Running head: HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS...

Running head: HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS 1

!!!!!!!!!!!!! !Implementing Handwriting Without Tears: !

Using the Get Set For School Program in Transitional Kindergarten !Jennifer Reeves !

Loyola Marymount University !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HANDWRITING WITHOUT TEARS !2

!Abstract !

With the onset of technology in our daily lives, it is no wonder that it seems writing is becoming

a thing of the past. “According to Common Core State Standards, handwriting instruction is no

longer mandatory when students progress beyond Grade 1.” After first grade, schools can opt

out on teaching handwriting entirely. (Saperstein Associates, 2012). While our youngest of

students are busily pushing buttons on cell phones, tablets, and keyboards, are they missing out

on developing the fine motor skills that were once used for printing? Can we implement a

program to aid our transitional kindergarten students, to strengthen their small motor skills so the

fine art of writing isn’t completely lost? Could a program like this include engaging, multi-

sensory activities that would stimulate the students and promote a love of writing? The

following paper discusses all of these questions and more.

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Implementing Handwriting Without Tears: !Using the Get Set For School Program in Transitional Kindergarten !

The importance of beginning the writing process and fostering the necessary enthusiasm

for writing at an early age is evident. Children at the primary level, particularly in

kindergarten, should participate in authentic writing activities that stem from familiar

experiences. (Richardson & Ruane, 1996, p. 10). Preschools in the past included many fun activities for children: naps, play dough,

painting, and playtime. At four years old, that is what was expected of you—running around,

fun, free time, and a nap. Fast forward about thirty or forty years. Preschool has now been

replaced with transitional kindergarten. While the room is still filled with four year olds, a set

curriculum replaces the free time of preschools of yesteryear.. These days, teachers of four year

olds are expected to stick to a curriculum that includes their tiny students learning the basics of

letters and numbers—which includes writing them. A pencil replaces the free flowing

paintbrush, and these tiny hands that don’t even have the capability of holding a pencil correctly

yet, are expected to do just that. Most students will still use the Palmar grasp, as they should at

this tender age. (Instead of the typical pincer—or, finger—grasp to hold a pencil correctly, they

will use their entire palm wrapped around the pencil.) But, with encouragement, exercise, and

fun, these young students can begin to strengthen their tiny hands to learn the basics of writing.

! While proper letter formation wouldn’t generally take place in a typical preschool

classroom, many of today’s transitional kindergarten teachers call for writing as a skill. While

formal writing is not necessarily entirely appropriate for this young age, children should


participate in numerous pre-writing activities designed to strengthen the muscles in their hands.

Activities might include: stringing beads or macaroni; pouring liquids from one container to

another; using eye droppers, tweezers or tongs to transfer items from one bowl to another

(always going from left to right, to mimic the flow of writing); puzzles and peg board games.

(Perrett, 1983). Additional exercises for strengthening hand muscles include: picking up tiny

items like pieces of rice or Cheerios (to strengthen the pincer grasp), hammering golf tees into

clay or styrofoam blocks, playing with play dough, and working with lacing cards (looping

shoelaces or other strings back and forth through holes in cardboard). Little hands learning to

make letters will also find these pre-writing activities enjoyable—they mimic writing and letter

recognition, without the use of a writing implement: tracing letters in salt, shaving cream, or sand

(or hair gel in a zipped plastic lunch bag), playing letter match games, and rolling out play dough

“snakes” to form letters. With the introduction of a writing implement (and learning proper

grip), students can enjoy pre-writing activities such as tracing lines, curves, zig-zags, diagonal

lines, and circles—all of which are elements of writing letters.

Even though it is a young age to start writing, it is truly beneficial for these little ones to

begin. There’s no doubt that writing is an important skill. In 2012, Saperstein Associates found

that “Research shows that handwriting is a foundational skill that can influence student’s

reading, writing, language use, and critical thinking”. (Saperstein Associates, p. 2).

!East Whittier City School District

The city of Whittier is in Los Angeles County, about 12 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

It is 14.8 square miles, and has a population of approximately 85,000. One of four school


districts located in the City of Whittier, the East Whittier City School District consists of ten

elementary schools, three middle schools, and one early childhood education center. Enrollment

is 9106 in total, with 5971 students in the elementary schools, 3130 students in the middle

schools, and two children in the early childhood center. (Three students are listed as being in

non-public non-sectarian schools.)

