Keep an ongoing list on the refrigerator.   When you are attempting to teach a new concept to an older child is not the time to try to stop and think.

Keep a tub ready. Keep certain activities and resources/toys for only when school is in session and the older children need your undivided attention.

Look for ideas that require minimal preparation.

• The sky’s the limit for what can occupy a child.
• The key is what can you get your child started doing in just a few minutes.
• Choose wisely.  If you constantly have to give direction, you have defeated your purpose.

Designate where the activity is going to take place. 

• E.g., Duplos® in the living room floor, Play-doh® at the table, baby dolls in their room
• Try to swap areas each time the child switches activities so he is not in same place, doing one activity after another.

Some suggestions: Some of the following could be done in various places or situations.

Toddler Table (“school” time)

• Play-doh® (with cookie cutters, rolling pin (toddler size)
• Letter of the week (easy way to learn phonics!)
  • outline a letter on a piece of paper
  • color or glue, ex. beans onto a B, macaroni onto an M, stickers, e.g., truck on T, etc.
  • paste magazine pictures onto page of their beginning sounds (older)
  • put 3×5 cards around house with beginning letter of item (L on lamp, C on chair, etc.) Better idea: have older sibling put cards around house.
  • stamping on object (give a single stamp pad at a time)
  • assemble his own book of the letters he has learned
• Scissors
  • cutting lines or objects drawn on paper
  • cutting out of a magazine
• Puzzles (older)

Choose puzzles wisely, because they need to be ones the child can figure out on his own.

• Simple workbooks
• Drawing
  • on his own
  • draw straight sticks (circles, squiggles, etc.) all over a page [prewriting]
  • print Es over an entire page [writing]
  • use different media like a small chalk or dry erase board, a jumbo piece of paper on the floor, or even the sidewalk outside.
• ReadyWriter®, either in the workbook or as reproducible pages as inCalculadder®
• Coloring, paper or books

A is for Adam by Ken Ham is great! Copy pages and learn about creation at the same time.

Couch (Reading and Discussion time)

• Include whenever you can during reading and discussion times.

If possible, have picture books on subjects being discussed in school.

• Looking at books
• Beads and lacing
• Lacing cards (older)
• Just holding while reading
• Read good books together.  Do related projects.

e.g., Before Five in a Row Around the House (Play time)

• Legos® or Duplos® (LR)
• Baby dolls (BR)
• Play Kitchen (BR)
• Cars and trucks (LR or outside)
• Cuisenaire rods, either to build alone, do activities with another, or with a book
  • e.g., From Here to There with Cuisenaire
  • Be careful; more instruction/time may be necessary with a book.
• Blocks
• Pattern blocks either to make pictures out of the blocks by themselves or use premade pages
  • Patternables and others
  • Activity cards
• Tracing plates (Tupperware [$21], Oriental Trading Company, etc.)
• Sit on your bed time (always an option J)
• Rice Box (kitchen)
  • Fill a bucket (flat with a lid is really good) with rice.
  • Use as a mini sandbox.
  • Complete with shovels, cars, and whatnot.
• Computer games (older)

Outside time

• Balls, outside toys
• Sidewalk chalk
• May also be time with a sibling
• Sandbox with toys

Time with Sibling(s)

• Music/Dance time (not as much fun to dance and sing alone!)
  • with or without instruments
  • preferably in another room from where you are teaching
• Have sibling read to preschooler, while you’re working with other child(ren).
• Have sibling teach sounds to preschooler. (Teachers often learn the most!)
• The family socialization that takes place during these times is priceless!

Suggested products: Melissa and Doug (www.melissaanddoug.com; Amazon.com; Toys-R-Us)

• wonderful preschool, educational puzzles
• wooden “paper doll” sets with clothes that attach by magnets
• large, easy to use pieces, comes in a self contained wooden box

Little Hands Books (do Internet search of Little Hands Books)

• Wow! I’m Reading!  (older)
• Little Hands Art Book
• Alphabet Art
• Many more books in this series, but need more Mom

Many thanks to AmyBeth Ball (mother of seven from Lubbock) for most of these suggestions!

Do you have ideas that have worked for you?  Please send them to us, and we’ll add them to the list!  Send to staff@thsc.org, and put Preschool Ideas in the subject field, please.

