Marker my words

Mommy's creation

My 2 1/2 year old and I probably had more fun with this than Caleb did, but at least it got him drawing. Washable Window Markers are the new thing in our house. Caleb wrote his name a few times and enjoyed scribbling with his brother. We have a 5ft by 11ft window in the dining room, which worked as a great canvas for a neighborhood art show. Plus, clean-up was a breeze, and actually Caleb's favorite part- silly boy. I'm hoping that these markers will be yet another vehicle in inspiring Caleb to use his hands more, even if it's scribbling. I plan to take them in the car for long trips. Window crayons are also available.

Caleb writing his name with Washable Window Markers

By the way, we found out today that the markers wash off of skin pretty well too. Oops!

What does green taste like Sophia?

Writing wrong, and righting the wrong

So, today we struggled all morning with writing during phonics and math, per usual. Caleb is behind on his writing skills for a few reasons. He's always hated coloring of any sort and he doesn't have very strong hand muscles, so it's hard for him to grip the pencil and push down hard enough to make a mark. I've been keeping my eyes and ears open for ideas on how to help him and I think we stumbled upon something today. There is hope!

On a whim, I nixed a subject today and decided to interject something more fun. I dug out our tabletop pocket chart, that I purchased a while back that he hadn't seen. Caleb loves constructing words and these word cards work great for phonics. For example it pairs letters to create the sounds "ch" instead of using separate letters "c" and "h". Overall it just helps with phonics. I got out the pocket chart tent to work on the words when he noticed the back of the tent has a dry erase board on it with pockets under it. At his prompting, we rotated the tent. He told me to spell out a word with our pocket chart cards and he promptly took the dry erase marker and wrote it right out! He wrote faster than I'd ever seen him and with more confidence. We took pictures because that is a major encouragement to him. The fact that the dry erase board is upright and the marker is higher contrast than a pencil were just the things he needed. The tent is stable and at just the right height for him. This activity is a definite repeat!

The pocket chart card set we use is the Smethport- Word Bits Pocket Chart Card Set. It includes a 130 double-sided cards and an activity guide.

Here is some of Caleb's handy work:

"school"

"silly"

It's a dirty job...

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to play in it!

My son hates to write, color or draw of any sort. He knows his letters in and out, but he just won't write them. I've been looking for ways to work around his fear of the dreaded "pencil". Waaay back when I was in 1st grade, I remember doing this exercise in school, and I remember it because I loved it! This exercise helps reinforce the mechanics of constructing the letters as well as builds hand strength. Here's what we did. I'd love other ideas too!

Shaving Cream Alphabet
Materials needed: a finger and shaving cream (the foam kind, I do not suggest the gel) or whipped cream
Optional materials: alphabet flash cards (for a visual aid)
Directions: Simply learn to write the letters using your finger instead of using a writing utensil. And remember, get messy!

Looking back on my own experience with this project as a child, my 1st grade teacher was a brave woman for having a class full of kids doing this on their desks! We had the luxury of using our kitchen table, next to our kitchen sink!