Did you know that getting ready to read isn’t just about your fingers and hands? The WHOLE BODY needs to be ready to write!
Here’s what needs to develop to help the body get ready to write with ease:
- core strength
- wrist rotation
- wrist extension
- shoulder strength
- crossing the midline
- visual perception
- spatial awareness
- visual tracking
- hand-eye coordination
- pincer grasp
It seems like a lot needs to develop before writing begins and it does! Fortunately, your child is developing these skills and building strength through play!
Here are five gross motor activities that help the body get ready to write:
Crawling, Crab Walk, Bear Crawl
Challenge your child to crab walk or bear crawl from one place to another. Make it a race or a balance a bean bag on their body for an extra challenge. Crawling through a tunnel or a low space is also beneficial.
Swinging
Swinging strengthens body control, arm muscles, shoulder muscles, and the core that all are needed for writing.
Climbing
Not only does climbing increase strength, but it also helps develop visual perception and spatial awareness. It strengthens hand-eye coordination that is needed to copy things from a board and read across a page.
Ribbon Wands
Dance, run, and toss ribbon wands to have fun, but also to help the body get ready to write. Visual tracking, wrist rotation, and crossing the midline are just a few benefits of this creative activity.
Twister
The game of Twister requires body coordination and wrist extension that are both essential for beginning writers.
So you see, getting ready to write isn’t really about a pencil and paper. It’s about the WHOLE body! That’s one of the million reasons why PLAY is so important for development.