What is a proper scissors grasp?

 There are several key elements to achieving a proper scissors grasp. First, the hand must be placed in a thumb-up position. The thumb goes in the “top loop” and the middle finger goes in the “bottom loop” and the scissors should rest on the index finger. The fourth and fifth fingers should be tucked into the palm to  provide stability for the hand as it opens and closes.

What activities can be done to help a child maintain that frequently elusive thumbs-up position?

1. Dropping and catching: With the elbow bent at a 90° angle palm-down, drop a small object, such as a ball or bean bag into the lower hand, which is cupped palm up. Alternate hands. Gradually increase the weight of the object once the skill has been mastered with a light object
2. Scoop flour, sugar, beans, rice, etc.
3. Melon baller
4. Carry a ping pong ball or marble at arm’s length on a long-handled spoon. A first hold the handle close to the bowl of the spoon. Work your way to the end as skill increases.
5. Carry a tray from the bottom to play house or restaurant.  Position hands palms up, upper arms in contact with trunk, and elbows at a 90° angle
6. Board games that require turning  pieces over, e.g. Lucky Ducks, Squiggly Worms and Lotto
7. Slinky: Shift the slinky back and forth between hands, palms up, elbows bent
8. Bounce a ball on a racket (face up or face down)
9. Throw a ball underhand
10.  Lock and key toys

How do you begin to teach children to cut with scissors?

Learning to grasp a pair of scissors correctly requires practice and a good pair of scissors. Children’s Fiskars are great starting scissors. Difficulty maintaining a thumbs-up position is an indication of poor elbow control. Here are some activities to help strengthen elbow control:

1. First practice cutting on card stock, or plastic coffee stirrers because they are stiff, easier to cut, and require only one snip.
2. Save all of those annoying subscription cards that fall out of magazines, and pre-cut them into ½” strips. Have your beginning scissors-user cut them into pieces. This is an easy and almost always gratifying activity. If you have an incomplete collection of paying cards, those work equally well.
3. You can use the straw and card stock snippets to create a collage. Next, have your child cut fringes at the bottom of a piece of card stock.  This should require only one snip per fringe.  
4. When the hands are working well together, draw some shorter and longer lines on the card stock with a thick black Sharpie or a highlighter and have your child practice stopping at the end of the line. This will begin to place demands on sequential opening and closing, and facilitate awareness of the line, and introduce control.  Finally, ask him/her to cut longer strips lengthwise on cardstock progressing to widthwise on construction paper to practice opening and closing the scissors 4 or 5 times in a row.

See our next blog to learn about different kinds of scissors to boost your child’s cutting skills.

Aviva Goldwasser, OTR/L

Dr. Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, OTR/L

12/16/11

On the evening of Wednesday February 9, 2011, POTS hosted an interactive evening that was both fun-filled and informative. Parents and teachers joined us to learn how to get children’s hands ready for writing and drawing with innovative and exciting activities from our toolbox and manual. Using a variety of creative multisensory activities, parents and teachers were instructed how to choose and utilize appropriate tools and materials to keep children enthusiastic about writing.

 Q: Is it ok for my child to use markers, or should I only offer crayons?

           A: All writing implements have their place. Crayons are great for helping children learn to modulate pressure appropriately. Children get more feedback from pushing on a crayon than a marker, which in turn helps them learn how much force to exert. Markers are particularly effective for children who apply so little pressure on the crayon that their work can barely be seen. When they use a marker, they get the satisfying result of vividly seeing the fruits of their labor, which keeps them motivated. Keep drawing and coloring activities fun and gratifying so children keep coming back for more.

 Q: My child generally does drawing/writing activities at the dining room table, but the chairs do not appear to fit him well, he moves around a lot and his feet dangle. What other options are there?

           A: It is extremely important for children to be seated properly at a table, particularly when doing fine motor activities, drawing, and writing. Poor posture limits the ability of the hands to do their best work and automatically places the child at a disadvantage. One option is to tailor your existing chairs to better suit your child’s size by placing a phone book or shoebox under his feet so that his hips, knees, and ankles are at a 90 degree angle. Alternatively, turn the entire chair around and allow your child to kneel at the table. Alternatively, the Tripp Trapp chair (www.stokke.com) is an ideal seating option for children. The seat and foot rest are both adjustable, making it an excellent choice for your growing child.

Q: My 5 year old child uses a fisted grasp when coloring/writing. When I place her hand on the crayon properly, she complains of pain. Why?

           A: By the time children are 4½ years old, they are expected to have a mature dynamic tripod grasp. In order to achieve that grasp, the small muscles within the hand must be strong and well developed. When a 5 year old child is consistently holds a writing implement with a fisted grasp and cannot sustain a tripod grasp, it indicates that there is weakness in the hands.

Q: Now that I have all these great games and activities to use with my child, how do I know how many repetitions of an activity I should do?

           A: Look for quality instead quantity. The goal is to improve your child’s performance by solidifying good habits. Practice an exercise 3 times with your child doing it properly with excellent posture and positioning rather than 10 times reinforcing a pattern that is less than ideal. Once you have achieved good quality, gradually increase the time/repetitions over which it can be maintained.

 Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR/L                       Chaye Lamm Warburg, DPS, OTR, Director of POTS

Pre-schoolers can often identify their letters and attempt to form them before their small hands are ready to control a pencil and paper- and they should not be expected to. Listed below are several activities for practicing how to form letters without having to place a writing tool into your child’s hands.

