We know that the way a child holds a crayon/pencil/color/brush affects the quality of their writing and drawing skills, the way they shape the letters and the entire joy they can derive from the process of drawing and writing.
This post aims to strengthen the shoulders and hands in order to enhance the joy that children can derive from drawing and writing. An effortless writing will ensure a joyful drawing and writing action as much as they will please. When drawings, scribbling and writing become a physical effort children tend to avoid them when the mental effort becomes more complicated. A full writing in personal-emotional aspects with compatible physical skills help the children to enjoy it.
1. Drawings - drawings on big papers which are hang on the wall, or laid on the floor. You can draw with crayons, watercolors, pencils, markers etc.
2. Spread cotton balls on the ground, and see who collects the most with the help of only tweezers.
3. Spread beans or lentils in different sizes and colors on the floor. collect each specific kind to a bowl with only your fingers.
4. Play catch with a variety of different sized balls. For advanced level - throw and catch only with the fingers (appropriate for only age 5 and up).
5. Free playing and building in sand/ play-dough/ dough/ foam/ whip cream/ pudding (particularly great for the younger children). Create snakes, balls and what ever you feel like using your fingers, joints and with the hand-palm.
6. Play finger war with your thumbs.
7. Embroidery with a thick needle - very helpful to strengthening the hand-palms, and helps develop persistence and concentration. You can start with only 5 minutes a day.
8. Drawings with finger-colors/shaving foam - with all the palm, with the finger-tips and with different kinds of sponges.This can be done on the floor, standing in front of a painter's easel, standing on your 6, standing on one foot while balancing yourself etc.
9. Eating with chop-sticks, or collecting light objects spread on a flat surface with chop-sticks.
10. Fasteners/Clips - collect objects with fasteners, hand the laundry on the laundry rope, play with fasteners and open and close them, every time with the thumb and a different finger.
11. Playing a lot at the playground on the different climbing and ganging facilities.
