Mondays are Not for Wusses

The Therapist

Today was a crazy day that actually began with a crazy night. Back pain is not what one wants to wake up to but it managed to bring me to the surface and keep me there much of the night. I contemplated surfing the internet but thought that might not be the best idea since I'm afraid that was probably the initial cause of the pain.

All of that being said, I spent my day in a preschool through first grade elementary school. This is my fourth year in this particular district although I have been an occupational therapist for almost ten years now with nine of those years in the schools. Today I want to talk about handwriting since that seems to be the main reason for referrals to me.

Handwriting is a multifaceted task consisting of motor, intellectual, sensory and emotional components. In short, handwriting is a very personal and unique task for each individual.

Nevertheless, there are many parts of handwriting that can and should be addressed as soon as a child begins to grasp and hold toys. I'm not saying to put a pen in a six month-olds hand and try to teach him to write his name! But going back to the basics of stacking blocks, pushing buttons, picking up his own cheerios and letting him flounder with using a spoon are all good ways to start to build good prehension skills.

Prewriting skills are extremely important and I believe we should not start handwriting instruction until a child can draw a circle, a cross, and an X. These shapes include all of the strokes we use in writing the letters of the alphabet. And call me nuts, but teaching a three year old how to write his name is not a good idea. It creates poor pencil grasp and letter formation that, once set, are very hard to break--I know because I'm the one that has to try to break them.

The Mom

The girls were up late last night which made for a very rough morning. They both came into my room wrapped in their snuggly blankets. What we would do without these blankets I can't imagine. We are so thankful that our Mamah made them for us. She made mine for me when I was their age and it so cool that she was able to make them for my children.

After a loooong day at work I hurried home to pick the girls up from school. When I walked in to my preschoolers room I found her sitting on the teachers lap crying her eyes out. She had awoken from her nap and NEEDED her mommy. On the one hand I of course felt a mommy's guilt for not being there. On the other hand it made me feel good to be missed and wanted.

The Crafter

Last night I was on an Etsy forum and found the cutest store. What I like about it is most of it is All Boy. And the name is super cute-- The PookaMonster. Everything in our house in pink, purple or High School Musical so CatSoup's designs are a breath of fresh air. I can't choose a favorite so I'll pick my top two to post.

If I knew I would have a boy I might be tempted to have one more child just so he could wear one of these sweet little shirts. And the rocket shirt comes with a little felt rocket to match! Check out CatSoup's Etsy store at www.CatSoup.etsy.com