Lowercase Practice Party: Letter Formation and Fun

In this 4-week course, taught by an occupational therapist, students will learn how to form lowercase letters while also participating in motivating movement and multi-sensory activities to promote regulation and success during writing.

During this class, taught by a registered and licensed occupational therapist, your child will have FUN learning and practicing all of the lowercase letters of the alphabet. This will be a fun, relaxed class with whole-body participation.
*Class will be 1x/week for four week. Each session will be 40-45 minutes in length, with the last 5 minutes typically left open for questions or extra support for learners.
*Each class will cover one group of lowercase letters. Each letter will be practiced individually stroke my stroke with extra practice. An activity or movement opportunity will accompany each letter.
*Movement opportunities will be built in to each class to promote regulation, attention, and success during writing. 
*Students will also participate in fine motor warm-ups to increase finger strength and coordination during functional fine motor challenges.
*Each week, students will briefly practice holding their pencil with a mature tripod grasp.
*Weeks 2-4 will also focus some time on reviewing letters from previous weeks.

Students that are a good fit for this class are able to form the majority of their capital uppercase letters independently. In addition, they should be able to trace lowercase letters with good accuracy and hold a pencil comfortably (does not need to be a mature tripod grasp). Some students may not be forming lower case letters without a model. Other students may know some of their letters without a model, but struggle with accuracy, legibility, reversals, etc. Both children would be appropriate for this class. GENERALLY, THIS CLASS IS A GOOD FIT FOR CHILDREN 5-8 YEARS OF AGE, but MAY be appropriate for a 4 year old (that is able to independently form most of their capital letters).

Week 1: Handwriting Grasp and "Magic c" Letters (c, o, a, d, g, q, s)
*Songs with gross motor movement: "Where do you start your letters?"
*Fine motor warm-ups (getting fingers ready for writing): Spider fingers, fists and fireworks, finger pinches, etc.
*Practice mature handwriting grasps with video demonstration
*Teacher will introduce each letter using a documentation camera to demonstrate each stroke and how to utilize the write paper. The students will them practice each magic "c" letter on their own paper (printed by parents ahead of each class). Each letter will be practiced on paper, but will also include a different activity or movement opportunity. This week we will use play-doh/putty, air writing, white boards, song/dance, and animal crawls.  These activities promote extra practice and understanding of each letter, but also provide a great opportunity to regulate and prepare their body for writing.

Week 2: Review, "Diving" Letters (r, n, m, h, b, p), as well as "e" and "f"
*Review of "Magic c" letters paired with air writing and activities from Week 1
*Fine motor warm-ups: "Where is thumbkin?"
*Introduce and practice the six "diving" letters using a Handwriting Without Tears approach. Each letter will be practiced on paper, but will also include a different activity or movement opportunity. This week we will use white boards, song/dance, exercises, and animal movements. These activities promote extra practice and understanding of each letter, but also provide a great opportunity to regulate and prepare their body for writing.
*Introduce letters "e" and "f" and practice on paper.

Week 3: Review and "Fly Up" Letters (i, j, l, t, k, and u)
*Gross motor warm-ups: Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and Simon Says (incorporating letters and air writing)
*Fine motor warm-ups and handwriting grasp practice
*Brief quiz to review letters from Week 1 and 2
*Identify the problem: Students are shown a series of letters are are incorrectly formed or using the writing lines improperly. They are encouraged to participate by identifying the problem and explaining how to fix it.
*Introduce and practice the six "fly up" letters. Each letter will be practiced on paper, but will also include a different activity or movement opportunity. This week we will use white boards, play-doh/putty, exercises, and animal movements. These activities promote extra practice and understanding of each letter, but also provide a great opportunity to regulate and prepare their body for writing.
*Stretching and warm down

Week 4: "Slanting Sliding" Letters and Review (v, w, x, y, and z)
*Alphabet and Movement Song (video share) for gross motor exercise and full review
*Fine motor warm-ups (getting fingers ready for writing)
*Each child will be asked to demonstrate their mature handwriting grasp
*Introduce and practice the five "Slanting Sliding" letters. Each letter will be practiced on paper, but will also include a different activity or movement opportunity. This week we include the use song, yoga poses, and x-treme sports exercises. These activities promote extra practice and understanding of each letter, but also provide a great opportunity to regulate and prepare their body for more writing.
*Handwriting Game (Duck Race): Combine everything we learned so far and write all lowercase letters together as a class using lined paper
*Time for review, questions, or additional support

By the end of these 4 weeks, your child will...
*Have learned how to form each lowercase letters by demonstrating accurate starting points, efficient stroke formation, consistent letter sizing, and proper writing line use. 
*Be able to demonstrate a growing awareness of their body and identify a couple of activities/exercises that help them to stay focused and relaxed during fine motor and table-top challenges.
*Demonstrate emerging skills in their ability to utilize a more mature handwriting grasp.

Students will require assistance from parents to print the necessary work pages prior to each weekly class. During class, all activities will be demonstrated by the teacher with clear, simple instructions. However, parent support may be required depending on the child's needs.

**Please note that this handwriting class is not considered occupational therapy and should not take the place of a child's regularly scheduled therapies.