10 Fun Ways to Incorporate Writing into Therapy
When I am working in a school, I have so many skills that I would like to work on, but I also need to make sure that practice of writing fits into our therapy session. I have heard many people talk about doing warm up activities before their writing activities, but I have a tendency to do an activity that involves all of the skills that I want to work on. That is one reason that I like clothespin games and munchy balls. The kids can work on their hand strength, coordination and visual motor skills and then we write about some part of the game.
It is so easy to include writing in a game by using letter tiles, letter beads, cards, etc. The kids then feel like they are playing a game when they are really working hard, and they don’t complain.
Here are some fun ways that I incorporate writing into therapy
- Feed the Munchy Ball Letter tiles. Then write the letter, a word, or sentence relating to the letters.
- Do pencil adventures
- play a clothespin game with letters/word cards
- Play treasure hunt – find clues around the room and write them down
- Draw a picture and write about it
- Pick a random picture or card and write about it
- cut and glue together a craft and write about it
- Play roll a creature and write about your creature
- Bowl for letters and write the letters or words
- Scooter board to letters or words, then write them
What are you going to do that is fun for handwriting?
I have two great books out. One is The Pencil Adventure coloring book. It is all of the pencil adventures put together into a book for coloring and doing the adventure. You can get it on Amazon and in the Therapy Fun Store.
Another book is The Handwriting Book, which is a book that has been written along with several other Pediatric Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists. It is a digital e-book, and you will find information relating to handwriting and:
- The Developmental Progression of Pencil Grasp and Handwriting Strokes
- Fine Motor Skills
- Gross Motor Skills
- Sensory Considerations
- Visual Perceptual Skills
This book is intended especially for parents who have a child who struggles with handwriting, teachers who want to find out more about why their students struggle with written work, and therapists who are looking for creative ways to address common handwriting struggles.
Inside The Handwriting Book e-book,you will find:
- Tips and Strategies for the Reluctant Writer
- Ideas for Combining Handwriting and Play
- Activities to Practice Handwriting Skills at Home
- Tips for Sizing, Spacing, and Alignment in Written Work
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Congrats on releasing TWO books, Tonya! You are amazing! I can’t wait to check out Pencil Adventures!
I love all of these ideas. I like the silly roll a sentence stories ( with the dice); Decoding jokes writing ( off teachers pay trachers), pushing letter stamps into clay to write words, then writing them in clay, rainbow paper, sand paper, with a vibrating or light up pen, and then onto adapted paper. I like playing Zingo and Spot It games, where they scan for the match and then write that word onto adapted paper, needing to follow the rule ( ie: for sizing and letter formation) to claim that card, tile, or point.