Handwriting Specialist Danielle Baird

I have SEVERAL students this summer that have difficulty crossing midline. Parents please read if I have spoken to you about this. Crossing midline is a foundational skill for handwriting, but also for many many many other areas of development!

Cross crawl exercises have so many benefits! https://www.theottoolbox.com/cross-crawl-exercises/

No one loves a new set of freshly broken crayons quite like I do! One of my number one recommendations for any child that is working on fine motor skills or developing a tripod grasp is to BREAK YOUR crayons! I recommend crayons be broken into thirds. This will make coloring harder for your child so be prepared 😬, but it will also promote the GRASP WE WANT!

Just a reminder there is NO TUTORING today. I will return from vacation on Wednesday!

Reminder there is no turning tomorrow and I will return from vacation on Wednesday!
Danielle

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We love to see these pops of growth!🍿

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From Children's Music with Nancy Kopman

Great information on GROSS motor skills if you are wanting to improve fine motor abilities. Foundational skills are so important!

Big movements come first! This is because strong core and upper body muscles are the building blocks for good hand control. Before a child can use their hands well (fine motor skills), they need to develop:

Postural control: This means being able to hold their body steady in different positions, like sitting upright.
Forearm rotation: This allows them to turn their hands over for tasks like grasping a cup.
Strength and stability: This applies to the shoulders, elbows, and wrists for controlled hand movement.
Thumb separation: This lets them use their thumb and fingers independently for more precise tasks.

These skills develop in a specific order, with gross motor skills like rolling and standing coming first. Playground activities like climbing and swinging help build this foundation for future fine motor skills like writing. The weather is nicer so go outside and play on the playground, the perfect place to developing those gross motor skills.

Fine motor & finger strength activities for summer 💪🏼✏️☀️

All my previous students will forever be ”my kids”, that list just got a lot bigger with all my new summer kiddos. Thank you to all of the parents that share their babies with me!

Yep!

“b can see d” is a cute little saying to help with letter reversals! **Remember letter reversals are considered normal until ages 7-8 😀.

Ideas for home to work on fine motor & hand strength skills!

Finger dexterity activity ideas for kids...

Finger dexterity activities are designed to help kids improve their ability to handle small objects. Here are my favorite activities to help improve finger dexterity with kids.

Read more ideas here > https://www.growinghandsonkids.com/finger-dexterity-activities-for-kids.html?utm_campaign=meetedgar&utm_medium=social&utm_source=meetedgar.com

PRE WRITING SKILLS ARE SO IMPORTANT! Having these foundational skills is what sets a child up for success with handwriting. There is a hard balance in doing what is developmentally appropriate and also preparing a child for expectations within a classroom. Classroom expectations are out of our control unless you plan to homeschool. Exposure to more advanced skills is ok within reason, but pre writing skills should be mastered before expecting a child to write letters.

20 Days until Summer Tutoring starts!👏👏👏✏️💛

I have several students that are ”graduating” from Handwriting Tutoring in the next couple of weeks. I’m always sad to see them go, but when students don’t need me anymore that means I have done my job! It’s a bittersweet time for me and for the families that I have built special relationships with.
Gifts are never expected, but I sure did appreciate this homemade sourdough… one of my favorite gifts from a student!!

I’m excited to share that my amazing colleague (and one of my closest friends 😉) and I will be hosting a Kindergarten Prep event at My Gym Brentwood! We will be doing some of our favorite OT activities with the kiddos as well as providing resources and education with parents. Our activities and resources will focus on skills required for Kindergarten from not only a Therapist’s perspective, but also from two Moms who have also had children in a Kindergarten classroom. The event is on Thursday June 13 th from 12:00 - 12:45. You can register your child at My Gym Brentwood, we would love for you to join us!

TRIPOD GRASP
One of my goals for all students is to encourage a tripod grasp when using any type of writing utensil. I use grippers often, but this is my favorite way to promote a tripod grasp without the restriction of a gripper. Have your child hold a small object with the ring & pinky finger while the other fingers grip the pencil. Make sure they don’t let go of the object while they are writing! This little trick also promotes separation of both sides of the hand which is a required skill for several other activities including cutting!!

