Climbing & Crawling Activities- to develop body movement awareness as well as supporting directional language. Use s
Games & Activities to Help Motor Memory Action Songs & Games – to develop awareness of how different parts of the body work together to create movement and whether they are on the left or right, for example, ‘Simon Says’ or ‘Twister’. Movement Songs & Games - to develop awareness of how they move and which parts of the body work together for different movements, for example, ‘Going on a Bear Hunt’ or ‘The Hokey Cokey’. Directional Games & Activities – to develop understanding and language of directional instructions - turn left/right, straight on, backwards, forwards, up, down etc... Simple map work or ‘Treasure Hunts’ (give verbal instructions, one at a time to start with, increase as their skill level improves). Climbing & Crawling Activities- to develop body movement awareness as well as supporting directional language. Use small and large objects to create an obstacle course to climb over, crawl under, between, next to, on the left of or right of, behind, in front, on top, underneath, below or opposite. Big to Small – to help develop the motor memory for particular directional movements and shapes. Start big by using the whole body to move around the shape or letter they are trying to learn. Then steadily reduce the size of the activities until you reach the paper and pencil stage. •
Really Big, set up an obstacle course which makes them move in the same directions as the letter formation would, they could walk, run, scooter or cycle the route.
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Very Big, draw the letter really big on the ground with chalk, make the start point and direction of travel clear and talk them through the walk of the letter, any turns and which direction to take. Do this several times and then get your child to talk through themselves as they walk the route, perhaps even getting you to do the walk and telling you what to do. Try different ways of moving through the letter but always make sure they are moving in the right directions as needed to correctly write the letter on paper.
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Big, by drawing the letter in the air using large arm movements which cross the midline (vertical imaginary line that runs through the middle of the chest and belly button). Talk through the actions with them, stand next to them (on their left if they are right handed or the right if left handed) when doing this rather than in front. This means they can watch and copy you easily if they get stuck or confused.
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Getting smaller, with your finger draw the letter on their back while talking through the actions and then get them to repeat the activity on your back.
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Smaller still, try drawing the letter in different media such as sand (wet or dry), finger paints or corn flour mixed in a little water to form a kind of paste. Make sure they are forming the letter correctly; make the start point and direction clear for them. It can be a good idea to let them play freely first before trying the letter or shape formation exercise.
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Even smaller, now look to draw the letter on paper, letting them use which ever writing media they like - paint, crayon, chalk, felt tip or pencil as long as they are holding the writing tool appropriately (age dependant). Make the starting point and direction clear for them to start with then let them do it by themselves. Once they seem confident in forming the letter move to large gapped lined paper and pencil and reduce the line gaps as their skill improves.
Encourage your child with positive comments by saying how you like the way they remembered where to start and moved in the correct direction or to cross a ‘t’ or dot an ‘i’. Elements which are not correct need to be addressed; try more positive and selfassessment style phrases such as, “next time try to…”, “Which do you think is best?”, “Why do you like that one best?”
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