We were told by E's teacher that he needed to work on his pencil grip. It was recommended that he do occupational therapy. Before we signed on for the expense of OT, we thought we'd work on it at home. We've been writing, and coloring, focusing on pencil grip, and a few others exercises that Lance invented. I've discovered that the problem is rooted in the fact that he likes to color very dark. When he uses his "pencil grip," he can't make it as dark as he likes it. So we're practicing a lot with markers, so he can get a dark color without the pressure. Here are some of our exercises (I mean...Games!)! [Please note: I am not disregarding advice for my son to receive therapy. However, we are attempting to first address this at home to see if we can make some progress at home first.]
Toothpick Pickups: Ethan picks toothpicks out of a bowl with a tweezer. He has to pick up 10 of each color from the bowl & sorts them on the table.
Swingups: Glad my husband is strong. Ethan grabs onto Lance's index fingers & has to hang on while Daddy pulls him off the ground.
And of course there is always climbing!!! Good thing we know some people who have
a gym...
Other exercises that we had recommended to us include: Lite Brite, Play Doh, Operation, Don't Break the Ice, Sorry, clipping clothespins on things & flipping pennies.
Any of you have any additional ideas? Have your children had occupational therapy?
Swingups: Glad my husband is strong. Ethan grabs onto Lance's index fingers & has to hang on while Daddy pulls him off the ground. 
And of course there is always climbing!!! Good thing we know some people who have a gym...
Other exercises that we had recommended to us include: Lite Brite, Play Doh, Operation, Don't Break the Ice, Sorry, clipping clothespins on things & flipping pennies.
13 comments:
Pour cheerios on the table and have him pick them up and put them on a straw. Great for counting and working on the pincer grasp.- Yolanda
There are also little popper things. They look kind of like a miniature bowl and they are flexible and you turn them inside out and set them on a table and they pop into the air. They come in different sizes and they are good for that too.
Wow, great ideas for exercises/games. Judah had some issues with his pencil grip too when he first started kindergarten this fall. He also likes to be a "dark colorer" ( : but after more and more weeks at school and having more and various types of opportunities of writing/drawing using different types of pencils/pens/markers/paintbrushes, it's gotten a LOT better. I knew he had made progress when it was actually his idea to write his own name on all 24 of the christmas cards he gave to his classmates! All the ideas you and the commenters have of the games are so good though, I think i'll try a few of those while he's home on christmas break!
Emily
i forget the name of the stuff, but i bought some "super putty" a while back when i was trying to work on climbing strength. they sell the stuff at rei, it comes in a little fist container, and it seems like something that would be fun to work on squeezing. i recall it being relatively inexpensive as well.
one of the selling features is that its supposed to be easy to squeeze with light amounts of pressure, and the harder you squeeze it the more it resists. i think that means it works with whatever amounts of pressure you can apply.
crap...you can't edit comments.
i meant to say, i'd be fine letting you guys borrow mine (assuming i can find it) to see how e likes it.
Here are some others you could try:
build structures with toothpicks and marshmallows
make a santa and use tweezers to add cotton balls for beard
color with broken crayons or write with golf pencils
Also, Word of Mouth Speech & Learning Associates in Brentwood is doing free speech and OT screenings this month. I'm sure the OT could give you some additional home activities.
Cut a sponge in little pieces and have Ethan pick it up with a clothespin. He can put them in his other hand, and see how many will fit in there. Then he could also try to get them out of the that hand one by one and count them... I'm glad you didn't stop blooging :) Annika, Julia's Sister-in-law and an OT.
Another idea. Put plenty of dried beans (rice, lentil etc. work just as well) in a bowl. Have Ethan find small objects (tiny toys he likes) in that bowl, only through searching, feeling for them with his hands. Helps improving the perception of the fingers/hand. He'll need that for the pencil grip. Have fun!!!
If you borrow the super putty, you can hide things inside of it for Ethan to pick out and find (paper clips, pennies, buttons, lite bright pieces, etc.). I know plently of OTs so if you need more suggestions (although you seem to have enough), please let me know!
-your PT friend
Yes, my child has had therapy. HA! And yes I would encourage you to try this at home as E obviously doesn't have any developmental issues and he'll likely pick this up right away.
Sound like you have great ideas. Hiding things in playdough is usually a hit around here. Also we often have to incorporate other toys that are more preferred (dinosaurs walk thru playdough, make playdough food to feed trains, color a picture of Dora etc.) to make it more fun and less work.
wow - what a lot of great ideas!!! thanks!
actually we do have the "fist" putty. but i've never hidden stuff in it. that's going into rotation!
Not that I didn't think this before...but, Carrie you are a GREAT mom!!! Most of us would just sign our kids up for the help needed. YOU take the role of Mom is the first helper. I love what you and Lance are doing for E at home. So glad you are in my life and I can learn things about parenting from you.
ditto.
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