The post Ideas for Preschool Activities appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

Having preschoolers is a time of life that should bring joy and excitement. Our firstborn at this age had our undivided attention, and it was fun. He learned to read at age three because we were both motivated and wanted the best for him. However, our second learned at age five and our third at age seven. What about our fourth, fifth, and sixth? Do we treat them as if they are just in our way? Will they have to be on their own because our oldest is in algebra and absorbs all our time? Every child needs to have his parents’ attention academically, and every child needs to have reading taught as if he is a firstborn. Birth order often determines the reading ability of our children, because our younger ones do not get the attention they need during the pre-reading stage of their lives.

Merely occupying our preschoolers is not a high enough goal. As we consider the preschooler, we must think in terms of three categories: educating, involving, and occupying (only when necessary).
Educating means taking the time to work directly with our preschoolers, using developmentally appropriate activities, just as we did when our oldest was three years old. Ten to fifteen minutes of one-on-one time goes a long way. Toys or games that involve shapes, colors, counting, sequences, sizes, and lacing develop concepts and motor skills to prepare for learning to read and write. Besides the educational value, dedicated time will help our preschoolers feel important and not ignored.

Involving means including our preschoolers in as many of the older children’s activities as possible. This task may require us to reevaluate our curriculum and choose one that focuses on multi-age, hands-on activities. History notebooks, read-alouds, nature walks, and field trips are easy activities to do with a preschooler in tow. When we learn the distances of the planets from the sun, our preschoolers can help pace off the steps, or at least ride on our shoulders as we all march across the park. Preschoolers want to dirty their hands, so let’s make sure we let them while we teach our older children.

There still will be times when we must occupy our little ones. Doing so with the appropriate tools can make a major educational difference and give our younger children the same pre-reading skills as our oldest child had at this age. One of the most effective ways of occupying is having each older child spend time playing with the preschooler, using educational toys, as part of their daily schedule.

It is important, however, that we also have resources that preschoolers can use on their own for extended periods of time. Sitting at the table coloring as the others do math, looking at storybooks while others are reading, and lying on the floor and playing with cars, blocks, or puzzles are easy-to-implement activities.

We must explain what we expect so that it is clear that now is not the time to interrupt us as we work with the older children. Preschoolers need to discover and create their own play. It is amazing how long they can engage in an activity that would bore us in a few seconds. If we set up our house so that everything is not off-limits, our children, born scientists, can explore with freedom. It also helps to provide everyday items, such as pots and pans, containers with lids, film containers, color strips, and other things that stimulate a variety of senses.

Finally, relax and enjoy these years. They go fast, so we need to take the time to see life from the perspective of our preschooler. He is an important, unique creation, starting life with great hopes and enthusiasm. If we provide for his learning needs, allow him to develop independent play and exploration, and help him feel part of the family’s learning adventure, we will be laying a strong foundation for his educational future.

The post Occupying Preschoolers While Teaching Older Students appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

There is an epidemic of mediocre, prayerless, visionless, immoral, irresponsible men in our culture. If we continue to train our sons the same way, we will not stem the tide. If we see home education as nothing more than a means to better scores, a safer environment, and individualized learning, we will miss a golden opportunity. We have an opportunity to raise a generation of men who will turn the world upside down. We have an opportunity to invest in the lives of future visionaries, statesmen, churchmen, and family leaders. We must keep all of these things in mind as we educate our sons. As we do so, we must prepare them to serve Christ, to serve their wives and children, and to serve their communities. The Bible must be our guide.

• We Must Prepare Our Sons to Serve Christ

The first and most important thing we can do in educating our sons is prepare them to strive for “First Commandment” living. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:34-39 ESV)
Thus, we must teach our sons to love the Lord first and foremost. Our job is not to raise sons who worship at the altar of education. Our job is to raise sons who worship and serve Jesus. This goal can be accomplished in a number of ways.
First, we must teach the Bible. We must not assume that our children will learn and understand the Scriptures by osmosis. We must teach Bible as diligently as we teach math. Second, we must teach other subjects from a biblical perspective. It is not enough to have Bible class if that is the only time God’s Word is referenced. We must demonstrate the supremacy of Christ in and over every subject. Third, we must engage in family worship. In a sermon on family worship, Arthur Pink made this point well. Pink said, “If we would enjoy the blessing of God upon our family, then let its members gather together daily for praise and prayer.”

