tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post3951564517065322085..comments2023-09-16T09:24:20.566-05:00Comments on Smile and Wave: Penmanship and CourtesyRachelDenbowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14685607684409546503noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-66273257888757423042011-01-14T21:03:04.101-06:002011-01-14T21:03:04.101-06:00we happened upon some really awesome wipe off boar...we happened upon some really awesome wipe off boards when my daughter was only 2. it had the alphabet, upper and lower case, along with 0-9 numbers to trace. she would literally sit for hours, over and over again, writing, wiping off and starting again. she's only in kindergarten, but was writing and reading over 18 months ago...i believe boards are made by "board dudes"Shelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13875992463339887697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-64745536630376331242011-01-12T19:55:53.871-06:002011-01-12T19:55:53.871-06:00I am such a lazy blog reader, I was just skimming ...I am such a lazy blog reader, I was just skimming to look at pictures and noticed the finished product. I thought "that font is so cool", then I actually read the post and realized how the card was made. What a great idea!Jessica Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16426104963245452635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-79739268691408938472011-01-12T01:14:45.273-06:002011-01-12T01:14:45.273-06:00when i was little i llloved drawing, my mom used t...when i was little i llloved drawing, my mom used to give me see throgh papers (not too thin though) so i can choos any drawing i like from books etc and copy the outlines, then recolor it... i could do that for hoursUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08741590876815746560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-32494403799125481822011-01-11T23:18:54.547-06:002011-01-11T23:18:54.547-06:00I LOVE this! I will have to try this with my girl...I LOVE this! I will have to try this with my girls!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-35014383081962271912011-01-11T22:44:12.899-06:002011-01-11T22:44:12.899-06:00I use http://www.startwrite.com/
it allows you to ...I use http://www.startwrite.com/<br />it allows you to use many different styles from manuscript to the Handwriting Without Tears font. You pick the line style, font size, shade depth, solid or dashed,... you create the wording to be done. It's awesome. You make your own sheets and print them out! My 6 year old uses it to write ut his poems, tooo cute. My 9 yr old is now using it to write cursive snail mail letters. Hope that helps.cedargirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01979628953100059382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-56413317192490764242011-01-11T22:14:16.583-06:002011-01-11T22:14:16.583-06:00I work with preschool children. One activity kids...I work with preschool children. One activity kids love is to fill a Ziploc bag with shaving cream and then seal it tightly. They can practice writing on the bag with their fingers as the lines they make disappear. It’s fun and less mess for you. <br /><br />Also, to get a good grasp while writing...have a crayon breaking event. Can you imagine? Breaking crayons on purpose? Coloring with broken crayons forces kids to have a better grasp. <br /><br />Have fun!Kristin Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14343640636264798833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-6503264238353481502011-01-11T18:55:32.018-06:002011-01-11T18:55:32.018-06:00I love the intense and focused look on your sons f...I love the intense and focused look on your sons face while tracing/writing his thank you. so stinking cute.<br /><br />Coming from an artist the BEST book to get Sebastian is called "Beautiful Oops"! I found it by mistake while looking for a book for my cousins baby shower well. It has now become my book to give anyone and everyone!<br /><br />I use to nanny and I'm still really close with the family... while visiting and exchanging Christmas gifts I told the olderst now 11 that i wish I had found this book when she was a kid because like Sebastian she would get frustrated over mistakes and would try to hard to make every craft or piece of art 'perfect'.