Of the 9106 students in this district, 48% (4313) of the students are eligible for free or

reduced-price meals, and 1327 students are English Language Learners. (California Department

of Education, 2013.) Transitional kindergarten is relatively new to the East Whittier City School

District, and they are looking for a writing curriculum. Currently, the rest of the grades use the

Nancy Fetzer writing program. However, this program is designed for grades kindergarten

through sixth grade. This is where Handwriting Without Tears comes in.

Handwriting Without Tears

The Handwriting Without Tears program was developed by Jan Z. Olsen, an occupational

therapist from Maryland. It “is founded on research-based principles of early childhood

development, and how children learn best. Handwriting Without Tears teaches handwriting

skills using developmentally appropriate practice and multisensory approaches from printing

through cursive.” (Handwriting Without Tears, 2013, p. 7). Handwriting Without Tears has a

special curriculum for preschool and/or transitional kindergarten classes. This program is called

Get Set for School. Having used the program in the past, I am a firm believer that this is one of

the best ways for young children to learn the fundamentals of writing. It is presented in a unique

multisensory manner, which includes fun and creative songs and stories, manipulatives, and a

very engaging workbook.


The Get Set For School program from Handwriting Without Tears shows how (almost)

each capital letter can be broken down using one of four strokes: a big curve, a little curve, a big

line, and a little line. (The only two exceptions are the letter U and the letter J. See Appendix A

for more detail.) There are fun pre-writing activities that include manipulatives of each of the

four strokes (made out of wood, they keep the students engaged, and having fun—there are

songs and games to play with these wooden pieces). Other manipulatives include the Stamp and

See Screen® (a small screen filled with magnetic shavings. The four strokes are presented in

wooden form, with a magnetic backing, allowing the student to create the letter, then lift the

wooden blocks, and the magnetic version of said letter appears), the Roll–A–Dough Letters®

(play dough and a set of laminated cards. Each card has a letter or number on it. Children roll

out the dough into long snakes, then place the snakes onto the cards to form the letter or

number), the A-B-C Touch & Flip® Cards (Cards with the letters on them, presented in a raised

version, so children can trace the formation. The raised portion is similar in touch to the feeling

of sandpaper), Mat Man® (using the four strokes, a “man” is created. This was a favorite game

among my transitional kindergarten students, as it includes a fun interactive song. See Appendix

E for lyrics to the Mat Man song, and to see how Mat Man is put together), FLIP Crayons® (tiny,

two-sided crayons, designed just for children. The idea is to get them used to flipping the crayon

to the other side, for a different color. This motion mimics flipping over your pencil to use your

eraser), and slate chalkboards with tiny pieces of chalk and tiny sponge pieces, for the Wet-Try-

Dry® method. In the Wet-Try-Dry® method, children trace over a letter that has been written by

the teacher in chalk with a small wet sponge. Using the wet streak as a guideline, students trace


over that with a dry piece of paper towel. Using the dried streak as a guideline, students try re-

creating the letter on their own. (For more detail, see Appendix D.)

Another important component of the Get Set For School program is the music.

Engaging, entertaining, repetitive, catchy, and silly, these songs bring the program to life, and the

children love to sing them! A favorite of mine is The Pencil Grip Song, which teaches children

how to properly hold their pencil grip. Lyrics include: “My thumb is bent, pointer points to the

tip, tall man uses his side. I tuck my last two fingers in, and take them for a ride.” This is sung

while the entire class actually follows the directions. Once the song is complete, we being our

writing exercises for the day. This is great to use at the beginning of a school year, but students

like to refer back to it throughout the entire year. Every time I would ask them to check the grip

on their pencil, someone would start singing the song!

Literature Review

Everyone seems to agree that writing is an important part of teaching children. What is

not necessarily always agreed upon is when to start teaching it, and when to stop teaching it. I

have learned that many schools have stopped teaching writing altogether, seeing it as a waste of

time in this digital era. But, if we don't want it to be lost art, it must be continued to be taught—

at least to our youngest of learners.

Curriculum and Writing

“Most preschool curriculums centered on teaching letters sounds without any

accompanying writing component.” (Richardson & Ruane, p. 26). Through my own experience

in many years at different pre-schools—and more recently in transitional kindergarten—I have

found that most preschools (and some transitional kindergartens) tend to focus on letter


recognition and letter sounds, without focusing on any proper letter formation, or actual writing

curriculum. This places priority on the sound and recognition of letters, rather than the writing

of them. But the tide is turning to include writing for these four year olds. “The earlier children

are allowed to express their thoughts even through scribbles, drawings and variations of the

written language, the more knowledgeable, competent and confident they will

become.” (Richardson & Ruane, p. 10).

