Visual motor skills integrate what we see with fine motor (movement) skills, commonly known as eye-hand coordination. Skills in the area of visual motor integration have shown a correlation with a child's ability to copy letters with legibility. Studies show that kindergarten aged students who are able to copy the first nine pre-writing shapes legibly demonstrate readiness to learn formal handwriting (Case-Smith, 2005).
Kindergarten aged students who are able to copy the first nine pre-writing shapes legibly demonstrate readiness to learn formal handwriting (Case-Smith, 2005).
- Play games including: Kerplunk (child must place "straw" within boundaries), "Connect 4", board games which require placement of game pieces within allotted areas.
- Practice drawing first 9 pre-writing shapes (see document) using different media: salt, sand, paint
- Form pre-writing shapes with small items (e.g. Cheerios, small erasers, cotton balls)
- Play tic-tac-toe and encourage your child to draw the board after they practice watching you
- Make patterns using: blocks, beads, cubes, Legos, etc.
- Play flashlight tag
- Complete connect the dot drawings
- Draw paths through mazes (start with simple paths)
- First use your finger to trace through the path, then use a writing utensil