RULES Number of players: Playing Recommended ages: Average playing time: Overview Set Up To Win

Transcription

1 HANDSKILLZ

2 WHY THIS GAME? In today s world, surrounded by technology like computers, smart phones, and spellcheck programs, many believe handwriting will not longer be a vital skill children need. I believe that learning to write by hand not only plays a key role in developing literacy, but is also critical to the production of creative and well written text. Learning to write starts with fine motor skills, which are often underdeveloped in children entering kindergarten. Being a preschool teacher for four years, I combined my knowledge of educating children with my graphic design skills to create a solution. I developed a game simply titled HandSkillz in which preschoolers ages.5 to 5 years of age practice hand strengthening skills through 4 engaging activities, targeting four different aspects of hand strengthening.

3 RULES Number of players: 6 players Recommended ages:.5 5 years old Average playing time: Approximately hour Overview Be the first to complete all four activities by coloring in the circles on your name card and reach the top of the board! Set Up Open the game board and hang on a wall, or lay across the floor. Place all four activities next to each other. Have children select a clothes pin and write their name on it. Give each child a name card and have them write their name on that as well. Print and cut the decks of cards. There are four activities, each of which are a different challenge. The activities are color coded; Red is for the Theraputty Activity, Green is for the Pom Pom Activity, Blue is for the Lego Activity, and Yellow is for the Drawing Activity. All players place their clothes pin on the start tab at the bottom of the board. Playing The person whose birthday is coming up next goes first. On your turn you get to roll the dye. Which ever color the dye lands on, is the activity you must complete. Pick a card from the color dye you rolled. You have an allotted time seen on the card to complete the activity. If activity is completed correctly in the allotted time, you move up your clothespin the number of points on the card. You also fill in the colored dot on your name card with the color the activity was. The next person now rolls the dye, starts again. To Win You win the game by making it to the top first, but also by filling in all four activity circles on your clip.

4 GAME PIECESGame Board Board The playing board, seen on the right, can be printed off from this PDF, or made by taping multiple pieces of construction paper together and using a marker to label start, the numbers -, and end. When a child uses a die, they are using In-Hand Manipulation Skills. The ability to move and position objects within the hand without using the other hand is one of the most complex fine motor skills. Dice A 4-sided die is needed to play this game. If you do not already have a 4-sided die, you can order one online, or you can print the PDF template included at the end of this packet. If one already does have a 4-sided die, print the sticker templates in this packet and use doublesided tape to paste the each of the four colors to a side of the die. Top View Bottom When a child twists a timer, they are using something called Thumb Opposition which refers to the ability to turn and rotate the thumb so that it can touch each fingertip of the same hand. This not only allows the child to grasp objects of all sizes but it gives them the ability to operate tools. Timer Any second timer can be used as a timer for the game. I do suggest having a timer that is clearly legible for the children to be able to read the numbers. I would suggest buying the Learning Resources Jumbo 60 Second Timer

5 GAME PIECES Cards There are four stacks of cards included in this game. Each stack of cards is categorized by a color and a character. Red stands for the Theraputty activity. Green stands for the Pom Pom activity. Blue stands for the Lego activity. Yellow stands for the Drawing activity. To the right you will see examples of these cards. There are three steps to each activity, being to collect the shown materials, being to set the timer, and to complete the activity. If the activity is completed in the allotted time, the child will move up the game board the specified amount of moves, and color in the specific color activity on their name card. LEGOS BLUE Build: If you finished in time B Coloring in circles with crayons helps children to develop a pincer grasp. It also enables the child to strengthen the control they have over the instrument. When using clothespins, the child is developing their pinch strengthening. Name Cards Name cards are handed out at the beginning of the game during set up. These name cards are used for each child to keep track of what activities they have completed successfully. Once an activity is completed successfully in the allotted time, the child will color in the circle for the activity completed. Clothespin Pieces Simple clothespins can be used as game pieces of which each child can write their name on. These clothespins will track each child s movement up the game board by simply clipping onto the board. Another option if clothespins are not attainable would be to use chip clips. NAME GREEN BLUE YELLOW RED

6 LEGOS Lego Activity When a child uses building materials such as Duplo Legos, they are increasing their hand and pinch strength as well as learning how to push and pull objects. There are several arches within the palm of the hand that enables the hand to grasp objects of different sizes and shapes. Pushing and pulling Legos together targets the hand arches which direct the skilled movement of the fingers and control the power of the grasp. The strength of these hand arches within the palm are needed for activities such as writing with an pencil and using scissors. This activity not only concentrates on hand strengthening but also on color, math, and patterns. How to Complete the Activity As you see on the right, the activity card will tell the child how many Legos and what color Legos to gather. When all materials are collected, the child must set the timer, and build the Lego pattern before the timer goes off. LEGOS BLUE ACTIVITY Build: 5 + B If completed correctly in the allotted time, color in the blue Lego circle. Name Card NAME GREEN BLUE YELLOW RED SUPPLIES 4 blue Legos 4 green Legos 4 red Legos 4 yellow Legos

