Update on Coloring and Handwriting - for Spy Car and anyone interested

[TCB]

Last year there was a thread on handwriting and Bill suggested that coloring with colored pencils may be a good way of helping with the fine motor problems.

 

My dd6, at the time, was really not enjoying writing. She could spell and read great, so it seemed like it was a 'physical act of writing' thing. I had never given coloring much credit for anything before, but I really got her coloring with the pencils. I haven't carried out a randomised, contolled study of course :), but I think it has really helped. Writing neatness has improved a great deal, and while not the favorite thing to do, dd struggles far less. Something to try for anyone with the same difficulties.

 

 

Trenna

[Spy Car]

Last year there was a thread on handwriting and Bill suggested that coloring with colored pencils may be a good way of helping with the fine motor problems.

 

My dd6, at the time, was really not enjoying writing. She could spell and read great, so it seemed like it was a 'physical act of writing' thing. I had never given coloring much credit for anything before, but I really got her coloring with the pencils. I haven't carried out a randomised, contolled study of course :), but I think it has really helped. Writing neatness has improved a great deal, and while not the favorite thing to do, dd struggles far less. Something to try for anyone with the same difficulties.

 

 

Trenna

 

I have to credit my son's excellent Kindergatern teacher, Mrs M., for this idea.

 

I must admit I grumbled to my wife (more than once) about our child attending "coloring school" that year but in the end I had to eat humble-pie. I was wrong, and all the children (who spent good portions of their Kindergarten year coloring) went from almost universally bad handwriting to very neat handwriting. It was certainly true of my son. You live and learn.

 

I must also mention this was the same advice offered to be by Bruce Smith, author of the SmithHand handwriting program.

 

I'm glad it worked for you. And thanks for the update! :001_smile:

 

Bill

[happycc]

one of my twin daughters had atrocious handwriting. She has always stayed away from any kind of craft, coloring etc . I have been making her color color color and making her redo it if it is sloppy. Mean mom!

 

 

Her handwriting has greatly improved. Making her do cursive has also helped.

 

 

I got my 2nd grader the vision dexterity one of these. And she has also improved in her handwriting and paying more attention. I am planning to get another one for the twin that I wrote about above.

 

http://www.insightteched.com/index.htm

[lea1]

I went out of my way to find very fun coloring books for my two sons, in addition to finding coloring pages on the Internet about things they were interested in and sitting down and coloring with them. They have colored up a storm over the past year and it is amazing how it has helped them. I have yet to hear a complaint about a hand being tired. We are currently doing the HWT yellow book. They do a page, front and back, each school day and then they frequently want to color the pictures on the page.

[SorrelZG]

It has been making a difference for my daughter as well. My logic was that if she didn't seem to grasp the concept of coloring in (her coloring and drawing consisted at the time of merely a few random scribbles) then little could I expect her to do much with a tracer when she was asking to "do school". Since I began giving her regular coloring assignments, encouraging her to fill all the spaces (it wasn't apparent to her to even try) she has progressed leaps and bounds in both coloring and tracing. She's still not ready for more than that but prior to this work she could not seem to connect her pencil with the dotted line let alone follow it. She's delighted with her progress.

[grace'smom]

I have a question... My daughter tends to hold her pencil wrong. She puts her thumb over her other fingers and if you're not careful she'll start holding it in an almost fistlike grip. In that situation, would coloring only help if I sat next to her the whole time and made sure she held the colored pencils properly?

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I have a question... My daughter tends to hold her pencil wrong. She puts her thumb over her other fingers and if you're not careful she'll start holding it in an almost fistlike grip. In that situation' date=' would coloring only help if I sat next to her the whole time and made sure she held the colored pencils properly?[/quote']

 

How about a pencil gripper?

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Crossover-Ergonomic-Metallic/dp/B001SN8HPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320671591&sr=8-1

[delaney]

AHHHHHH! That would explain a lot! The coloring nuts have good handwriting and the 2 that have not are just plain horrible! Off to find some coloring books for DS (5)! Thanks:D

[grace'smom]

How about a pencil gripper?

