Good start Tutoring

21/09/2026

Handwriting tools you may not think of...
✅Toothpicks- Use them to promote a refined grasp. Poke into paper, cardboard, or to drop into a container with a small opening such as a spice bottle.

✅Pushpins- Promote a tripod grasp with separation of the sides of the hand. Push into a bulletin board (make HOLE letters on paper!) and promote an extended wrist.

✅Rubber bands- Use them to build up a DIY pencil grasp on pencils, crayons, and markers.

✅Clothes pins- Pinch one on a pencil to encourage separation of the sides of the hand when holding a pencil.

✅Buttons- Tuck one into the palm of the hand and hold it there with the pinkie and ring fingers to promote a separation of the sides of the hand when writing.

✅Golf Pencil- Use this to encourage a functional grasp, pulling fingers down toward the point of the pencil.

How would you use these 6 items to work on pencil grasp & handwriting???

More pencil grasp activities through play: https://www.theottoolbox.com/improving-pencil-grasp-with-fine-motor/

Information on pencil grasp development: https://www.theottoolbox.com/pencil-grasp-development/

And out of the box activities to address handwriting skills: https://www.theottoolbox.com/handwriting/

21/09/2026

A little bit of extra reading every day adds up for students!

07/09/2026

Quick- Can you name all of these types of scissors and why each is used? Did you know there is more than one way to cut paper? Yep! Let's break down different scissor types and when to explore using the various options.

This blog post includes a printable PDF resource. It's this week's freebie in our Summer Handout Series! Head to the website to learn more! https://www.theottoolbox.com/types-of-scissors/

✂️

07/09/2026

There are many factors that play a part in pencil grasp!

Working on pencil grasp with kids? Here are resources on pencil grasp that will help:

✏Development/Types of grasps: https://www.theottoolbox.com/pencil-grasp-development/
✏Improve pencil grasp through play: https://www.theottoolbox.com/improving-pencil-grasp-with-fine-motor/
✏What is a Functional Pencil Grasp: https://www.theottoolbox.com/what-is-a-functional-pencil-grasp/
✏Things OTs want you to know about pencil grasp: https://www.theottoolbox.com/therapists-want-parents-to-know-pencil-grasp/
✏Games to improve pencil grasp: https://www.theottoolbox.com/games-that-improve-pencil-grasp/

02/09/2026

02/09/2026

The social stages of play--each level builds on the earlier stages!

https://www.encourageplay.com/blog/social-stages-of-play

26/08/2026

Thank you, Dolly. ❤️

26/08/2026

“The deficit-centred view of dyslexia isn’t telling the whole story. This research proposes a new framework to help us better understand the cognitive strengths of people with dyslexia.”
- Dr Helen Taylor

A June 2022 study by Dr Helen Taylor and Martin David Vestergaard, researchers at University of Cambridge argues that developmental dyslexia is an evolutionary specialisation for exploring the unknown, rather than just a deficit.
This “explorative bias” helps drive human survival, creativity, and adaptation to changing environments.

Some of the Core Findings of the Study include:
* Exploration vs. Exploitation: The Cambridge study suggests that the difficulties associated with dyslexia reflect a cognitive trade-off. The brain optimizes for exploring new information and possibilities rather than exploiting existing, routine knowledge.
* Evolutionary Advantage: This focus on curiosity and the unknown, gave early human groups an advantage in survival, invention, and long-term, big-picture thinking
* Reframing the Condition: Researchers propose moving away from a purely deficit-only view of dyslexia. Instead, society should recognize it as a distinct cognitive style that complements other types of thinking.

Viewing dyslexia as an evolutionary adaption, helps shift the narrative away from seeing dyslexia purely as a deficit, and reframes it to highlight our distinct cognitive strengths in creative problem-solving.

You can read the original academic paper published in Frontiers in Psychology titled “Developmental Dyslexia: Developmental Disorder or Specialization in Explorative Cognitive Search” for a deeper look at the theoretical framework here:
👉 https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/developmental-dyslexia-essential-to-human-adaptive-success-study-argues
And here:
👉 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.889245/full

26/08/2026

Love these creative ways to strengthen pencil grasp! Here are more ideas: https://www.theottoolbox.com/improving-pencil-grasp-with-fine-motor/

26/08/2026

Affirmations for all ages! 🌻

Fromthelittlemommaid