<br /><br /><br />www.JustCallMeJ12.blogspot.comJennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06978911476909824291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-10380228992181419822011-01-11T18:37:52.756-06:002011-01-11T18:37:52.756-06:00Great idea! I love that it is good practice (writi...Great idea! I love that it is good practice (writing and thoughtfulness!) which results in an adorable card. Thanks for the inspiration!lingering daydreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14276667973925705605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-73025049647049625442011-01-11T17:38:52.340-06:002011-01-11T17:38:52.340-06:00Ok, since you asked on the handwriting thing as th...Ok, since you asked on the handwriting thing as the kid of a pre-school teacher and the parent of a kindergartener I'd just suggest you write it out Thank You rather than THANK YOU. The all caps writing seems to be a giant pet peeve of all the kindergarten teachers I've ever met and they seem to spend forever teaching kids lower case (in particular with the child's name). On the other hand, upper case are much easier to trace since all straight lines and looks cooler on the card (so take me with a grain of salt and in the good spirit this 'advice' is intended :)<br /><br />Ok, and I'll finally put on you on my google reader if that helps. I just check in periodically the old fashioned way :)Melissa Haworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07082611282258367597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-56225043451655288332011-01-11T15:16:38.068-06:002011-01-11T15:16:38.068-06:00Love your blog! Thanks for the reminder, I will n...Love your blog! Thanks for the reminder, I will now be making thank you cards with my kids.<br />My son is 3 and to practice drawing, every morning we will read a story from his Bible and then I have him draw a picture of what we read about. He has a special journal that he draws in and he looks forward to it each day.alainahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06093150235500541602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-35074451950947944102011-01-11T11:41:44.690-06:002011-01-11T11:41:44.690-06:00I used to teach pre-kindergarten and I would write...I used to teach pre-kindergarten and I would write out words, names, or letters with a yellow marker and have the kids trace them. You can also put sugar in a cookie pan and have them write letters in that with their fingers.Jenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13136100623852831511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-31193217544973168982011-01-11T11:06:45.308-06:002011-01-11T11:06:45.308-06:00I am a teacher and I have typed out a page of the ...I am a teacher and I have typed out a page of the students' name in ZB Manuscript with lines (found here: http://www.abcteach.com/font_details.php). Then I laminate it and have the students trace it with dry erase marker. You can also do this with the alphabet, sight words, etc.Natalie Ducketthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14769123832500597508noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-86257272618042788892011-01-11T10:49:19.223-06:002011-01-11T10:49:19.223-06:00great idea :) He looks so cute with that furrowed ...great idea :) He looks so cute with that furrowed brow of concentration! jajaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-765815780730336352011-01-11T10:42:37.740-06:002011-01-11T10:42:37.740-06:00Hi Rachel, I'm a preschool teacher
you can u...Hi Rachel, I'm a preschool teacher <br /><br />you can use fatter pencils/crayons, best if they are the training pencils with triangular grip, so it's easier for his little fingers. let him do pre-writing practices, like tracing straight lines, curves, zig-zags... when he mastered them, he can proceed with tracing the actual letters. and start big, then slowly reduce the size as he gets older. so that it's not too tiring for his fingers. :)<br /><br />Avoid markers as much as possible for the start as he needs to learn to exert enough strength in writing so as to have a better grip. Pencils and crayons are still the best.<br /><br />play with dough - the kneading, rolling, pinching and all help develop his fine muscles. which will definitely aid in his writing.<br /><br />the key is to develop his muscles first. when his fine muscle are ready, learning to write will be a breeze!<br /><br />hope that helps!joyfullyChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17715369961786637869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-75821759431698159582011-01-11T10:38:32.468-06:002011-01-11T10:38:32.468-06:00Teaching kids to write thank you notes is so impor...Teaching kids to write thank you notes is so important--and I think this is one of the cutest ideas I've seen for it!sarahannnoelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14995650703360274929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-24575286239576033022011-01-11T10:01:03.293-06:002011-01-11T10:01:03.293-06:00I love Thank You notes, but I really need to get b...I love Thank You notes, but I really need to get better at getting them done! I always forget :( <br /><br />thanks for pointing me to bloglovin'! looks like a good siteCaseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16524290469481317129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-66803186919491739042011-01-11T09:41:54.299-06:002011-01-11T09:41:54.299-06:00i'm a follower now! love your blog and this p...i'm a follower now! love your blog and this post is most precious! way to go with the