and then are used within words and sentences

Social skills and body awareness Proper pencil grip and posture for writing Vocabulary for building/forming letters and numbers Correct letter formation and number formation, sizing and

placement Basic sentence writing including words, spacing, capitalization and

punctuation

Activities to support social skills and body awareness will be focused on through the Rock, Rap, Tap and Learn CD that was ordered. The HWT website provides a list of activities that go along with the CD that focus on self-esteem, body awareness, .

Activities to support proper pencil grip and posture for writing include:

1. Warm-up exercises using the whole body and spatial concepts such as:

Tossing a tennis ball up in the air while standing and clapping before catching the ball. Clapping can vary from one or two claps in front of the body or one clap under raised leg

While standing, campers will be asked to hold a paper up with non-dominant hand and clip clothespins on paper with dominant hand. The instructor will incorporate spatial concepts used in the program such as, “Place a clothespin on the top, left corner” or Place 5 clothespins

on the left side of the paper starting at the top”.

Have campers make rectangular boxes on the wall chalkboard with Wikki sticks and then write name in box

2. The following will be taught and reinforced daily:

Use a short pencil that is sharpened Chair/lap is under desk/tabletop Feet are flat on floor Upper body is leaning over desk/forearm on writing

surface Having the “Print letter desk strip” in view Refer to Print Wall cards “Picking up my pencil” song on the CD will be used to

reinforce pencil grip and posture

Activities to support vocabulary for building/forming letters and numbers will be addressed in all activities of the camp from body awareness to actual letter forming. Concepts of top to bottom, jump, etc will be continually incorporated into all aspects of camp activities. Actual letter formation using the HWT language will be worked on through:

HWT sticks- to practice uppercase letter formation Roll-A-Dough letters- practice upper and lowercase Blackboard with double lines

Chalkboard activities Parent website will allow parents the information needed

to reinforce the same vocabulary at home

Activities to support Basic sentence writing including words, spacing, capitalization and punctuation will include:

My Printing Book-focuses on words and sentences Draw and Write Book- Summer theme sentences and

pictures Blackboard with double lines- provides line boundaries

that campers can practice staying within on a larger scale than paper

Gray Block Paper- provides gray square boundaries for each letter

Students will use strategies such using finger to help with spacing between words, Wikki sticks to assist with line boundaries for upper and lowercase letters, self-assessment to ensure sentences have capitalization and punctuation

S. H. A. R. P. Handwriting Camp

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the handwriting camp e-mail exchange. I look forward to working with you as a team in developing the skills necessary to increase your child’s handwriting developmental skills.

For the first week, learning the language used in the Handwriting Without Tears Program will ensure letter formation is reinforced in the same manner at camp and home. A list of “fun” activities will also be provided that may help your child further develop the foundational skills necessary to produce legible handwriting.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions, concerns or suggestions in regard to your child’s handwriting development.

All the best, Doreen Cancillieri Occupational Therapist

Ways to Reinforce Letter Formation

1. Use the terms Big Line, Little line, Big Curve and Little Curve and describing the lines to form the uppercase letters.

2. Use short pencils and crayons to encourage finer grasp patterns.

3. Always encourage children to start vertical lines at the top. You may want to ask your child before beginning to write, “Where do you start you letters?” Their answer should be, “at the top!”

4. The lowercase “c” is called “Magic C” in the Handwriting Without Tears Program. This is again formed top to bottom.

5. The spatial concepts of top, middle and bottom in relation to a line. You can ask your child to point to the middle of a line

or place something in the middle of the table, etc.

Additional Activities and Websitesthat focus on components of letter

formation such as corners, diagonals, closure

1. Have child make their own note pad; making a cardboard square stencil that they can trace and cut out over and over. They can line up papers with parent and staple at corner.

2. Ask child to draw combinations of different shapes involving corners, diagonals and intersections needed in letter formation.

