January: it can be a beautiful relaxing month post festive season with lots of sun, sand and surf. End of January (start of February for some) also means returning to school. For some students, this is a highlight as they get to return to the classroom, learning, socialising with friends, and possibly even getting away from their parents for a bit! But for other students, the last few weeks and days of holidays can feel incredibly heavy and full of dread.
If your child is showing signs of anxiety about going to school, whether that’s related to social anxieties (seeing friends again and working out where they fit within the school ecosystem) or about academic work (being able to remain seated for a full lesson, picking up a pencil and doing handwriting again, general challenges with learning) we are here to help!
Handwriting can be tricky for many students, and even some adults struggle with extensive handwriting tasks. Supporting your child to ease back into handwriting with some fun activities is a great way to reduce the big anxieties associated with day 1 term 1.
Before even thinking about picking up a pen or pencil to practise handwriting, it’s always great to ensure your child is firstly regulated and ready to do a tabletop task. Encourage your child to get their sillies out - jump around, doing a little circuit of star jumps/hopping/skipping etc, or throw and catch a ball 10 times. Once the body is regulated and ready to sit down, it’s important to warm up and strengthen the hand and fingers. Use some theraputty (if you don’t have any - ask your therapist at your next appointment to purchase some, or there’s plenty available online). Use the putty to strengthen your hand and fingers - roll it out, make different shapes, hide beads or other small objects like macaroni pasta in there and encourage your child to pinch in to pull it out. These skills are all increasing the hand strength whilst promoting a pincer grasp, which is important for functional pencil grasp.
We always encourage families to include handwriting practise in daily and functional tasks - long gone are the days of sitting down and writing lines after lines as practise. Writing shopping lists, menus, to-do list or even a list of friends/classmates is a great task to practise writing. Providing lined paper and a suitable pencil or pen is recommended also.
Another fun activity to do is to write a letter to your child’s new teacher. If they want to get the message correct and do correct spelling, it is encouraged for parents to scribe the child’s message and then for the child to copy it onto lined paper or a card. This activity can even allow the child to tell the teacher personal information about how they are feeling on their first day: maybe they want to express what they are nervous or excited about, or explain any challenges they may experience in the classroom.
Of course there are MILLIONS of worksheets available online that you can print, or even purchase handwriting books from stores like Officeworks, KMart and Big W. At KFOT we love Twinkl - they have handwriting worksheets specifically made for each Australian state’s curriculum so it is super easy to find an activity for your child’s grade level. There are also lots of fun craft and creative activities available that your child might enjoy.
Lastly, if you have concerns about your child’s handwriting or they are complaining of pain when completing handwriting, feel free to get in touch with Kids First OT: we love to help your little one be able to enjoy the task of handwriting and not feel anxious or worried about it. Writing provides so many opportunities for self-expression and creativity, and we want to
encourage this for your child! Our experienced OTs can guide you on the best next steps for your child’s individual needs: maybe some 1:1 OT sessions might be beneficial, or you may be interested in enrolling your child in our next School Holiday Handwriting Group.