Is it REALLY necessary to learn

[ravinlunachick]

How to "construct" letters, as opposed to writing them? (ex: forming letters from pipecleaners, wooden shapes, pasta, etc)

 

I ask because we are at a point where I want to begin the earliest stages of handwriting instruction with my ds. He has significant fine motor delays, but can draw a sort of straight line and a circle now, and is getting better at tracing along a line. I was considering buying HWT's preschool book for him.

 

When I asked his OT about it, she thought that we should begin with the wooden shapes and learning to construct letters. I know this is popularly done with NT kids of his age, but given his challenges, I would like to skip any unnecessary steps.

 

Do you think it is really important to learn to make letters with items first (or at all)?

[acurtis75]

I used HWOT but skipped the wooden blocks and we never really did clay or anything like that. I do think the little chalkboard for writing the large letters is helpful. I don't know that the extras are necessary but I do know that for my daughter she definately benefited from the specific instructions provided in HWOT. Tracing letters just wasn't helping her understand how to form them. She needed to know the steps for writing the letter. Handwriting was a frustrating and unproductive exercise for us before switching to HWOT.

[K&Rs Mom]

We never did it. I thought it was because it was using larger muscle groups than writing, so easier for some kids. Mine could hold a pencil/crayon/marker by the time we started making letters, so we just went straight to writing. At 9 & 7 they both write neater than dh.

[ravinlunachick]

Oh, neatness is very, very far from a concern right now! :) DS is apraxic, with speech as well as motor planning. Basically, he struggles to get the info from his brain to his muscles. Kind of like a short circuit. Lucky him, he has a very short name with straight letters, so we have a built-in first goal.

 

He has been doing the Kumon tracing workbook at home fairly successfully. At least, the first half. Not so much the spiral, complicated stuff.

[Guest]

If your son has fine motor delays (my oldest did) I would say, yes, you should use clay A LOT and the wooden block pieces and a sand/JELLO box and draw on the wall vertically and anything else you can think of to strenghthen those muscles first. Think lots of PlayDoh (did I say that already? ), lots of painting on a table or floor and on a vertical surface, lots of chalk or dry erase pens, lots of shaving cream painting on the tub wall, lots of tracing letters, lots of no line paper, lots of block crayons (paper,scissors, stone has some nice ones by Stockmar. Don't be put off by the price. They are worth every penny and last forever. Very creamy.). We also used a 0.7 mechanical pencil to help with his 'death grip'. Also writing on a mouse pad helps with too much pencil pressure. The lead stays sharp and gives a nice line unlike a regular pencil. Do not get PreK/K fat pencils. They are really the worst thing ever invented. A fountain pen with a nib is also great when he is older. My son is now 15 and has very nice, although large, writing. HWT was a lifesaver. The investment is worth it.

Edited December 6, 2011 by Guest

[Tawlas]

You know your kid best and there's no harm in trying. For what it's worth my average (I think?) preschooler, 4yo ds, isn't really ready for forming letters.

 

He's getting really good at forming them with the wooden blocks, he's getting better at forming the capitols with the little slate. He can complete mazes (a little shaky!) form Kumon's easy maze book. I'm thinking of using thin strips of masking tape to make lines for him to write between on our easel's chalkboard. But honestly, if I were to sit him down in front of the HWOT workbook I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be pretty lol. I figure if he's familiar with building their shape (not just their sound - he's started reading) he'll be on the road to better writing.

[ravinlunachick]

Maybe I am being unduly influenced by the school. He is not homeschooled. He goes to ps for a spec ed preschool. Next fall, he will be in kindergarten, although we don't yet know what sort of class it will be. His teacher seems to think that he should be tracing his name by the end of this school year.

 

I just remembered that I have some tactile letters boxed up in my old teaching materials. Upper and lower case. They have a bump where you start the letter, and you can feel the flow of arrows that indicate direction. Perhaps we should start playing with these over winter break! Maybe that's a good middle ground.

[FairProspects]

If your son has fine motor delays (my oldest did) I would say, yes, you should use clay A LOT and the wooden block pieces and a sand/JELLO box and draw on the wall vertically and anything else you can think of to strenghthen those muscles first. Think lots of PlayDoh (did I say that already? ), lots of painting on a table or floor and on a vertical surface, lots of chalk or dry erase pens, lots of shaving cream painting on the tub wall, lots of tracing letters, lots of no line paper, lots of block crayons (paper,scissors, stone has some nice ones by Stockmar. My son is now 15 and has very nice, although large, writing. HWT was a lifesaver. The investment is worth it.

 

:iagree:Kids with fine motor delays and other SN often have sensory-motor planning or processing issues and will NEED letters to be broken down into letter construction before they can even think about letter formation. HWOT was a lifesaver here too, and was the only thing (in combo with OT) that got ds writing.

