National Handwriting Day!

Did you know that there is a National Handwriting Day to celebrate John Hancock's birthday?!  Oh yes, it's true and this year it will be on January 23rd!  Kids love to celebrate ALL special days so take this opportunity to encourage good handwriting skills.  Some ideas might include using special paper or  note cards to make a hand written note for a parent, grandparent or teacher.  Write a note to a soldier overseas or to an elderly person in a nursing home.  You can find more ideas and free downloads of paper on the Handwriting Without Tears web page at http://www.hwtears.com/handwritingday2012
and on the Zaner Bloser web page at http://www.zaner-bloser.com/write-newsletter-january-2012-feature-story-happy-national-handwriting-day

Happy Handwriting Day to you!

Jen Dermody, OTR/L

50% OFF Zaner-Bloser DEAL!

Who doesn't love a great sale to ring in the New Year?!  You might have read my post about the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting program from December (http://jensotforkids.blogspot.com/2011/12/zaner-bloser-handwriting.html ) where I wrote that I had learned about some helpful additions to their curriculum including music, manipulatives, and online resources.  Well, a very nice representative from Zaner-Bloser happened to see the post and has offered an exclusive sale offer for readers of 'Jen's OT For Kids'!! 

Follow the link to the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting at http://www.zaner-bloser.com/zaner-bloser-handwriting/zaner-bloser-handwriting-overview where you'll see a link about ZB Fonts Online.   This feature allows you to make your own worksheets to be consistent with the Zaner-Bloser books you might be using in the classroom.  There is a free version with limited features or a premium version, ZB Fonts Online Plus, that provides more options and allows you to save and edit worksheets you create. The regular price of the premium version is $30.99/year HOWEVER you can now get ZB Fonts Online Plus for $14.99 if you enter the code ZBFOP.  This offer will be valid through December 31, 2012!
                                                
                                                                
I've found that it's helpful for students to have CONSISTENCY when learning and practicing handwriting.  If you are currently using the ZB curriculum, I do encourage you to take a peek and see if you can find something to enhance your lessons.  If your school does not have a handwriting curriculum, please take some time to look over various books such as ZB and Handwriting Without Tears to see which might be a good fit for your students.  A mere 5 minutes a day of direct instruction DOES make a difference for teaching and reinforcing good writing habits. 

Happy New Year and Happy Writing!

Jen Dermody, OTR/L

Zaner-Bloser Handwriting

While I'm a self-proclaimed fan of the Handwriting Without Tears program, I was invited to attend a Zaner-Bloser course last week and I took advantage of the offer!  Lots of schools use Zaner-Bloser handwriting books and I was interested to hear more about the curriculum they offer.  I was so happy to hear that Zaner-Bloser is now including music, movement, and a multi-sensory approach as Handwriting Without Tears has always done.  There are also digital resources to use with smart board applications that could be very helpful when teaching!   It was great to hear about the resources offered by ZB, however, it was a surprise to me and to the other OT's I  met at the course.  I'm hoping ZB will be getting the word out more to OT's and teachers/administrators who use the ZB program with their students so they can USE what's out there.  In the mean time, I'll do my part of sharing the link to their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ZanerBloserHandwriting and to their website at http://www.zaner-bloser.com/ .  If you are currently using the Zaner Bloser handwriting books/curriculum, I encourage you to check out the resources offered and see if you might find something you like  :-)

Jen Dermody, OTR/L