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Crossover-Ergonomic-Metallic/dp/B001SN8HPI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320671591&sr=8-1

 

got that- but by the time i fight with her for twenty minutes over why she needs to use it i really don't care what grip she uses anymore, LOL.

[FromA2Z]

I have a question... My daughter tends to hold her pencil wrong. She puts her thumb over her other fingers and if you're not careful she'll start holding it in an almost fistlike grip. In that situation' date=' would coloring only help if I sat next to her the whole time and made sure she held the colored pencils properly?[/quote']

 

This may be a little young for her, but I got this idea called a poke page from Confessions of a Homeschooler. Basically she has a page with big letters printed on it and the child pokes through the page along the lines with a toothpick. My 3 year old loves it. In order to poke the child has to use a correct grip (hard to hold a toothpick with a fist grip). Now for an older child you can probably use regular coloring pages or your own designs (you can use different color papers and hang up to the light to see the design coming through) to make it more interesting. PS, you have to put the paper on a towel to poke through.

 

After starting this my ds almost always uses a correct grip for coloring/tracing and if not I just remind him to hold it like the toothpick. It's really amazing.

 

If you approach it like a art project i/o handwriting, she may take to it.

 

I just thought of something else: you might want to look into those scratch art papers (not sure what they are called - the black papers with colors underneath), instead of the stylus, start with scratching with a toothpick until she gets more comfy with holding it correctly and then move up. HTH

[justLisa]

We use the Draw Write Now series with colored pencils, and attend an art class every Monday, both of which I believe have helped both my kids tremendously. DS uses a lighter grip now which is helping his speed, and DD writes a little smaller instead of her giant bubble letters.

[MyFourSons]

When I was a prechool teacher we frequently used colored pencils for coloring, and when the students had a choice of materials to use for their coloring they chose colored pencils more than crayons or markers.

 

We also used these crayons for coloring and writing, they are the full size ones not the mini ones:

http://www.amazon.com/BIN527408-Twistable-Crayons-PK-RD/dp/B000E21OKE/ref=sr_1_6?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1320687305&sr=1-6

 

We also used golf pencils to strengthen their fingers, along with plenty of playdough, games using tweezers, etc.

 

www.preschoolcoloringbook.com has plenty of simple coloring pages for preschool kids

 

I also love Dover coloring books for older kids, we use them quite a bit for history. Here are some classic lit coloring books:

 

http://store.doverpublications.com/by-subject-coloring-books-regular-coloring-books-classic-stories-coloring.html

[MeganW]

I have a question... My daughter tends to hold her pencil wrong. She puts her thumb over her other fingers and if you're not careful she'll start holding it in an almost fistlike grip. In that situation' date=' would coloring only help if I sat next to her the whole time and made sure she held the colored pencils properly?[/quote']

 

Between my 4 kids, we have had every grasp problem you can have! Pencil grips from the office supply store are just cushions, they don't do much. But special grips help a lot. For a thumb wrap, try either a Grotto grip or the Claw. Order a bunch - it's sort of a pain to take them off one pencil & put them on another, so you want one for every writing utensil.

 

Use them 100% of the time for 3 months or so, then cut back.

[grace'smom]

Between my 4 kids, we have had every grasp problem you can have! Pencil grips from the office supply store are just cushions, they don't do much. But special grips help a lot. For a thumb wrap, try either a Grotto grip or the Claw. Order a bunch - it's sort of a pain to take them off one pencil & put them on another, so you want one for every writing utensil.

 

Use them 100% of the time for 3 months or so, then cut back.

 

Is that the same as these? These are what we have but I only have one package, and you are right that it's a pain and we can never find them (although that might be intentional on DD's part).

 

http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Crossover-Ergonomic-Metallic/dp/B001SN8HPI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1320697308&sr=8-3

[Mom-ninja.]

Well, :glare:.

 

My 7 yr old loves to color and does so everyday, yet his handwriting is pretty awful.

 

Humpf. Leave it to my child to not follow suit.