I can’t let April pass by without sharing/ celebrating OT month!!
Working as an Occupational Therapy Practitioner and all the knowledge and skills I have gained over the last 12 years is what led me to my love of teaching handwriting, and ultimately to becoming a Tutor.
I worked for the public school system for many years which gave me the knowledge and love for teaching Kindergarten Prep skills. I also currently work as a Therapist at a local private school in addition to being a Tutor. I think it’s incredible I get help children with similar skills in environments that are so vastly different.
I am proud to hold a certification with the National Board of Occupational Therapy as well as a Medical License in the state of Tennessee.
It has been my pleasure to work along side so many amazing Therapists over the years. I have learned so much from each and every patient I have been honored to treat! HAPPY OT MONTH!

HAPPY OT MONTH! 🫶🏻

April is occupational therapy month & so happy I get to share my passion for this profession!

I love using my skills to make interventions client center & meaningful ! The creative outlet from my career in OT means so much to me.

What do you love about OT? 🤍

Happy Sunday! Wishing everyone a great school week ahead💛✏️💛

Excellent reminder. 💛

📸 Brad Johnson

Everyone who turned in a contract should have heard from me by now! I only have 3 more spots open for summer classes! 💛💛✏️

Danielle

Update for those of you that have turned in your registration contracts! I am down the last 6 students. If I have not contacted you by now expect to hear from me soon (by Sunday night at the very latest)!!
💛Danielle

Tracing can be a great fine motor activity in all aspects, but it only benefits handwriting skills when the child uses the CORRECT STARTING point. I love to use tracing as a warm up activity for all ages!

This is a HUGE resource...and information OT practitioners want you to know about tracing....
Learning letters is a tricky task for our brains and hands; they must work together to look at a drawing, understand that drawing/symbol represents a letter, remember that letter, copy a mental image of the letter, and then instruct our hand to move in such a pattern that creates the letter.

"Often times I have parents/teachers who have students who do somewhat well when tracing their alphabet, but when it comes time to write the letter on their own it falls apart.
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This can be due to two things:
1. The child does not have a good memory of how to create the letter
2. Tracing allows for the child to start at any point, and therefore formations may start bottom to top/in the middle of the letter/wherever and thus the resulting formation may be large/incorrect/illegible.

This being said, there is a time and place for tracing as a tool to support skill development...

Let's talk about what the research says AND experienced OTs have to say about how tracing should and should not be used for young learners!
https://www.theottoolbox.com/to-trace-or-not-to-trace/

This is why I start my Pre Writing Program at 3.5 years old! Learning new skills is way easier than breaking habits too! If a child is struggling with anything fine motor related the earlier we provide support decreases potential frustration levels later!

Let’s set kids up for success rather than making them struggle for a long time before providing them the support they need! ❤️❤️❤️

JUST A HEADS UP!!!
I will start accepting SUMMER REGISTRATIONS again on Wednesday. I am a little more full than I thought and I anticipate there will only be 6-7 spots left. I will update everyone with “more specific availability” of what time frames are left!
💛Danielle

There is something magical to me about writing. Muscle memory is used constantly in our everyday lives and is a gift within the human body. Handwriting takes muscle memory to a whole new level, and is an incredible teaching tool!

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Tips and tricks for lefties! Fun fact my oldest son is a lefty!

Popular on the site right now: Left handed handwriting tips!
👉Check it out for tips and tricks: https://www.theottoolbox.com/left-handed-writing-tips/

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Kinesthetic learning is a great strategy to teach handwriting skills, ESPECIALLY when teaching correct letter formation in particular. This strategy enhances the muscle memory!

We’re celebrating OT month with 31 days of infographics that explain things we do as pediatric OT practitioners! First up: kinesthetic learning!

Kinesthetic learning refers to a tactile learning style.

More info & kinesthetic learning activities: https://www.theottoolbox.com/kinesthetic-learning-activities-for/

SUMMER TUTORING & REGISTRATIONS UPDATE!!
As of tomorrow, registrations will be put on hold. I am over halfway full for summer classes. I will be taking a closer look at scheduling to see what availability I have left. I know some specific days and "prime time" spots are already full. I will re-open registration with what availability is left within the next couple of weeks. If you have returned a contract to me, you will be contacted by me via text about scheduling by April 21 st! I am scheduling students with the preferred times listed on your contract in order by the date I received them. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
Danielle