But the drawbacks are many. In general, teachers have not been taught how to teach

writing. According to Richardson and Ruane, it has been found that some teachers aren’t

prepared to teach the writing process. Others find time a constraint—too much curriculum, and

not enough time devoted solely to writing.

The writing process has taken different forms in many classrooms and this can be

attributed to each teacher’s individual knowledge and beliefs as to how writing should be

taught. Educators are now being asked to use writing across the curriculum rather than

teach it as a single discipline which was the common practice in the past.

(Richardson & Ruane, p. 22).

Fine Motor Skills

You see it everywhere these days: children and adults alike tap-tap-tapping away on cell

phones, tablets, game consoles, laptops, and computers. Clearly this motion is vastly different

from the motion used in writing. Different muscles are being utilized, our posture is different,


and we don't always have to be in a sitting position to send a quick text or play a game. Are

children starting to lose the fine motor skills used to write?

Roth, McCaul, & Barnes (1993) noted that “Fine motor skills are the strongest predictor

of special education referral and the second strongest predictor of kindergarten retention

controlling for vocabulary, auditory and visual skills, and socio-demographic factors” (as cited in

Cameron, et al., 2012, p. 1230.) Evidence of this can be seen in my own kindergarten

classroom: the students who struggle the most with writing are on the lower end of my grading

scale. In fact, I am retaining my lowest two. I can also see a trend occurring with older students:

students don’t value the fine art of writing, and are sometimes actually opposed to it.

Nicholas, a fifth grader, has atrocious handwriting. He loathes any homework he has to

write out. He complains constantly that handwriting is a thing of the past, and something he can

totally do without, because he can just type everything. His mother tried simple logic on him:

“What if you’re going somewhere, and you have to write me a quick note, to tell me where

you’ll be? You won’t even be able to write me a note!” She thought she had him cornered.

However, without skipping a beat, the quick-witted, technology-infatuated boy just said, “I’ll

text you!” And so it goes. This generation—born into a computer, cell phone, and tablet-filled

world may never understand the value of handwriting.

Yet we need to ensure that our students are still able to write, and that their writing is

legible. We need to keep these fine motor skills in tune, as they can be very telling. “Fine motor

skills were a strong and consistent predictor of later achievement. The meaning of this finding is

bolstered by neuroscience and developmental research that link children’s cognitive and fine

motor skill development.” (National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education, 2010,


p.1). We must keep the art of writing alive, and we can do so by starting off our youngest of

students with a love of writing. This can be accomplished by an invigorating and enthusiastic

approach to writing—one that will keep the children fully engaged. This will ensure that not

only will they love to learn to write, but that the enthusiasm will continue in the years to come

and they will not see writing as a chore, but as something they can enjoy and love.

Get Set For School

State early learning standards that define expectations for children’s learning and

development prior to kindergarten entry can also be viewed as a conceptualization of the

state-level expectations for kindergarten students’ skills. These standards documents are

important to understanding the measurement of kindergarten readiness because they

represent a bridge from early learning to formal schooling. (Goldstein & McCoach,

2011).

As far as being “ready” for school, and on readiness in general, I love this quote from

Kristie Pretti-Frontczak (2014). She states that the school, home, and community need to work

together to aid in a child’s readiness for kindergarten:

Readiness for families means access to healthcare, options for housing, adequate

nutrition, and quality childcare. Readiness for schools means involvement of families,

inclusive classrooms, well-prepared and supported teachers, and manageable class sizes.

Readiness for communities means economic stability and growth, safety, civic

involvement, valuing of cultural differences, and coordinated social services.


(Pretti-Frontczak, p. 53).

It is not only the child that needs to be “ready” school, but the school needs to be ready

for the child, and the family and community need to be ready as well. The Get Set For School

program is designed for students at all levels—whether they have been exposed to writing or not,

whether English is their first language or not, and for students of all abilities. There is something

for everyone in this program—ready or not. It also includes a component of “homework”—

keeping the parents informed about what is going on in school, and some home assignments.

Parents are a child’s first and most important teachers. Our materials encourage family

involvement to continue learning activities at home. Lessons sometimes ask families to

lend items from home to personalize activities. Many of the activities have take-home

components to encourage children to form connections between home and

school. (Olsen, 2011).