[Spy Car]

Well, :glare:.

 

My 7 yr old loves to color and does so everyday, yet his handwriting is pretty awful.

 

Humpf. Leave it to my child to not follow suit.

 

Colored pencils, or crayons? The "experts" tell me it matters.

 

Colored pencils good, crayons bad. And little movements up and down, so coloring books with lots of detail work (such as Dover) encourage the fine motor skills. For what it's worth.

 

Bill

[PeterPan]

Well, :glare:.

 

My 7 yr old loves to color and does so everyday, yet his handwriting is pretty awful.

 

Humpf. Leave it to my child to not follow suit.

 

Have you gotten his eyes checked? Is his coloring about as bad as his script?

[MeganW]

Is that the same as these? These are what we have but I only have one package' date=' and you are right that it's a pain and we can never find them (although that might be intentional on DD's part).

 

http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Grip-Crossover-Ergonomic-Metallic/dp/B001SN8HPI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1320697308&sr=8-3[/quote']

 

No, they aren't the same. We have those as well, and they didn't work nearly as well. They are squishy, and my kids just continued with their weird grasps and squeezed the grip. The Grotto is much firmer. My kids hated them until they realized how much better their handwriting was with them!

[MeganW]

Colored pencils, or crayons? The "experts" tell me it matters.

 

Colored pencils good, crayons bad. And little movements up and down, so coloring books with lots of detail work (such as Dover) encourage the fine motor skills. For what it's worth.

 

Bill

 

I think it depends why the writing is bad. For my kids' particular issues, we were told to avoid colored pencils and use crayons, b/c they could FEEL the crayon writing - it had more feedback as it dragged across the page. With vision problems & sensory issues, the crayons were needed.

 

I can see where colored pencils would be great for your average kid, as pencils would be great for learning pressure control & precision. We just aren't there yet.

[PeterPan]

I think it depends why the writing is bad. For my kids' particular issues, we were told to avoid colored pencils and use crayons, b/c they could FEEL the crayon writing - it had more feedback as it dragged across the page. With vision problems & sensory issues, the crayons were needed.

 

I can see where colored pencils would be great for your average kid, as pencils would be great for learning pressure control & precision. We just aren't there yet.

 

Megan, have you seen the twist crayons from Crayola? They're in a plastic shape like a pencil but have crayon inside to give you that drag. I have my ds using them. They go on sale sometimes at ToysRUs. Even if you pay full price, they last really well and of course don't break. They come in a short, stubby length and a more normal pencil length.

 

http://www.crayola.com/products/list.cfm?categories=TWISTABLE,CRAYONS

[desertmum]

This thread strikes a cord with me. Ds cannot stay within the lines to save his life. Also, he has trouble filling up when he is colouring. He seems to think a few chicken scratches count as "filling". I am using a pencil gripper shaped like a giant triangle: http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Classics-Triangle-Orange-TPG-16250/dp/B003BNBX68/ref=sr_1_8?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1320738903&sr=1-8

 

Not good, these?

[grace'smom]

I think the poster with the grip experience said those wouldn't work and to use grotto or... I forgot but she posted it on the second page of this thread. She even pointed out to use that particular brand and not any look alikes because the density is different.

 

As for the crayons- I wish the twistable crayons could be refilled. I feel like I'm wasting when I throw the empties out and it makes me hesitant to purchase them again.

 

Also, my DD has sensory issues too and I read that using the drawing pencils (not charcoal but the sketching kind) helps them because the pencil color is darker so they don't press down as hard. We have tried it and it does not, of course, help with her grip, but it does help a little with the pressing down issue a LITTLE bit. By a little I mean that she's still pressing down too hard but her fingers are not white from the pressure (funny, it's no wonder she doesn't like to write more than one sentence, LOL).

[grace'smom]

But special grips help a lot. For a thumb wrap, try either a Grotto grip or the Claw. Order a bunch - it's sort of a pain to take them off one pencil & put them on another, so you want one for every writing utensil.

 

Use them 100% of the time for 3 months or so, then cut back.

