There are many skills practiced during handwriting. While the skill of pencil grip and control is important to neat penmanship, fine motor skills should be the primary focus when teaching the initial formation of letters and numbers. Fine motor skills involve the use of the small muscles that control your honeybee’s hands, wrists, fingers and thumbs. When developing these skills, children are able to successfully complete the fundamental task of writing, along with buttoning, tying, and feeding themselves.
The preliminary formation of letters, shapes, and numbers through hands-on learning can reduce letter reversals and disordered handwriting in later years. If your honeybee has undeveloped fine motor skills, pencil-and-paper tasks can be frustrating which takes away from the ability to learn and demonstrate content. In order to develop successful handwriting, your honeybee must sensorially flex their memory of the patterns within letters and numbers, process, then demonstrate them effortlessly.
In this activity, your honeybee will form letters and numbers with spaghetti! The goal of this activity is to strengthen fine motor skills while demonstrating successful patterns within letters and numbers through hands-on learning.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Spaghetti
- Food coloring
- Paper
- Markers
Okay worker bees. Time to break some rules. Let’s play with our food!
1. Cook spaghetti and mix in food coloring (see attached video and recipe below for specific instructions)
https://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/rainbow-pasta/d7cb2f45-dea6-43e7-893f-6708e2dc10ec
2. After spaghetti has cooled in a bowl, create a learning station with markers, paper, and spaghetti
3. Create desired words, letters, numbers, and shapes on paper
4. Have your honeybee form letters and numbers with spaghetti
5. Eat your spaghetti! Don’t let that yummy food go to waste!
*Modify this activity to your honeybee’s ability *
*Busy B Tip – expose your honeybee to some cursive writing! *
Be sure to have conversations about letter and number formation. Remember, every honeybee is different. Formation of letters and numbers can be tricky. Use the proper language with your honeybee; they are smarter than you think!
Language to use:
- Handwriting
- Letters
- Numbers
Questions? Comments? Compliments? Leave them BEElow!
The Busy B 