• We Must Prepare Our Sons to Serve Their Wives and Children

Preparing our sons for college is incredibly shortsighted. College is a short-term proposition that in the grand scheme of things has very little bearing on a young man’s life. Moreover, the modern university has become so watered down that this is a low target at which to aim. The impact of a man’s college education pales in comparison to the impact his marriage has on his life. In light of this fact, we should spend much more time than we currently do preparing our sons to be husbands and fathers and to serve their wives and children.
A man’s responsibility to serve his wife and children is an obligation the Bible outlines clearly. Paul reiterates this obligation explicitly on at least three occasions. (See Ephesians 5:25-6:4, Colossians 3, and 1 Peter 3.) The most explicit example is found in Ephesians:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. (Ephesians 5:25-30 ESV)

After a thorough discussion of a husband’s duty to serve his wife in this way, Paul turns his attention to a man’s responsibility to his children. “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4 ESV)
Some practical things we can do to prepare our sons for these critical tasks are: 1) teach them what the Bible says about the duty to which they will be called; 2) make sure they spend ample time being discipled by their father or another man (e.g., a pastor) if their father is absent; and 3) encourage them to think about their future, and any plans they make, with their role as husband and father in view.

• We Must Prepare Our Sons to Serve Their Communities

True manhood is selfless. We must raise sons who look beyond their own self-interest and who serve those around them. My favorite biblical example of this attribute is the life of Job. In an obscure passage toward the end of the book of Job, we find what I believe is one of the most captivating and inspiring depictions of godly manhood in the entire Bible. Job is explaining his life prior to his sudden and numerous calamities. He is telling his friends about the way princes and noblemen looked upon and respected him in days gone by. Men young and old revered Job, not because of his wealth, but because of his character and his service to others.

I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him. The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. I broke the fangs of the unrighteous and made him drop his prey from his teeth. (Job 29:12-17 ESV)

In all of our striving to raise “educated” sons, let us not forget these words. Let us not forget to raise our sons to serve Christ, to serve their wives and children, and to serve their communities. If we do this, we will have truly moved beyond mere schooling.

The post Preparing Our Sons to Serve appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

It is important, however, to understand just what activities will be most beneficial in building that solid foundation. The plethora of materials available can be overwhelming to the parent of a very young child. Desiring to cover everything, we invest in a preschool curriculum that requires several hours a day of seatwork, including phonics lessons, math lessons, and endless handwriting practice.

In fact, this type of work is better left to later years for several reasons, not the least of which is avoiding burnout in your student. Beginning schoolwork with a four-year-old means his education at home will last approximately fourteen years. By teaching our children at home, we can view the “big picture” of their education and develop a timeline that is individualized to that student, whereas the government school system has no choice but to teach to the group as a whole. Out of logistical necessity, the classroom setting utilizes more bookwork than is truly necessary or, again, beneficial.

Rather than strapping our preschoolers to a stack of workbooks, we should devote our time with them to building readiness skills. The best use of our time would be to focus on activities that encourage the neurological development that will allow our children to perform well, as we slowly move toward a more structured approach to education. There will be a time for reading, handwriting, algebra, and book reports. The time we invest in the early years will provide our children the skills they need to succeed academically. Three key areas of readiness are motor development, visual discrimination, and auditory discrimination.

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Motor development includes gross motor skills (large muscles) and fine motor skills (smaller muscles). Because motor development follows a natural pattern of larger muscles developing before smaller ones, it is important to work on those gross motor skills first. In other words, using the pincer grip (fine motor skill) to hold a pencil should come after time has been spent on large arm movements. Rather than requiring your preschooler to write his letters on handwriting paper for twenty minutes, give him a paint brush and a bucket of water and have him “paint” his letters in very large strokes on the side of the house. Other activities for building gross motor skills include hopping on one foot, skipping, jumping rope, throwing a ball, walking on a predetermined line, and walking up and down steps without holding onto the railing. When proceeding to fine motor skills, activities would include stringing beads, lacing, cutting with scissors, buttoning, picking up small objects and, yes, holding a pencil or crayon.

VISUAL DISCRIMINATION

Visual discrimination is the ability to recognize similarities and differences between visual images. This skill is essential to both reading and writing. Additionally, sorting, patterning, and sequencing (all skills that require visual discrimination) are the foundational blocks of mathematics. Activities that build visual discrimination skills include matching colors and shapes, matching by size, sorting silverware, spotting the differences in two objects or pictures, and matching letters and numbers that are the same. Visual memory games are also very helpful in building this skill. For example, show a child a picture and discuss it in detail. Then cover the picture and ask the child to recall as many details as possible. Show a tray of four or five objects; then, remove one and have the child identify the missing item. Memory matching games are an inexpensive addition to your school material and will do much more for your child’s development than a workbook page.