 

Ok, just to make sure, are these what you recommend and do you have a preference for either one?

 

 

The claw

 

The Grotto Grip

 

Thanks!

[Mom-ninja.]

Colored pencils, or crayons? The "experts" tell me it matters.

 

Colored pencils good, crayons bad. And little movements up and down, so coloring books with lots of detail work (such as Dover) encourage the fine motor skills. For what it's worth.

 

Bill

 

Both. When it's crayons he uses those twist crayons.

 

 

Have you gotten his eyes checked? Is his coloring about as bad as his script?

 

He goes every six months for eye check. His coloring is actually darn near perfect.

 

Perhaps it's laziness with writing. He just chicken scratches along.

[MeganW]

Megan, have you seen the twist crayons from Crayola? They're in a plastic shape like a pencil but have crayon inside to give you that drag. I have my ds using them. They go on sale sometimes at ToysRUs. Even if you pay full price, they last really well and of course don't break. They come in a short, stubby length and a more normal pencil length.

 

http://www.crayola.com/products/list.cfm?categories=TWISTABLE,CRAYONS

 

OOOH - thanks! I'll check those out. I am SOOO tired of sharpening crayons! My kids press so hard (sensory + lack of hand strength = pressure control issues), so the crayons are flat after like 2 uses. I sharpen and sharpen and sharpen...

[MeganW]

This thread strikes a cord with me. Ds cannot stay within the lines to save his life. Also, he has trouble filling up when he is colouring. He seems to think a few chicken scratches count as "filling". I am using a pencil gripper shaped like a giant triangle: http://www.amazon.com/Pencil-Classics-Triangle-Orange-TPG-16250/dp/B003BNBX68/ref=sr_1_8?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1320738903&sr=1-8

 

Not good, these?

 

It's not going to HURT anything, but I don't think it will help anything either. Most of the standard grips you can buy off a shelf in an office supply store are really just cushions for people who either write alot or who have a pencil grasp that was never remediated. They don't change anything about the grasp, they just make it more tolerable to live with.

 

I would check into either the Claw or the Grotto. Buy a few of each to see which works better, then buy a whole bunch of that one so you can put them on every crayon & pencil in the house. We also used Handiwriters for a while. Total pain b/c little kids want to switch colors every 2 minutes, and you have to rethread the crayon through, but they worked to get the crayon laying back in the web of the hand, and to take the ring finger & pinky out of the equation.

 

Again, I doubt this would be necessary for most kids, but if you can't get there with the Claw or Grotto, check into adding a Handiwriter to the grip.

 

------------

 

What do you have him coloring? My kids were not successful with the coloring sheets that are intended for really young kids b/c they had such humungous spaces that needed to be filled. A more detailed picture or smaller coloring book (they sell some that are like 6" x 4") that had smaller spaces worked much better. Also, they sell coloring books that have raised lines instead of regular black lines. It gives the kids a physical clue when they run out of the lines. They are expensive, but they did help.

[MeganW]

Ok' date=' just to make sure, are these what you recommend and do you have a preference for either one?

 

 

The claw

 

The Grotto Grip

 

Thanks!

 

Yes, that is the ones we use. Unfortunately I think you are probably going to have to try both. I have one kid using one and one using the other! (Actually I have two using each, but two kids really don't need them - it's just easier to make everyone use them and not deal with "it's not fair"! But of the two who don't really need them, one did better with the Claw and one with the Grotto. So in my little group of 4, we are 50/50 on which is better!)

 

With the Claw, make sure you get the right size. The smalls are tiny - I have tee-tiny kids with tee-tiny fingers (not on the growth charts even at the bottom!), and they are way too small for my kiddos - I can't imagine very many children who are coloring-age being small enough to use them! Mediums are for kids, and larges fit adult fingers. You put your thumb in the biggest hole, and then the other two become obvious.

Edited November 9, 2011 by MeganW

[QuirkyKidAcademy]

I started DS10 on coloring while I read aloud this week. Can't hurt the fine motor skills and if it helps handwriting, then yippee!

