What is the Fun Strokes Pre-writing Program?
“10% – 34% of school age children fail to master handwriting, an essential life skill required of children in school”
-Schwellnus, Carnahan, Kushki, Polatajko, Missiuna, & Chau, 2012
Imagine baking a cake without first learning how to use measuring cups properly. Without the precise ingredients, it’s highly unlikely your confection will match the photo in the cookbook. It’s the same way with handwriting. You can’t form the letter “A” correctly without precise diagonal and horizontal lines, yet today’s children are often taught to write letters before mastering the prerequisites. Pre-writing strokes—lines, circles, and other simple shapes—form the foundation for letters, numbers, and illustrations. If taught to write without this critical foundation, children can develop bad habits, hard-to-read handwriting, and a distaste for writing—all of which can interfere with academic success. Pre-writing skills are the unsung hero to kindergarten success!
Fun Strokes is a readiness program that teaches children pre-writing strokes through playful and engaging activities. Children use magnets and drawing exercises to learn how to make simple lines and shapes—all while having fun! It’s a unique and entertaining way to equip young children with the crucial fine motor skills to achieve handwriting success in kindergarten and beyond.
How Does It Work?
Here’s a sneak peek into the magic of the Fun Strokes book and pre-writing magnets:
Step One: Dive into the world of pre-writing strokes with the help of our vibrant magnets! Kids get to observe and imitate as they watch a grown-up create strokes on a vertical surface. This ingenious approach not only aligns with natural developmental milestones but also elevates the learning experience, all while reaping the rewards of practicing on a vertical plane.
Step Two: Take the next leap in development with our interactive workbook. Kids move from imitation to mastering pre-writing strokes on a horizontal plane – just like they would at a desk or table in school.
The Fun Strokes pre-writing program is tailor-made for visual learners. We’ve infused it with captivating and familiar images that resonate with children, making the basics of pre-writing strokes a joyful experience. The magnetic play on a vertical surface adds a dynamic twist, accommodating those who love movement. Plus, it’s a visual feast, perfect for those who need a little extra focus.
Fun Strokes isn’t just fun – it’s an invaluable tool for kids with autism, ADHD, executive function disorder, developmental delays, and more. And don’t worry, typically developing children can benefit too! Get ready to pave the way for writing success with Fun Strokes – where learning to write becomes a fantastic adventure! 🌟🌈
How does the Fun Strokes program benefit children?
The proof is in the pudding! Check out this before and after. The sample shown is the work of a 4-year-old preschool student.
The transformation is incredible! In the before picture, the child’s drawing reveals common struggles many kids face when developing pre-writing skills: rounded corners instead of sharp edges, difficulty making precise directional changes, and an inability to copy recognizable shapes. These challenges indicated they weren’t quite ready to start learning letters and numbers. But after completing the Fun Strokes Pre-Writing Program, the after picture tells a completely different story! The child now draws with sharp corners, confidently executes directional changes, and can accurately copy recognizable shapes. This remarkable progress shows how foundational pre-writing exercises can prepare kids for the next step—learning to write letters and numbers with confidence and ease. ✨✏️
Why is working on a vertical surface so important?
Working on a vertical surface benefits the child in so many ways:
- Develops strength and stability in the joints and muscles in the arm
- Encourages correct wrist position, which facilitates hand stabilization and correct pencil grasp
- Builds hand-eye coordination
- Builds core strength by engaging the muscles that connect our upper and lower body, which supports a good upright posture
- Provides sensory input by allowing for movement and the ability to change position while standing or kneeling to work
- Develops spatial awareness as directional terms like up, down, and across are easier to understand when they are in relation to our own body
- Encourages visual attention because the child is working at eye level, which can be very helpful for children who struggle with looking at what they are doing
- Encourages crossing the midline, which helps to build neural connections in the brain
Fun Strokes Pre-writing Magnets
- Durable
- Heavy-duty
- Dry-erase surface can be used over and over
- Eye-catching vibrant colors
See Fun Strokes In Action!
Check out this post from my Instagram Feed 🤩
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Testimonials
Fun Strokes Pre-Writing Program is an excellent way to start working on handwriting. The large colorful magnets are engaging for beginning writers, and using repetition and markers for practicing shapes and lines is ingenious. As an OT, I especially appreciate how the activities are leveled and aligned with motor development milestones. I can’t wait to see the quick improvement in my granddaughter’s skills.
Polly Benson, Occupational Therapist & Founder of Legiliner
“Fun Strokes makes learning pre-writing strokes FUN! The innovative dry-erase magnets make it easy for students to draw on a vertical surface, facilitating an appropriate grasp pattern in a fun way. The images used in the program are familiar to students, motivating, and build the foundational skills for writing later in school. My students have had so much fun with the program they didn’t even realize that they were working! I can’t recommend Fun Strokes enough – check it out today!”
Dr. Laura Anderson, Pediatric Occupational Therapist
“The Fun Stokes program has worked wonders for my three-year-old grandson! After trying many different typical writing books, none of which seemed to be helping, I learned of the Fun Strokes book. This program emphasizes basic pre-writing skills, that my grandson was definitely missing, all in a very fun way. He actually enjoys Fun Strokes time! Fun Strokes is written in a way that makes it easy to teach. In just a short time my grandson has gone from just basically scribbling to being able to draw all of the age-appropriate strokes. He can even write several letters. We are so thankful we found this amazing program and can not recommend it enough!”
Tammy Stone, Grandmother
“Fun Strokes is hands down the best prewriting program EVER! It is SO much fun to use and the kids LOVE it! I have literally witnessed students who have such significant grasp pattern delays THRIVE when using Fun Strokes! Check it out! You won’t be disappointed!”
Ashley Viola, Pediatric Occupational Therapist
“Fun Strokes is a preschool multi-sensory approach to laying the groundwork of skills that are necessary to develop mature visual motor perceptual integration skills as children progress through higher school grades. It is essential to take the time to build those necessary skills during preschool years to avoid that frequent complaint that teachers, therapists and parents always hear “I hate writing”. Writing is a wonderful communication venue that all children should love. Fun Strokes provides a simple program that any adult can easily use with children at home or in school to give them that first love of developing good writing habits with hands on magnetic manipulatives. Begin wonderful early exploration writing development with Fun Strokes”.
Dr. Cynthia Normandia, Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Let’s get kids ready to write! Check out the full line of pre-writing products at The Fun Strokes Store.
Disclaimer:
Fun Strokes is designed for educational and informational use only for teachers, therapists, and parents. It is not intended as medical advice or therapeutic treatment that would be provided in an individualized treatment plan. If you suspect a child has delays, please consult an occupational therapist.