3. Have child draw lines within shapes going from one corner to another.

4. Fold paper trying line up corners.

Below is a list of a few websites that offer additional activity suggestions and information on handwriting development.www.hwtears.comwww.familyfun.com www.Education.com www.ccs.k12.in.us/Hbm/Devel%20to%20HW.htm - 28k

List of Summer Activities to Help Develop the Performance Components needed for

Handwriting Developmental Skills

1. Digging in the sand; filling pails with water and sand to build sand sculptures. You may also use sticks or the back of a shovel to draw lines and letters in the sand.

2. Holding a pail while walking along the beach collecting shells and stones. The shells and stones can then be brought home to paint or count.

3. Starting a summer collection such as sea glass, shells, etc can help a child develop visual scanning and other important skills.

4. Having a night when everyone eats with chopsticks can be fun and helps develop the small muscles of the fingers.

5. Having children participate in food preparation can be fun and develop arm and hand strength and coordination. Pouring liquids into measuring cups, mixing batter, putting the cupcake paper liners into the muffin tray are some examples.

6. Having children in charge of the nickels and pennies when shopping can develop in-hand manipulation and other skills. Children can have a small change purse with pennies and nickels. Parents can ask the students to count out small amount of change needed for transactions or fill coin wrappers up with pennies to bring to the bank.

7. Having children help wash a car with a sponge encouraging large arm movements.

8. Having children spray plants squeezing a spray nozzle are other ways children can strengthen muscle groups while having “fun”.

9. Having a backpack of fine motor activities such as dot-to-dot or maze books, crayons and coloring books, playing cards, etc. These activities can be taken out at restaurants or other outings to keep child entertained while working on their fine motor skills.

10. Playground equipment helps build the large muscles that are needed to stabilize the body when writing.

S. H. A. R. P. Handwriting Camp

Dear Parents,

Welcome to week two! Hopefully you and your child are now starting off each day “at the top”. In camp we will continue to focus on the arm and hand movements necessary for legible handwriting. We will also practice letter formation while writing words and short sentences.

Planning ahead to incorporate “fun” letter and word writing using the HWT language will reinforce skills learned in camp. Below is a list of activity

suggestions to help practice letter formation in a playful manner.

Feel free to e-mail me! All the best, Doreen Cancillieri Occupational Therapist

ACTIVITIES TO PRACTICE LETTER FORMATION

1. Role reversal-Let child play teacher and pretend like you are learning to form letters.

2. Roll out cookie dough into long, short lines and big, little curves. Pick a letter your child needs to practice and make several cookies in the shape of the letter.

3. While on the beach, ask your child to try and write words of items they see such as; pail, shell, sand, etc. You can use a stick or shell to write the words .

4. Using sidewalk chalk have your child draw pictures of everyone in the family with their name under the picture.

5. If your child could use extra help with a certain letter, have them try to squirt it

out with syrup on top of pancakes or whipped cream on cake or ice cream.

6. Asking your child to tell you how to form a certain letter as you are pouring pancake batter and help reinforce letter formation.

7. Draw and erase type toys can provide opportunities for your child to practice letter formation and hand strengthening while on car rides.

8. Painting on an easel and then writing the word describing the picture underneath.

9. While on the beach form large letters and words in the sand with the heel of the foot.

10. Have your child keep a summer journal. They write one sentence a day to record fun summer activities. They can draw a picture to go with the simple sentence if they want.

Sensory Strategies and Repetition can help to Reinforce and Maintain Skills

learned in camp1. Use visual cues; the letter chart

from HWT program taped on a binder or child’s desk.

2. Use auditory cues; parent and child verbalize while forming letters to reinforce appropriate formation.

3. Use tactile cues; using straws, pretzels sticks, licorice strings to practice letter formation.

4. Use kinesthetic cues; practice making “OK sign”, square, etc. with fingers.

5. Use activities and suggestions from the www.hwtears.com website.

6. Planning 5-10 minutes a day to practice letter formation will help to maintain and further develop letter formation.