AUDITORY DISCRIMINATION

Auditory discrimination is the ability to distinguish between different sounds. The ability to distinguish between the sounds of two letters, for example, is the backbone of phonics. Work with young children to build auditory skills by engaging in some of these activities: sound two notes and ask if they are the same or different, say pairs of words and ask if they sound the same, read poetry and play rhyming games, clap out a pattern and have the child repeat the pattern, have your child identify sounds with his eyes closed, or take a nature walk and have your child identify sounds. Building strength in this area will help not only with language skills but also with your child’s overall listening skills.

The preschool years are the years during which readiness skills are developed. If we have to build readiness skills, then the implication is that our child is not ready. We will do more harm than good by pushing our child in the area of academics. Save the workbooks for later and spend time playing with games and puzzles and exploring the world.

The post Building Readiness Skills appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

Teaching a preschooler is a delightful time, with a strong touch of nostalgia. Am I really teaching my little darling, or am I reliving my favorite childhood game of school? Perhaps it is a little of both. Enjoy the fun. Enjoy the sweetness. Enjoy the meandering exploration of preschool schooling. The more directed academics of later education will come soon enough.

While the path of preschool education may meander, there are clearly some directions which offer more promise than others. The paths to academic readiness and spiritual tenderness are the ones most worth exploring. Let us peek down them one at a time.>

Academic readiness is as important as the academics themselves. God has gifted us with wonderful sensory capabilities. It is through these senses that learning takes place. Our sight, hearing, touch, and even smell and taste equip us for understanding the world around us. Preschool teachers strengthen sensory skills in their little learners, readying them for the academic challenges ahead.

Fortunately or unfortunately—depending on your personal viewpoint—preschoolers do not achieve academic readiness neatly. It is found on a cluttered path strewn with games, colorful books, wide-eyed conversations, and cuddly moments. Fun plays a prominent role in sensory development.

Visual skills are sharpened by “hide and find” games or looking for the baby’s pacifier. Visual memory card games are played, using enough cards to be fun, but not enough to be frustrating. The board game “Guess Who?” is a fun visual memory game.

Auditory skills are heightened with the gentle comfort of reading aloud. Naptime and bedtime are visited by literary friends via tape recorder or CD. “Listen, then do” games require your preschooler’s careful attention to your instructions—touch your toes, wiggle your nose, then turn around—before he may attempt the silly commands.

Motor skills are developed through messy and boisterous activities. Cutting, coloring, pasting, gluing, and forming worms out of Play-Doh refine fine motor skills. Large motor skills find expression through jumping, hopping, climbing, bouncing balls, and all the other childhood activities often forgotten in our modern technological world.

Invite different tastes and smells into your preschooler’s life. Feast your eyes, ears, and nose with a crisp fall walk. Savor the crunch of several apple varieties. Side by side, it is amazing how different they can taste. Visit a garden. Take time to smell the roses—literally. Then listen interactively to your little one’s thoughts on the experience, whether halting or rambling, as he shares his excitement with you.

But what about workbooks, flashcards, and other school paraphernalia? Should not we be stocking up on these? It is fine to take time for these activities, providing a light introduction to letter sounds and numbers. The culmination of preschool—kindergarten—most often includes a solid move into beginning reading. Picture books read aloud can explore science topics and famous men from our country’s history. Consider time spent in these pursuits the “playing school” part of preschool. They are fun in limited doses, but they are not the genuine adventure.

While the academic readiness path provides a vital foundation for future academics, eternal rewards are found on the path to spiritual tenderness. In Matthew 18 we learn that thekingdom of God is made up of those with childlike faith. What does that mean?

At the least it means that love and trust come naturally to little children. Our preschoolers love us without complication. Family—and parents in particular—is the center of their small world. We are there to love and care for them, and they love and trust us in return. In like fashion, we desire them to love and trust God—simply, without complication, securely resting in His faithful love and care.

Nurture this tender faith by sharing your own faith in terms your preschooler can understand. Pray with your child. Commit his small cares to God together. Hide God’s Word in both your hearts, with the memorization of verses that speak of God’s love and care. Read aloud to your child from colorful Bible storybooks. A rocking chair and Bible storybook are the perfect companions for a young child in a loving parent’s arms. Include your child in household tasks. Sorting socks, alerting mom when the baby cries, or picking up sticks before Daddy mows the lawn train the heart for service. Walk and talk your love for God with natural simplicity.

