WAUKESHA, Wis. — At Carroll University, dozens of K4 through 2nd-grade kids participated in handwriting camp this week.
Each child was paired with a Master of Occupational Therapy student, using playful handwriting exercises to not only enhance their writing skills but to also promote critical thinking abilities. The camp uses fun as a means of early childhood exploration and multisensory engagement.
"Play is extremely important for kids, especially starting at such a young age. That’s the way they explore their environment and that’s the way they use all their senses, their touch, their smell, their sight," said Amber Bowser, a Caroll University Student Master of Occupational Therapy student.
"By activating, all of our sensory systems we can change and make new pathways in our brain relative to learning new skills. That’s not exclusive to handwriting but it definitely helps make the process fun," said April Phillips, camp coordinator.
Phillips is an occupational therapy professor at the university and a camp coordinator, she said the camp not only benefits the kids but also the master students.
"We have an instructor in each classroom that is a certified occupational therapist that is there to help guide master students, but they are also there teaching our littles the amazing components of handwriting," said April.
Emily Steckbauer enrolled her 7-year-old son, Wes, in the camp after noticing his struggles with handwriting.
"Sometimes ending up in tears when it was time to write so when I overheard coworkers talking about this camp, I decided to give it a try," said Emily.
During the two years Wes has been attending the camp, Emily has said she has seen a dramatic improvement.
"It's been great to see his confidence grow," said Emily.
It's through the activities like letter tracing and positive reinforcement, that the camp encourages the development of these skills.
"The skills we acquire for handwriting carry over to literacy and math, scanning our environment, being able to navigate different levels space, following directions, all of these components are lifelong skills and we need them all," said April.
To learn more about Carroll's Master of Occupational Therapy program, click here.
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