Participating Students

All transitional kindergarten students in the East Whittier City Elementary School District

will be active participants in the Get Set for school program. This equates to roughly 250

students, district-wide. This group of students was chosen because they are the only grade

lacking a solid writing program. Next year, Handwriting Without Tears, the upper grade

component of Get Set for School, may be incorporated into kindergarten, to keep the language

about writing consistent with what the children learned in transitional kindergarten.


Looking at this program through the eyes of a child, it will be fun, engaging, and

entertaining. I would look forward to this portion of the day because it is so much fun! I will be

able to sing songs, put together a funny man called “Mat Man”, and play with wooden lines and

curves to make letters. Best of all, I can color in my workbook, make play dough snakes turn

into letters, play on the magnetic screen, and write on my small chalkboard!

Through the eyes of a teacher, I see wonder and excitement in the eyes of my students,

They are actively engaged and having fun, singing along with the soundtrack, making Mat Man,

and enjoying all of the pre-writing captivities in their workbooks. They are recognizing all of

their colors, and find joy in coloring and working in their workbooks. They happily sing along

to all of the words of the songs—many of which are teaching songs. Songs that tell them how to

hold their pencil (“The Pencil Grip Song”), the parts of their body (“Mat Man”), how to have

manners (“Shake Hands”), and so on. Some eager students want to play with the wooden lines

and curves all day, making numerous letters on their own. I have never been so pleased,

watching students so fully engaged in learning. It’s as if learning isn’t even taking place—we are

all just having a wonderful time playing. To me, that’s the best type of learning—when children

are so engrossed in having fun that they don’t even realize they are learning.

Resources

Transitional kindergarten teachers will attend a workshop over summer in order to be

trained in the program. There is the Get Set For School training that is one full day, or a

combined three-day training, which is the Get Set For School program, coupled with the entire

Handwriting Without Tears program, geared for grades kindergarten through fifth grade. The


training, like the program itself is very fun and engaging. There is never a dull moment during

training, and it hooks you from the very beginning. The program’s songs are highlighted, and

the trainer keeps you moving, singing, and dancing. Through training, it is easy to see how and

why this program works, and why students will enjoy it. Lots of samples are acquired during

training, so you can start incorporating the program immediately. In order to use the program to

its full potential, additional tools will need to be purchased. Though the additional tools are

optional, they add depth to the program. One favorite is “Four Squares, More Squares®”, which

are rubbery flat pieces that resemble game pieces in Tetris. You can combine the colorful pieces

to build anything you wish, or you can follow the color-coded cards, and try to piece together a

creation. Even as an adult, this game is both fun and addicting. While both the training and the

materials are an expensive up-front cost, the rewards are great, and long-lasting. Title 1 funds

can be used to pay for materials, as well as workshop fees for all teachers in attendance.

Implementation

After teachers have attended the workshop over the summer, they will be ready to

implement the program when school starts in September. All professional development has been

covered by attending the workshop, and this pertains to all transitional kindergarten teachers.

Instructional materials needed are items from the Get Set For School program: wooden shapes,

slate chalkboards, chalk pieces, mini sponges, Stamp and See Screens®, Roll–A–Dough

Letters®, FLIP Crayons®, ABC Touch and Flip® cards, and more items that are optional. For

parents, there is a “Dear Parent” letter, explaining the curriculum, and their role in it. Parents, of

course, play an important part in any curriculum, and the Get Set for School program is no


exception. Students will be encouraged to bring in items from home at times, which helps create

a home and school connection for the child. In September, pre-writing activities will take place.

In November, students will begin writing letters, starting with the letters in their own name.

Students write only capital letters for now, as set by the Get Set For School program. (Capital

letters all start from the top, and have fewer differentiations than lower case letters.) By

February, students are writing words, and by April, students will be writing short sentences.

Obstacles

I can only foresee two obstacles to this program. The first is money. While this is an

amazing program, and well worth the cost, it is quite a bit of money up front. As discussed

above, Title 1 funds will cover training for all attendees, as well as some of the materials, so that

alleviates that concern. The only other obstacle I can predict would be resistance from staff

members. Anyone who might be happy with the current writing program, and/or has used a

different program for years might be resistant to or hesitant to trying a new program. It is my

hope that when they go through the training, they can see how beneficial it is, and how much

fund it is for the children.

Evaluation

Students will write their name on the first day of school, and draw a self-portrait. Just

before Christmas vacation, they will have them do the same thing, and once more before school

is out for summer. To see the progression of where the students were on Day 1, to the final day

of school should be an amazing transformation. At the end of the year, they will have learned


about all of their body parts (with the help of Mat Man), and how to make each letter correctly—

both upper case and lower case. I can only imagine the great change you will see from one

picture to another! This will serve as an evaluation, as I suspect that the pictures will look vastly

different.

