Join a Mailring at the
Teacher Mailring Center
http://www.teachers.net/mailrings/
Kim - I wasn't sure if the chat would still occur.
twinmom - Me either-- It has been a day
Kim - Yes it has. Since I teach morning K, none of my students knew what happened.
twinmom - We didn't know too much until we started hearing all the planes.
Sue - I teach Kdg, too
Kim - are you on the east coast?
Sue - I barely knew what had happened
Kim - I am very interested in writing activities for K's. This is my first time here.
twinmom - No Louisiana -- When Bush landed At the Barksdale Air Force Base.
Sue - I'm from Michigan
Kim - Who leads the discussion? I'm in CA.
Sue - Me, too... writing ideas
Sue - hard to focus right now, though
Kim - I have three students who have very underdeveloped fine motor skills.
Sue - I'm not sure who is leading this chat
sue - Sue- are you WVa Sue?
Kathleen - Hello everyone. Any ideas for developing fine motor skills for writing? Do you have any clip clothespin activities in your centers?
Sue - No, I'm from Michigan
Kathleen - Many of our chats are unmoderated, peer supported.
sue - I use hole punchers a lot
Sue - okay, that makes sense.
bari - It keeps making me re-enter for some reason. I think I got it now though!
sue - I also use playdoh with scissors
Kim - I logged off for a second. What are we talking about? Clothespins?
Melissa/MI/first - hello
sue - Sue- I'm the new orleans sue
Kathleen - clip clothes pins can be used in math center, clip on the number of clothespins to match a numeral on a cardboard. Good for fine motor and math
Sue - hole punchers?
Kathleen - Kim, clothespins as they can be helpful in developing fine motor strength for writing
sue - kat- don;t use those til around Dec, I have the babies-- 4 yr olds
Sue - sue, what do you mean playdoh WITH scissors?
bari - Fiskars makes a hole puncher with shape cutouts such as stars and hearts. Great for helping work on fine motor & the kids love them!!!
Kathleen - sue, sure, that makes sense. K kids would be able to use them right away.
Kim - I have three five year old who can't hold a pencil. I have them using pencil grips. Are there any other suggestions for this third year teacher?
Sue - Kathleen, I haven't made any of these kind of games yet (even after 10 years)
sue - singe hole punchers-- office depot 99 cents
Melissa/MI/first - i have a 7 year old w/ poor fine motor skills
Kathleen - hole punchers are used for punching paper to fit 3 ring binders
Kim - sorry Melissa
sue - Sue- I give each child a ball of playdoh and they have to to cut it into tiny pieces
Sue - oh, going to have to add those to my list of things to buy this week end... I'm going broke
Sue - what a neat idea
Kathleen - I favor modeling clay because it requires more strength to manipulate than play dough.
sue - plaastic garlic presses for playdoh work well, too
bari - sue, I work with 3 year olds, turning 4 this year too.
Kathleen - Yes, kids love to just punch holes. If you give them various colors of paper, it will make it that much more interesting for them
sue - kat- modeling clay is outlawed in my class-new carpet
Kathleen - ah, garlic press, hadn't thought of that. I never use mine at home...
sue - playdo doesn;t leave oily stains
Kathleen - oh, boy, new carpet so less fine motor? Interesting how decisions are made about what can be done in classrooms, eh?
sue - my all time favorite- ice cream scoops and giant fuzz balls in the hiuse area
Kathleen - Using metals tongs for picking up beads and other objects, transferring to another container...
flora - hi all
flora - hello
flora - first time
Kathleen - children should use whole body writing such as writing on chalkboard on wall
sue - I also use colored rice. each child is given a small bowl and then I tell them to pick out just one color at a time
Sue - oh, that's tough for me!
flora - so any suggestions for an ny teacher on how to deal w/ tomorrow morning???