 

I agree that large spaces are problematic, so I found THESE geometric color pages. Lots of small spaces that require controlled coloring.

[Mimmy]

I'm really appreciating this thread. Thanks all!

[Amie]

I started DS10 on coloring while I read aloud this week. Can't hurt the fine motor skills and if it helps handwriting, then yippee!

 

I agree that large spaces are problematic, so I found THESE geometric color pages. Lots of small spaces that require controlled coloring.

Thanks; those look interesting!

[go_go_gadget]

I have a question... My daughter tends to hold her pencil wrong. She puts her thumb over her other fingers and if you're not careful she'll start holding it in an almost fistlike grip. In that situation' date=' would coloring only help if I sat next to her the whole time and made sure she held the colored pencils properly?[/quote']

 

What about little pieces of chalk like the ones from HWT? It's physically impossible to hold them with a fist, and they force good grip habits.

[grace'smom]

Chalk stains the carpet so we don't use them. I've thought about breaking all the crayons but I just can't bring myself to do it, LOL. I did order the claw grips that the previous poster recommended. I also have golf pencils all over the house. If I have to I will break the crayons, but that will be a last resort!

[MeganW]

Chalk stains the carpet so we don't use them. I've thought about breaking all the crayons but I just can't bring myself to do it' date=' LOL. I did order the claw grips that the previous poster recommended. I also have golf pencils all over the house. If I have to I will break the crayons, but that will be a last resort![/quote']

 

You sound like me! It seriously pained me to cut our crayons. Use a serrated knife and cut them at an angle so at least they don't have broken edges and it isn't quite as bad.

[PeterPan]

I started DS10 on coloring while I read aloud this week. Can't hurt the fine motor skills and if it helps handwriting, then yippee!

 

I agree that large spaces are problematic, so I found THESE geometric color pages. Lots of small spaces that require controlled coloring.

 

Ooo, what would we have to print those on or trace them onto to have them look like stained glass when they're colored? Or maybe use markers instead of colored pencils? Those are very pretty.

[desertmum]

It's not going to HURT anything, but I don't think it will help anything either. Most of the standard grips you can buy off a shelf in an office supply store are really just cushions for people who either write alot or who have a pencil grasp that was never remediated. They don't change anything about the grasp, they just make it more tolerable to live with.

 

I would check into either the Claw or the Grotto. Buy a few of each to see which works better, then buy a whole bunch of that one so you can put them on every crayon & pencil in the house. We also used Handiwriters for a while. Total pain b/c little kids want to switch colors every 2 minutes, and you have to rethread the crayon through, but they worked to get the crayon laying back in the web of the hand, and to take the ring finger & pinky out of the equation.

 

Again, I doubt this would be necessary for most kids, but if you can't get there with the Claw or Grotto, check into adding a Handiwriter to the grip.

 

------------

 

What do you have him coloring? My kids were not successful with the coloring sheets that are intended for really young kids b/c they had such humungous spaces that needed to be filled. A more detailed picture or smaller coloring book (they sell some that are like 6" x 4") that had smaller spaces worked much better. Also, they sell coloring books that have raised lines instead of regular black lines. It gives the kids a physical clue when they run out of the lines. They are expensive, but they did help.

 

Thank you for the input about the triangular gripper and colouring smaller spaces. Why didn't I think of this before?

 

*

Originally Posted by TammyH

I started DS10 on coloring while I read aloud this week. Can't hurt the fine motor skills and if it helps handwriting, then yippee!

 

I agree that large spaces are problematic, so I found THESE geometric color pages. Lots of small spaces that require controlled coloring.

 

These are so pretty. I love them. Printing right now. ;)

[Amie]

Ooo, what would we have to print those on or trace them onto to have them look like stained glass when they're colored? Or maybe use markers instead of colored pencils? Those are very pretty.

 

Great idea! I saved these too. What about the paper I see as overlays on invitations sometimes--like stiff wax paper--isn't that called vellum? You may even be able to do one of those stained-glass-looking craft projects where you melt grated crayon between wax paper in a design...hmm...