• Flashlight: In a dark room, “draw” a letter on the wall or ceiling using a flashlight. Demonstrate drawing a letter and have your child imitate it.
• Wikki stix (www.wikkistix.com): Use wikki stix to form a letter. Creating the letter by its components (for example, a “D” is made by making a big line and a big curve) is a great way to practice letter formation, without placing demands on immature fine motor skills.
• Air writing: Standing in front of your child, demonstrate writing a letter in the air. Have your child stand beside you or behind you to imitate the same letter.
• Rainbow writing: On a chalkboard, whiteboard, or large piece of paper, write a letter. Have your child trace over your letter using many colors for repeated practice.
• Funny Foam (www.amazon.com): Spray Funny Foam on the wall of the bathtub or on a bumpy cutting board and write a letter. Have your child trace over your letters in the foam soap.
• Pretzel stick: Use a small piece of a fat pretzel rod as a “pencil” and “write” letters on a plate covered in pudding, applesauce, marshmallow fluff, or peanut butter.
• Sand box: Create your own homemade sand box using a shoe box. Using a stick or finger, have your child trace letters.
• Wet-dry-try: This is a technique from the Handwriting Without Tears program. Write a letter on a chalkboard. Have your child dip a tiny piece of a sponge into a small amount of water and use the sponge to erase the letter by tracing over it. Then he should trace over the wet shadow with his finger.  Next, he should “dry” the letter using a tiny piece of paper towel. Last, he should trace over the shadow of the letter using a tiny piece of chalk.

September 18, 2009

Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR

& Chaye Lamm-Warburg, MA, OTR, Director POTS

Pre-schoolers can often identify their letters and attempt to form them before their small hands are ready to control a pencil and paper- and they should not be expected to. Listed below are several activities for practicing how to form letters without having to place a writing tool into your child’s hands.

• Flashlight: In a dark room, “draw” a letter on the wall or ceiling using a flashlight. Demonstrate drawing a letter and have your child imitate it.
• Wikki stix (www.wikkistix.com): Use wikki stix to form a letter. Creating the letter by its components (for example, a “D” is made by making a big line and a big curve) is a great way to practice letter formation, without placing demands on immature fine motor skills.
• Air writing: Standing in front of your child, demonstrate writing a letter in the air. Have your child stand beside you or behind you to imitate the same letter.
• Rainbow writing: On a chalkboard, whiteboard, or large piece of paper, write a letter. Have your child trace over your letter using many colors for repeated practice.
• Funny Foam (www.amazon.com): Spray Funny Foam on the wall of the bathtub or on a bumpy cutting board and write a letter. Have your child trace over your letters in the foam soap.
• Pretzel stick: Use a small piece of a fat pretzel rod as a “pencil” and “write” letters on a plate covered in pudding, applesauce, marshmallow fluff, or peanut butter.
• Sand box: Create your own homemade sand box using a shoe box. Using a stick or finger, have your child trace letters.
• Wet-dry-try: This is a technique from the Handwriting Without Tears program. Write a letter on a chalkboard. Have your child dip a tiny piece of a sponge into a small amount of water and use the sponge to erase the letter by tracing over it. Then he should trace over the wet shadow with his finger.  Next, he should “dry” the letter using a tiny piece of paper towel. Last, he should trace over the shadow of the letter using a tiny piece of chalk.

September 18, 2009

Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR

& Chaye Lamm-Warburg, MA, OTR, Director POTS

In the era of ever-advancing technology and computers, it may seem as though handwriting can take a back seat. On the contrary, computer skills and keyboarding- while important- do not replace the need for handwriting entirely. Writing remains a critical form of portable communication for note taking, test taking, completion of classroom work and homework, and as prerequisite job skill. When applying to high school, many students are required to fill in an application or write an essay and short answers while waiting for their interview. Additionally, students are required to write on the new writing section of the SAT and on several SAT II’s. For better or worse, written work continues to be used as a barometer of intelligence.

Poor handwriting can have a wide-spread effect on academic performance. When writing does not come automatically, naturally, and fluidly, it takes extra time and effort to think about forming each letter and word. That time and mental energy would be better spent focusing on the content of the work. Children who struggle with the underlying components of handwriting are often less motivated to write since it is so effortful and time-consuming. They may choose to write answers to questions and essays that are shorter and lack adequate content simply to avoid extra writing. This is one way in which academic performance is affected by handwriting.

Furthermore, writing is an important foundational skill for reading and spelling. As children learn letter formation, they often learn its basic sound. Research shows that without the automatic recall of letters that is established during writing, spelling and reading may be compromised.

Neat handwriting is also essential for building a child’s confidence in school. For this reason it is critical that good habits are taught explicitly and are not expected to just “come around”. Direct handwriting instruction at an early age in a developmentally appropriate manner is most beneficial because it is difficult to re-teach proper habits in older children who are already set in their ways.

POTS is proud to present a Tips, Grips, and Kits for Handwriting workshop for parents of pre-schoolers, kindergartners, and first graders. Parents will receive a toolbox and booklet with all the materials needed to work with your child at home. Join us for one of two dates, Tuesday September 22, 2009 or Tuesday September 29, 2009.

Blog written by: Aviva Goldwasser, MS, OTR &

Chaye Lamm-Warburg, MA, OTR, Director POTS