This simplicity is a key ingredient in our preschoolers’ lives—simple activities and simple assurances that they are loved, by their families and by their God. The paths of academic readiness and spiritual tenderness, well trod, are an excellent start for any preschooler.

The post Nurturing Our Youngest Learners appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

“Daddy, I’m poopy!”

I have heard those words a thousand times before, but that night my mind was miles away as I focused on another writing deadline with hopeful abandon. True, my three-year-old son and most recent heir to the Harrell fortune, was potty training.
I rejoiced in True’s announcement since my wife and I had finally convinced him to inform us of his bio-needs before—not after–their urgent arrival. As I faced my little herald of nature’s call, my fading memory reminded me potty training meant True was not wearing a pull-up diaper anymore. True was in his “big boy” underwear.
Uh-oh. You experienced dads know exactly what this means, and I will leave it at that.
When I first saw True in his red cape, blue shorts, and matching shirt with the large, yellow “S,” I chuckled as he dashed about the living room faster than a speeding bullet. My creative wife bought superhero pajamas for the boys, since even superheroes have to sleep. My five-year-old son, Story, cherished his Batman pajamas, so now I had not one but two superheroes protecting me. I am tremendously pleased to announce the crime rate has dropped in our neighborhood.
Sometime in the evening as I tangled with adjectives, True donned his crime-fighting costume to tangle with bad guys lurking about the house. Superman grinned at me and proudly repeated, “I’m poopy!”
Being a guy, my first impulse was to call for my wife and inform her that “her son” was poopy. It was a nice try, but Belinda was away on her weekly Tuesday night out to talk with other adults and to regain her sanity. My second impulse was to wonder when I was getting my night out.
Wading through my boiling vat of selfishness, I could not think of a thing to say to Superman. These were his precious pajamas, and I could not burn them, so I dealt with the situation. You experienced dads know exactly what this means, and I will leave it at that.
At dinnertime I always ask my kids what they learned in school. I hope to hear stirring renditions of geographic facts and exciting tales of math tests well conquered, or view stunning demonstrations of magnificent handwriting. Reality is much different when a child is sick, my wife is pregnant, or one of the kids is potty training. Reality says, “Dad, we mopped the bathroom and bathed True six times today.” Reality trusts your wife when she moans there are days when home school just does not work. I have to accept this and understand that sanitizing your little brother probably fulfills the Good Citizenship mandate of the Texas home school laws.
As I began disinfecting True, I summoned my other superhero, Halley, the twelve-year-old Wonder Girl, who is both wise and tall beyond her years. Halley feeds herself and others and works miracles around the house. She is a beautiful, capable young lady, but about nine years earlier there were many mops, sponges, and baths launched in her honor. So what changed?
Long, long ago (about nine years, actually), my wife and I sought God’s vision for our little girl. He blessed us with an image of a darling young lady who helped her mother around the house. An impression of a delightful woman who washed, sewed, and cleaned as she talked to her friends for hours on the phone (remember, this is reality). We directed our firstborn toward that vision.
My sons are now five and three years old. They are goofy, and I love it. What, however, is God’s vision for my sons at twelve? Watching TV while Mom folds clothes? Nope. Playing in their room while Dad fixes the car? Not a chance. God’s plan for my twelve-year-old boys is that they be godly, wise, helpful, holy, fun protectors of their home who mow the yard and play golf with their dad. (I really like that last part of God’s vision.)
Dads, the two keys are prayer and patience. Pray for God to show you His vision for your kids. Then patiently pursue that vision with your kids. You will need patience when your kids “help” you fix the car and scatter your sockets all over the yard.
As my superhero Halley disposed of the hazardous materials from True’s nuclear accident, I commented about her future husband. “Halley, don’t you even consider a young man as husband unless he is willing to get up at 3 a.m. and help you clean up after an exploded child.” Halley giggled in her way that makes me happy to be her dad, and I marveled at what God had done in an extremely fast nine years and at what He was going to do in another nine. You experienced dads know exactly what this means, and I will leave it at that.

If you would like to share your thoughts on all of this or need to borrow some superheroes, please contact me at pharrell@fni.com.