7 PUTTY Theraputty and Pennies Activity When a child plays with theraputty in their hands, they are strengthening all aspects of the hand. More specifically they are using Fine Motor-Thumb Opposition, their hand arches, and pincer grasp. Strengthening fine motor skills, or the small muscles of the hand that involve resistance, is essential for living. Adding the pennies to the putty, adds the skill of In-Hand Manipulation which is the ability to move and position objects within one hand without the assistance of the other hand. This activity also stressed the idea of math, when counting how many pennies need to be found. THERAPUTTY RED ACTIVITY Find: 0 How to Complete the Activity As you see to the right, the activity card will tell the child how many coins they have to find in the theraputty. When the child is ready to start searching for the pennies, they must set the timer, and collect the specified amount of pennies before the timer goes off. If completed correctly in the allotted time, color in the red putty circle. Name Card NAME + R GREEN BLUE YELLOW RED SUPPLIES 8 pennies 4 oz. Theraputty I would suggest Thera-Flex Therapy Putty

8 DRAWING Drawing Shapes Activity When a child draws on a vertical surface they are strengthening their shoulder, arm, hand strength, and wrist stability needed for printing in Kindergarten and beyond. Drawing vertically also is a great Eye Hand Coordination exercise. Visual Motor Integration is the ability to control hand movement guided by vision. Eye Hand Coordination affects the ability to color, draw basic strokes, solve mazes, write by hand, catch a ball, tie our shoes, thread a needle, and so much more. This drawing shapes activity not only targets strengthening the hand and arm muscles, but also reinforces the learning of shapes and colors. DRAWING YELLOW ACTIVITY Draw: 0 How to Complete the Activity As you see to the right, the activity card will tell the child what color crayon to use, and what and how many shapes to draw. When the child is ready to draw, they must set the timer, and legibly draw the correct shapes before the timer goes off. + Y If completed correctly in the allotted time, color in the yellow crayon circle. Name Card NAME GREEN BLUE YELLOW RED SUPPLIES blue crayon green crayon red crayon yellow crayon pad of large drawing paper tape or paper easel

9 POM POMS Pom Pom Activity When a child uses tweezers they are using their thumb, index, and middle fingers in order to develop something called a pincer grasp. This means they are focusing on building pinch strengthening and control. This simple activity of picking up small pom poms with tweezers and dropping them into a jar is a perfect way to improve a childs pincer grasp. Children will be using the pincer grasp for other important tasks such as holding a pencil, crayon or marker, holding and using feeding utensils effectively, fastening zippers, snaps, and buttons on garments, using scissors, manipulating small items within the hand, and many more. Not only does the activity target pincer grasp but the activity also targets colors, and math when the child has to select all of the materials. How to Complete the Activity As you see to the right, the activity card will tell the child what to collect. When all materials are collected, the child must set the timer, and place each pom pom in the jar before the timer goes off. If completed correctly in the allotted time, color in the green pom pom circle. Name Card NAME POM POMS GREEN ACTIVITY 4 Place: 0 + G GREEN BLUE YELLOW RED SUPPLIES 6 blue pom poms 6 green pom poms 6 red pom poms 6 yellow pom poms pair kid friendly tweezers cup or jar

10 DIE TEMPLATE GREEN YELLOW BLUE GREEN RED RED RED YELLOW YELLOW GREEN BLUE BLUE

11 NAME CARDS NAME GREEN BLUE YELLOW RED NAME GREEN BLUE YELLOW RED NAME GREEN BLUE YELLOW RED

12 STICKERS THERAPUTTY LEGOS RED BLUE DRAWING POM POMS YELLOW GREEN

13 + Y + Y + Y Draw: 5 Draw: 0 Draw: 0

14 DRAWING YELLOW DRAWING YELLOW DRAWING YELLOW

15 5 Draw: + Y Draw: 0 + Y Draw: 0 + Y

16 DRAWING YELLOW DRAWING YELLOW DRAWING YELLOW

17 5 Draw: + Y 5 Draw: + Y Draw: 0 + Y

18 DRAWING YELLOW DRAWING YELLOW DRAWING YELLOW

19 Find: 0 + R 5 Find: + R Find: + 5

20 THERAPUTTY DRAWING YELLOW RED THERAPUTTY DRAWING YELLOW RED THERAPUTTY RED

21 45 Find: + R 45 Find: + R 55 Find: + R

22 THERAPUTTY DRAWING YELLOW RED THERAPUTTY DRAWING YELLOW RED THERAPUTTY RED

23 45 Find: + R 55 Find: + R Find: 0 + R

24 THERAPUTTY DRAWING YELLOW RED THERAPUTTY DRAWING YELLOW RED THERAPUTTY RED

25 0 Place: + G 0 Place: + G 0 Place: + G

26 POM DRAWING POMS GREEN YELLOW POM DRAWING POMS GREEN YELLOW POM POMS GREEN

27 0 Place: + G 0 Place: + G 5 Place: + G

28 POM DRAWING POMS GREEN YELLOW POM DRAWING POMS GREEN YELLOW POM POMS GREEN

29 5 Place: + G 5 Place: + G 5 Place: + G

30 POM DRAWING POMS GREEN YELLOW POM DRAWING POMS GREEN YELLOW POM POMS GREEN

31 5 Build: + B 5 Build: + B 5 Build: + B

32 LEGOS BLUE LEGOS BLUE LEGOS BLUE

33 5 Build: + B 5 Build: + B 5 Build: + B

34 LEGOS BLUE LEGOS BLUE LEGOS BLUE

35 5 Build: + B 5 Build: + B 5 Build: + B

36 LEGOS BLUE LEGOS BLUE LEGOS BLUE

37 GAME BOARD End

38 0 9 8

39 7 6 5

40 4

41 Start