Transitional kindergarten teachers will be expected to attend the workshops over the

summer to be trained in the Get Set for School program, along with training for Handwriting

Without Tears. After careful consideration, (and with the anticipated success of the Get Set for

School program in transitional kindergarten), the East Whittier City Elementary School District

might look at transitioning from the Nancy Fetzer program, to the entire program from

Handwriting Without Tears, which is designed for grades K-5. (In addition to the Get Set For

School program for transitional kindergarten.) Additionally, in staying in touch with our

electronic age, the company has just rolled out the new Keyboarding Without Tears, geared

toward grades K-5. Just like it’s counterpart Handwriting Without Tears, Keyboarding Without

Tears begins with pre-keyboarding strokes for kindergarten learners, and introduces concepts

through fun and engaging activities. Again, the children are learning through fun, while building

keyboard knowledge, speed, and efficiency.

The Writing Process

In Philip Jackson’s Handbook of Research on Curriculum, he states: “The K- 12

California and New York State writing curriculum encourages that the guidelines build on

students’ interests but also treat writing as a process which includes prewriting, writing,

responding, revising, editing, developing skills with writing conventions, evaluating and


postwriting.” (as cited in Richardson & Ruane). Computers and tablets are becoming

commonplace in the classroom However, keying in letters is vastly different from writing them.

“Using advanced tools such as magnetic resonance imaging, researchers are finding that

writing by hand is more than just a way to communicate. The practice helps with learning

letters and shapes, can improve idea composition and expression, and may aid fine motor-

skill development.” (Bounds, 2010)

Thus, the argument for writing over keyboarding seems to be legitimate. Tapping keys in

a sequential matter seems to be trumped by actually taking the time to form letters in a sequential

manner. !Conclusion

“The use of developmentally appropriate practices has become increasingly important as

more young children face higher academic standards each year”. (Handwriting Without Tears,

2013, p.4). Times change, and we must change with them. Students—especially our youngest of

students—are asked to do more and know more, now more than ever before. We are welcoming

in the digital age constantly, but we also know that as teachers, we need to protect and preserve

practices from the past. Writing is one of these practices. Teachers have to duty to continue

learning, and keep up as the world changes around us. However, it is also our duty to recognize

skills from the past that will still be needed for the future, and work toward keeping those skills

in the forefront of our teaching. The Get Set for School program is a wonderful program that

works well for children of preschool and transitional kindergarten age. The program keeps the


children actively engaged and learning at all times. It encourages them to write correctly, step by

step, through songs, fun games and learning activities. Students are eager to work in their

workbooks, and use their flip crayons. Many of the pre-writing activities are simply making a

“mark” on the workbook page, and even that has proven to be a lot of fun for our youngest

learners. All in all, the Get Set for School program is an asset to any preschool or transitional

kindergarten program that is seeking a writing program.

!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


REFERENCES

Bounds, G. (October 5, 2010). How handwriting trains the brain: forming letters is key to

learning, memory, ideas. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: http://

online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704631504575531932754922518

California Department of Education. (2013). Retrieved from: http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/

Cbeds3.asp?Tp=on&NumSchls=on&FreeLunch=on&Enroll=on&cSelect=1964485--

EAST+WHITTIER+CITY+ELEMENTARY&cChoice=DsProf2&cYear=2012-13&c

Level=District&cTopic=Profile&myTimeFrame=S&submit1=Submit

!Cameron, C., Murrah,W., Grissmer, D., Brock, L., Bell, L. & Worzalla, S., and Morrison, F. (2012) Fine motor skills and executive function both contribute to kindergarten achievement. In Child Development, July/August 2012 v83, n4, p. 1230 1229-1244. !Goldstein, J. & McCoach, D. (2011). The starting line: Developing a structure for teacher ratings of students’ skills at kindergarten entry. Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/ fulltext/EJ956366.pdf !Handwriting Without Tears. (2013). Handwriting without tears research review. Retrieved from ! http://www.hwtears.com/files !Jackson, P. (1992). Curriculum research in writing and reading. Handbook of Research on

Curriculum, (pp. 708-710). In Richardson, S. & Ruane, D. Improving student writing

readiness skills in the kindergarten classroom.

http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/

http://files.eric.ed.gov/


National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education. (2010). Readiness for School

Involves an Array of Skills: Let’s Not Forget Fine Motor Development. NCRECE in

Focus: Increasing knowledge in early childhood. v1, n5. Retrieved from:

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544022.pdf

Olsen, J. (2011). Get set for school: readiness and writing pre-K teacher’s guide. Handwriting

Without Tears: Printed in the U.S.A.