Pat and Belinda Harrell have homeschooled since 1995. They have five jolly children , and the loudest house on the block. If you contact Pat by email, he promises to write back.

The post Potty Training Superman appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

“That looks like chicken scratching.  What does it say?”

“Maybe you’ll be a doctor.  Nobody can read their handwriting, either.”

Guilty?  Do you find yourself saying these things to your child?  Do you question yourself, wondering why every handwriting curriculum you have bought did not work?  It may not be your fault, and it may not be the curriculum’s fault.  Really, it is probably not even your child’s fault.  What your child may be experiencing is a need for fine motor development.

Fine motor is a fancy term for “small muscles.”  Most of the muscles we refer to when using that term are the muscles of the hands.  Facial muscles are also fine motor muscles, and a few children whose hands are delayed also have speech issues, but that is not always the case.  For the purposes at hand, we will stay with the hand muscles and talk about what to do about handwriting.

Natural Progression

A child does not walk before he sits up.  Neither does he write before he reads.  Development follows a natural progression.  Even though a child may produce strokes and make marks on paper, as he begins to imitate shapes he sees he is actually reading those shapes.  The production of shapes, and eventually letters, is the result of early reading skills.  He sees marks, interprets them, remembers them, and reproduces them.  That is the beginning of writing.

Muscle development also follows a natural progression.  Large muscles (arms, legs) develop before the small muscles that are attached to them.  Hand strength is the result of arm strength.  Therefore, helping a child improve his handwriting actually begins with arm development.

Handwriting Improvement Activities

Put away the pencils and paper.  This task involves some totally different skills.  Writing letters over and over will not improve handwriting as quickly as will gross motor (big muscle) development, so pack away the typical tools and strap on your nerve for some atypical handwriting fun.

Go to the park.

Encourage your child to experiment with the equipment. This can be a challenge for mothers, whose overwhelming instinct is to protect the child from harm.  Adopt a dad’s philosophy: “I won’t let them kill themselves, but if they fall, they will learn to do it differently next time.”  Resist the temptation to save your child from the first fall.  Allow him to do things differently from the norm.  Let him hang by his belly from the swing.  If younger children or other moms are not watching, let him climb backwards up the slide.  Occupational therapists will tell you that it is actually very good for a child.

Do yard work.

Decide that the pile of bricks on the side of the house needs to move to another place in the yard.  Get the wagon and have the child fill it with bricks; then have him push it to the new location and unload.  Repeat this frequently (though he might suspect something if you want it done daily!).  Pushing comes before pulling.  Do not encourage pulling the wagon until you see improvement in strength.

Play with a younger child.

Put a little guy in the laundry basket and have your older child push the basket around the house.  Who would ever suspect he was working?  Have him push a sibling in the swing.

Do chores.

Assign your child reasonable responsibilities that encourage him to use his arms.  Ask him to push the laundry basket (full, of course) from one place to another or to bring his hamper from his room.  Request help carrying in the groceries, but watch carefully the weight of his bags until he gets stronger.

Bomb juice and rainbows

What?  Several years ago we attended a conference where the presenter encouraged filling 2-liter soda bottles about 2/3 full with colored water and putting them outside for a child’s play.  We did this.  One of our two boys called them “bomb juice” (whatever that is!) and carried them from place to place in the yard, building imaginary forts and using the bottles of “bomb juice” to arm them.  His greatest frustration was his brother’s agenda, which was to line up the bottles across the patio, rearranging them as he found more, so that the lineup formed a complete color spectrum. Regardless of your child’s agenda, these soda bottles are relatively free (except for the dental bills that result from drinking the soda!) and very easy to make.  Do not bother sealing the caps, as most children who need fine motor work cannot unscrew a parent-tightened cap anyway.  Insist that the bottles stay outside, though, in case one gets opened.  The spill then stays outdoors.  You will be pleasantly surprised by your child’s creativity and imagination.  Do not suggest what the bottles can be.  Just put them outside and watch what happens.

Paint the house.

Do not use real paint, though!  Give your child a bucket of water and a paintbrush.  Have him paint the outside of your house with water.  Up-and-down strokes are excellent for arm development.

Get the chalk.

Sidewalk chalk is great for motor development.  Be prepared for resistance from some children, though, as the sensation of the chalk scraping across concrete bothers their hands as much as fingernails on the chalkboard bother your ears!

Shave.