thank-you notes at such an early age...such an important part of receiving a gift. (and something i can use some practice with!)Tamarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17001587704702983736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-1120524782850128522011-01-11T09:40:48.521-06:002011-01-11T09:40:48.521-06:00Aw, he is so adorable sitting there concentrating ...Aw, he is so adorable sitting there concentrating so hard! Great job :) <br />I have 2 boys, ages 4 and 7, and I have to admit, their attention span is very short - we use mini chalk boards to practice our letters! And I just learned that using something small to write with (golf pencil size) helps them get comfy with their grip - so we have broken all of our pencils, crayons and chalks in half, and I have seen such an improvement in their handwriting, especially in my 7yos (he's a lefty).<br />Oh, and I've been following through my google reader ;) <br />Happy Tuesday!<br />hugs, margieBumbles and Fairy-Taleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01689440931764637548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-49151316146971133862011-01-11T08:51:14.882-06:002011-01-11T08:51:14.882-06:00That is a great idea! I am a preschool teacher and...That is a great idea! I am a preschool teacher and one of the things we do is lots of play dough activities....I know you're thinking for writing? But YES!!! This activity helps strengthen and promotes muscle coordination in little hands to help them as they begin to write (and use all those new hand muscles). Good luck Sebastian!bird and treehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06521369933588586177noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-33269785270160305672011-01-11T08:14:35.353-06:002011-01-11T08:14:35.353-06:00I LOVE this idea as a way for kids to get involved...I LOVE this idea as a way for kids to get involved in writing thank you notes that are too young to actually write them. It saddens me that "thank you" cards seem to be a lost courtesy these days.BlondeShot Creativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14627488821131982086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-30213751891327831022011-01-11T08:08:53.398-06:002011-01-11T08:08:53.398-06:00To encourage both drawing and writing, consider ge...To encourage both drawing and writing, consider getting a giant white board. I know chalkboards are the thing people go to now days, but we've done both chalk and white boards with our kids and the white boards just end up being more practical. (3 kids on a giant chalkboard can make quite the mess) We've had a large (3' x 4') board for 3 years now and it gets used daily. It also saves a lot of paper.tammyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01913964856548792032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-67855627332445866622011-01-11T06:57:31.588-06:002011-01-11T06:57:31.588-06:00this post is so cute! I love the look of concentra...this post is so cute! I love the look of concentration on his little face.amanda janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551328115511702871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-21014974651137328892011-01-11T06:47:53.901-06:002011-01-11T06:47:53.901-06:00I teach K/1 and Zyia Learns Letters is another gre...I teach K/1 and Zyia Learns Letters is another great font to download for free that has the dots outlined already to trace. This is a great idea on your part! -eAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11966083684538271764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-39016099173927899852011-01-11T06:42:01.591-06:002011-01-11T06:42:01.591-06:00I am a hard-core "Thank you" mama over h...I am a hard-core "Thank you" mama over here, since my own mother pounded it into me! Since having kids we've had them have a hand in it too, either decorating the card and now, with my son who is 3 and learning letters, writing his name.<br /><br />We use these to help teach the letters, as they trace them and get a feel for the way to 'write them' (I believe they're a Montessori technique). Then we just practice. It's probably my son's least favorite thing, but hey, with writing about 10 words a week, I'm happy!<br /><br />(http://www.etsy.com/listing/61504166/sandpaper-letters-uppercase-mounted-on?ref=sr_gallery_3&ga_search_query=sandpaper+letters&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&order=&includes%5B0%5D=tags&includes%5B1%5D=title&filter%5B0%5D=handmade)<br /><br />Sarah MSarah Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05897525100460024871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4351644930286151865.post-27164211993384332122011-01-11T03:46:23.678-06:002011-01-11T03:46:23.678-06:00Great idea Rachel! Thank you notes are also top of...Great idea Rachel! Thank you notes are also top of my list for today xEmmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06142893254332615471noreply@blogger.com