Perrett, D. (1983). Your child and language, reading, writing. Getting Involved Workshop

Guide: A manual for the parent group trainer. The best of BES--Basic Educational Skills

Materials. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED245788.pdf

Pretti-Frontczak, K. (2014). Stop trying to make kids “ready” for kindergarten. In Young

Exceptional Children, v17, n1, p 51-53, March 2014.

Richardson, S. & Ruane, D. (1996). Improving student writing readiness skills in the ! kindergarten classroom. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED398594.pdf Saperstein Associates. 2012. “Handwriting in the 21st Century? Research Shows Why

Handwriting Belongs in Today’s Classroom: A Summary of Research Presented at

Handwriting in the 21st Century? An Educational Summit.” p. 2. Retrieved from http://

sapersteinassociates.com/data/2_29_HW_Summit_White_Paper_eVersion.pdf

!!!!!!





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Appendix B: Assessment for Readiness

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177


Appendix C: Fine Motor Skill Practice for Home

A Click Away © 2011 Get Set for School® Readiness & Writing Pre-K Teacher’s Guide p. 26

Fine Motor and Letter Practice for HomeHand skills are crucial to successful handwriting. Small movements of the hand are referred to as fine motor skills. If you believe that your child needs extra activities to strengthen his/her hands or fine motor skills, here are a few suggestions of activities to do with your child.

a guideline.

You can do several fun activities at home to encourage letter practice. Make sure to always model the letter for your child. A few activities are listed below:

of the flashlight.

adapt a small pole with a magnet. Come up with a word or sentence using the letter or word on the fish that is caught.


Appendix D: Wet-Dry-Try

© 2008 Handwriting Without Tears®

WET–DRY–TRYUsing the Wet–Dry–Try method, your students will learn to form capital letters correctly without reversals. This activity appeals to all learning styles and is a fun way to practice letters.

HWT Slate ChalkboardPreparation

1. Prepare Slate Chalkboard with the letter you will be teaching. 2. Place Little Chalk Bits and Little Sponge Cubes around the room so children can reach them easily.

Directions

Teacher’s Part

Tips• Use consistent words to describe the strokes. Match your verbal cues to the directions on the letter lesson

pages of the workbook. • Use Little Sponge Cubes and Little Chalk Bits to help children develop proper pencil grip. • Squeeze the sponge well or the letter will be too wet.• This works best one-on-one or in centers with five or fewer students.• To use this activity with the whole class, pre-mark students’ slates with the capital

letter (so they have a correct model to wet), and then demonstrate once for everyone.

WET• Wet Little Sponge Cube.• Squeeze it out.• Trace the letter with the sponge.• Wet your finger and trace

again.

DRY• Crumple a little paper towel.• Dry the letter a few times.• Gently blow for final drying.

TRY• Take a little chalk bit.• Use it to write the letter.

Demonstrate correct letter formation.

Student’s Part

Excerpted from Kindergarten Teacher’s Guide


Appendix E: Mat Man

© 2008 Jan Z. Olsen

Mat Man™Show children how to build Mat Man using the Mat, Wood Pieces, and a few accessories.

Mat Man has Mat Man has So that he can* Mat Man hasMat Man hasMat Man hasMat Man has Mat Man has Mat Man hasMat Man hasMat Man hasMat Man has

1 head, 2 eyes, 1 nose, 1 mouth,2 ears, 1 body, 2 arms, 2 hands, 2 legs, 2 feet,


thinkseesmelleathearheart, lungs, stomachreachclapstandwalk


(repeat)(repeat)

(repeat)

Mat Man Tune: The Bear Went Over the Mountain

* Wait for your children to respond. Add extra verses when you add new accessories. Your children may call out other body functions (feet= run, kick, dance). Encourage this while keeping the song/activity moving along.


To hold what is insideSo that he can*

Sing Along

withHandwriting Without TearsCathy Fink & Marcy Marxer

R

8*Additional Activities: Mat Man Rock, Track 23 of the Rock, Rap, Tap & Learn CD.

*

Handwriting Without Tears® A Click Away


!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!


!!!!!!!!!!!

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