No, not really, but do get out the shaving cream.  My own sense of staying clean and not making messes is disturbed by this one, but I finally found a way to do this that I can live with.  We put shaving cream on the (empty) bathroom counter.  The children play in it, make sweeping strokes with their arms, and draw pictures in it. Along the way, I encourage them to imitate me as I make letters in the cream.  We wipe them away and start over.  Bathroom counters are easily wiped down, and cream-coated children (inevitable) can be stripped down and thrown in the bathtub without walking through the house.

Now for the Paper Activities

Once you have spent some time on building arm muscles, proceed to writing activities with a few suggestions in mind:

Position is important.

Generally speaking, I do not advocate insisting on a certain position for schoolwork.  Handwriting is one area in which I make an exception to that rule.   Sitting at a table or desk with feet firmly planted (on a box, if they do not reach the floor) is important for the child’s sense of stability.   When he is grounded, he can relax and write with more confidence.  In the beginning, consider using a slanted surface to ease transition between vertical and horizontal writing.  Slant boards can be purchased for sometimes a rather high price.  Even better: create your own, using a three-ring notebook.  Turn the notebook so it slants toward the child and tape the paper to the notebook so it does not slide.

Use a vertical surface.

Easels are great for painting, coloring, and chalk work.  If you do not have an easel, tape paper on a sliding glass door or other smooth surface.  Even a slightly textured wall would work, as the bumps would give the child more sensations in his hands as he writes.  Vertical writing is actually a gross motor skill, and as such, it aids development of the muscles necessary to write on a flat surface.  You can buy an inexpensive roll of newsprint (an end piece) from your local newspaper to have large pieces of paper.

Hide the markers.

Markers are terrible for motor development.  Except for removing and replacing the caps, markers offer no resistance, which is essential for the nerves in the hand to get the proper sensations for motor development.  Use crayons, pencils, chalk, and paint but not markers.  Break crayons and chalk into small pieces to encourage proper grip.

Rough it.

Use rough surfaces to increase sensations as your child writes.  Have him practice written work at the card table.  Put a piece of sandpaper under his worksheet.  Cut letters from sandpaper and have him trace them with his fingers.  Look for surfaces that will provide texture and have him color or write on them.  Remember how neat it felt to rub a crayon across a paper-covered leaf or coin?

How to Do Other Work in the Meantime

You may now be wondering how to accomplish the child’s other schoolwork while his hands develop.  We have encountered this issue with both our boys and have found several ideas to make it all work.  First, remember that writing is a separate issue from other skills such as computation and spelling.  Encourage your child to continue with other work even if he cannot write well enough to answer in his own handwriting.

Enlist a sibling.

We could not do this because of age proximity and other issues with the younger child.     However, if you have a large family, enlist an older child to listen to (but not prompt!) and write what the younger child says.

Write it yourself.

If you feel compelled to avoid this strategy because it might look like you did the work instead of the child, simply write on the paper “Answered by ____ (child); written by Mom.”

Use letter and number stickers.

I have not actually found any that I liked available commercially, so I make my own using the computer and address labels.  This is rather labor-intensive, as it involves cutting the labels into smaller pieces after the letters are printed.  For one child, I have even gone to the extent of limiting how many letters he sees at once, preparing in advance a sheet for each workbook page so he does not have twenty-six letters (times multiples of each) through which he must scan in order to find the letters he needs.  This preparation was important for this particular child, as he has other learning challenges that make it difficult to scan large areas and to remember what he is looking for.  Your child may not need such limiting, but consider it before abandoning the stickers.

Play games.

Use games, flashcards, and other activities that enhance skills without requiring written responses.

Read!

School really involves two areas – skills and information.  Skills are the “Three Rs”:  reading, writing, and arithmetic.  Information is everything else. While you are waiting to develop skills, you can certainly enhance information acquisition by reading to the child.

Remember that each child develops at his own pace.

Each child is also created in the image of God, and his needs and differences in development need to be respected.  Even in your moments of greatest frustration, resist the temptation to belittle the child or make comments about his delays.  Play, laugh, and try lots of activities, but do not let on that you think he is “behind.”   When you are frustrated, he is probably frustrated too.  He needs you to be the adult, to maintain control, and to model respect, patience, and endurance.  Mostly, he needs you to love him – no matter what.

Please note that severe developmental delays always need evaluation by a professional.  If you suspect that your child has these, please consult your physician and ask for a referral to a registered Occupational Therapist.

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