Kathleen - Hello, flora, we're trying to carry on normally with a chat about developing fine motor skills for writing, in spite of our horror and sadness on this tragic day.
flora - hi kathleen
sue - Sue- that's not til later and they love it!
sue - have y'll ever done a spaghetti pull- it's fun but messy
Kim - I am with Flora. What can I do starting tomorrow.
flora - double doodle...brain gyms
Sue - what is a spaghetti pull?
sue - maybe I'm wrong but I think it should be the parents decision what to tell the kids
Kathleen - To summarize how to help young children tomorrow, allow them to express their feelings, reassure them that their grownups know how to keep them safe.
deb - the fashion polly toy has a lot of plastic clothes that the kids put on and off helps with fine motor
sue - give each child a little cooked spaghetti, they have pull the strings apart and put them on paper
deb - Knex is what the boys like to help with fine motor
sue - I also have a wooden shoe that goes home with the kids who need practice tying
Kathleen - Knex? Haven't heard of that, deb. Is it a commercial product?
Sue - where did you get a wooden shoe?
sue - wet noodles are fun, too. kids have to dip just the ends in and connect them to build
Sue - sue, what do you teach again?
sue - had it made at a craft fair, outlined a kid size tennis, and drilled holes for leaces
sue - Sue- at risk pre-K, 4 yr olds
flora - ty kathleen i will give all the teachers a copy in the am....nice job and thank you on behalf of many
Kathleen - A link to more help for tomorrow: http://www.aboutourkids.org/articles/war.html
Kathleen - flora, we have to thank Sydney Gurewitz Clemmons for her article.
flora -u got it
Kathleen - writing in shaving cream, finger painting
sue - making and playing with slime is fun, too
Sue - I've never used finger paint but recently bought some... does the paper go on easle or flat on a table?
sue - lacing, stringing beads and macaroni
sue - Sue- either one
bari - It is very important for the kids to do as much vertical work as possible, such as easel work, etc. Learned this from an Occupational Therapist who did a workshop on this very subject.
sue - bari- what about tray work?
Kathleen - Sue, put paper on flat surface, sponge it wet
Sue - sewing around edges of shaped tag board that's been cut and punched around it
bari - well, they say that when the children have their arms upright that their hands go naturally to a writing position.
sue - gotta go
bari - This helps work the muscles needed for writing and cutting.
Kathleen - Yes, chalkboard on wall, white (dry erase) board on wall (though I don't care for white bd compared to chalkboard, not as much resistance
Kathleen - bye sue, thanks, take care
Sue - hmmm, will give it a try
Sue - bye
Kathleen - don't forget finger plays, poems and songs during which children use their fingers to accompany the words
Sue - I should go too... sooooo tired... need to pray
Sue - oh, yeah, I just got a book that has lots of finger plays
Sue - our Kdg. tends to be soooo academic that I haven't learned a bunch of them
Sue - so many of the pre-k ideas seem so suitable for us (we mix early 5s and older for kdg)
Kathleen - Sue, sure, they would be appropriate for both groups
Kathleen - It's difficult to concentrate on the topic tonight.
Kathleen - lacing tasks would be helpful
Kathleen - wikki sticks
Sue - I agree... TV keeps distracting me
Sue - wikki sticks... I like em... I figure, if I like em.. they will too
bari - Focusing on work right now is actually helping get my mind off it for a few minutes. It truly has been a paralizing day!
Sue - I have playdoh I bought but is keeps sticking so terribly to their fingers (like pudding)
Kathleen - Of course, consulting with your Occupational Therapist (OT) would be helpful when you have a student who is especially needy in the area of fine motor dev.
Sue - the lacing activities I've done were on calendar but upright tying isn't exactly easy
bari - what ages does everybody teach here?
Kathleen - kindergarten
Sue - kindergarten
bari - Looks like I'm the only preschool teacher here.
Sue - yea, I definitely need to go pray
Sue - good night you guys
Sue - God bless you
Kathleen - Goodnight, take care.
bari - goodnight, Sue.
Kathleen - I'm not sure I have any additional activities to post, bari.
bari - Well, Kathleen. I guess everyone is leaving us. Should we go as well?
bari - Ok, well I will see you next time, I guess
Kathleen - bari, yes, let's call it a night. thanks!
Kathleen - I can't keep my mind on the chat. We made a good list, watch the archives for the transcript.