[wapiti]

I tend to agree with the others, that I wouldn't choose to skimp on hands-on, three-dimensional letter-forming activities with this sort of child. If it's not practical for the situation, you could wait to see how K goes and then add in such activities at home.

 

One of my kids had significant fine motor delays at that age (could print his three-letter name in all caps with a fist grip around the start of K). He also had sensory issues and a speech delay. (FWIW, he was initially in a special ed preschool and I pulled him out to put him in a Montessori preschool, which turned out to be a great decision for him. long story.) He did receive some OT for fine motor at school during K. He had previously received private OT for SPD.

 

He was so freaked out by the sensation of the sandpaper letters that he refused to touch them. His Montessori K teacher ended up getting him a white board on an angle for practicing writing. (I'm wracking my brain to remember what else she did with him about letter shapes.) Mainly, though, she taught him cursive. By the end of K, he had beautiful cursive.

 

Indeed, many OTs recommend cursive for kids with motor issues. It is easier, motor-wise, than printing. (also, we've talked a bit about this before here, but cursive is often recommended for kids with LDs for the brain-training aspects. I wish that wasn't so vague.) Other activities to consider might be Brain Gym

, for warm-up before handwriting.

[Lily_Grace]

We do not have significant fine motor delays here, but I'm of the opinion that constructing letters in different ways is not necessary and can hinder the process. I really don't like that HWoT has the shapes only for capital letters, either, since we use capitals much less frequently than lowercase. I am all for things like sandpaper letters, tactile letters (I have ones with raised arrows to help show the finger how to go), guided letters, and various other tools before having them write alone. I love the fine motor activities listed in Montessori that cover everything from finger grasp (playing with eyedroppers) to hand rotation (washing a table with counterclockwise strokes, top to bottom, left to right). I like Waldorf form drawing to teach the individual strokes and motor skills boards for the kid not quite ready for form drawing.

 

I just think that "building letters" and other premade forms are more of a gimmick than a way to actually prepare kids for writing.

[ErinE]

My dd6, who is left-handed, has problems tracing and drawing her letters correctly. I may have her do some large letter formation with chalk, pudding, and other tactile mediums to build up her fine motor skills. I won't do the wooden letter formation. I think building letters is for younger ages so they can see the shapes in the letters before drawing them. A neighbor found the wooden letter shapes helpful for her child, who has a learning disability which made it difficult to see the shapes in the letters without therapy. The child could only see a "d," not a "magic c" and a stick. HWT really helped with handwriting.

[2_girls_mommy]

I have two kids who are considered NT. I never did any of the letter constructing of which you speak. We did play dough and clay and fingerpainting and beading and other things for building fine motor skills, but we didn't construct letters out of them. Interesting that you think that is for NT kids, because I was thinking it would be most useful for a child with apraxia or other issues.

[MeganW]

Kids with fine motor delays and other SN often have sensory-motor planning or processing issues and will NEED letters to be broken down into letter construction before they can even think about letter formation. HWOT was a lifesaver here too, and was the only thing (in combo with OT) that got ds writing.

 

 

Definitely. I am not sure my kiddos would EVER have gotten the hang of writing without those wooden pieces! And my youngest (who didn't use the wooden pieces) has the funkiest constructions you ever saw. I really wish we had gone through the wooden pieces stage with her.

[Mommy22alyns]

We never did any of those types of activities with either girl.

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Just had to say I looked at the title (Is it really necessary to learn) and thought "Oh my..." :lol:

 

My dc did not construct letters other than with their fingers when learning how to write them in sand/salt, water and other sensory ways. We did not make letters with blocks or noodles or anything.

[ravinlunachick]

Well, interesting update for today!

 

DS had OT (occupational therapy) today. His OT decided to break out her HWT kit, just to see how he would do. She said he did well with the straight pieces, making an L and an F. She modeled the L on the little slate board, and he had some difficulty producing it correctly on his own. So, she "wrote" the letter on his back with lots of heavy pressure, and he was able to write it independently several times after that!

 

Woot! She was happily surprised. I often think that ds's teachers and therapists think I am just being wishful when I tell them that he is ready for this or that, or that he can do something they have not seen (like identify all 26 letters by sound or numerals with only fingers shown for quantity, no words). His lack of speech often fools people into thinking he doesn't understand. I guess eventually, they will believe that Mommy knows him best, LOL! The OT commented that DS was very excited to write the letter, and clapped and cheered for himself. I have been saying for a while now that he was wanting to do big kid work. :)

 

As for now, I will go ahead and GENTLY begin the HWT program. I will try the construction approach, as well as the sensory input and modeling, and see how it goes.