Skip Kumon and just get a dry erase preschool workbook. You child can work on tracing letters, shapes, and other skills. Your local bookstore likely has some options, and I've seen them at Costco, too.

Play doh is a great thing for kids. It will help build those fine motor skills. Legos and Lincoln Logs are other great toys that can help. Heck, even playing with slime! Anything to get those little hands and fingers moving moving moving.

If there's a gymnastics place with open gym time, ideally for little kids, that's a great way to get some whole body movement. When I taught gymnastics, so many parents told me how much their child's OT loved them climbing in the pit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm not following-- if you can't afford private services (totally fair) and someone is offering you free services that will soon expire and your only option will then be private services, why not take them?

Because it’s 30 mins a week and not one on one. If the kid really needs it the IEP will transfer to kindergarten.

How is it not 1:1? If the therapist is traveling to the school it seems like quite a coincidence that there would be multiple kids in the class who qualify.

As far as it being only 30 minutes, that’s a pretty common session length. He probably won’t get more in Kindergarten. If you feel like he really needs 60 minutes then getting 30 and advocating for more time based on his progress seems like an obvious choice.

Because he’s not being pulled from school. He’s doing the same stuff he would be doing without a therapist. Op mentioned it’s more observational. Early intervention can be watered down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i'm not following-- if you can't afford private services (totally fair) and someone is offering you free services that will soon expire and your only option will then be private services, why not take them?

Because it’s 30 mins a week and not one on one. If the kid really needs it the IEP will transfer to kindergarten.

How is it not 1:1? If the therapist is traveling to the school it seems like quite a coincidence that there would be multiple kids in the class who qualify.

As far as it being only 30 minutes, that’s a pretty common session length. He probably won’t get more in Kindergarten. If you feel like he really needs 60 minutes then getting 30 and advocating for more time based on his progress seems like an obvious choice.

Anonymous wrote:i'm not following-- if you can't afford private services (totally fair) and someone is offering you free services that will soon expire and your only option will then be private services, why not take them?

Because it’s 30 mins a week and not one on one. If the kid really needs it the IEP will transfer to kindergarten.

i'm not following-- if you can't afford private services (totally fair) and someone is offering you free services that will soon expire and your only option will then be private services, why not take them?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best OT I did was having my kid do Kumon where you go once ir twice a week and do some pre writing and reading activities then he had “homework” we worked in together the other 5-6 days.

I tried just buying workbooks but having someone actually be checking his work took the pressure off me. It was good that one on one everyday he learned to firm his letters correctly, learned letter sounds, then learned to read and write words.

He went to a play based preschool so he never chose to do the fine motor activities. We started in the fall before kindergarten when he turned 5. I thought it was well worth the $125 a month (it might be more now).

https://kumon.sg/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Table-of-Learning-ENGLISH.pdf

Op here. Thank you so much! His brother was in kumon for grade 1-3 . I was thinking to put him in kumon since kindergarten is only half day here.

If the goals are just learning to zip and pre-writing I wouldn’t even bother with having the OT push in for 30 min a week. Start kumon NOW. You have to sit there to make sure his grip is correct and he is forming letters correctly. He needs to build up the strength and dexterity in his hand muscles. Doing 10-15 minutes a day of paper and pencil tasks with the kumon papers is going to get there faster because it’s 7 days a week. The first level of preschool Kumon is tracing, staying in the lines when connecting two dots, etc.

We also got an indoor climbing wall and put it up in the playroom to further develop hand strength /coordination. It is similar to this.

https://www.amazon.com/Avenlur-Convertible-Montessori-Playground-Gymnastics/dp/B0CXYVKK18/ref=asc_df_B0BRBS3F1L?th=1&psc=1#aw-udpv3-customer-reviews_feature_div

We didn’t want any services at his preschool because we felt it could be seen as stigmatizing and I just couldn’t find evidence 30 min of OT a week was effective. When I looked at research on OT for 4 and 5 year olds there isn’t a lot of good research showing it is effective.

Op here. I don’t think we can afford kumon as we have another child on the way but I’m going to sit with him everyday for 15 mins and practice tracking, writing etc. Love the rock climbing idea. I’ll have him do that at the playground. The only place we could put something like that is in our unfinished basement which has concrete walls. Won’t work… wish we had more money !

I would talk to the OT before I started this. When I taught preschool special ed, the OTs who pushed into the classrooms, and from whom I learned a ton, talked about how tracing was to be avoided, as it doesn't teach kids to guide the pencil and can lead to bad habits. They also taught ways of developing hand skills and strength that worked far better than Kumon style drills which can reinforce bad habits if you aren't knowledgeable and helpful.

I'm not saying that practice at home. I am saying wait until the OT has worked with your child and then set up a home program that's based on their observations of what your specific child needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best OT I did was having my kid do Kumon where you go once ir twice a week and do some pre writing and reading activities then he had “homework” we worked in together the other 5-6 days.

I tried just buying workbooks but having someone actually be checking his work took the pressure off me. It was good that one on one everyday he learned to firm his letters correctly, learned letter sounds, then learned to read and write words.

He went to a play based preschool so he never chose to do the fine motor activities. We started in the fall before kindergarten when he turned 5. I thought it was well worth the $125 a month (it might be more now).

https://kumon.sg/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Table-of-Learning-ENGLISH.pdf

Op here. Thank you so much! His brother was in kumon for grade 1-3 . I was thinking to put him in kumon since kindergarten is only half day here.

If the goals are just learning to zip and pre-writing I wouldn’t even bother with having the OT push in for 30 min a week. Start kumon NOW. You have to sit there to make sure his grip is correct and he is forming letters correctly. He needs to build up the strength and dexterity in his hand muscles. Doing 10-15 minutes a day of paper and pencil tasks with the kumon papers is going to get there faster because it’s 7 days a week. The first level of preschool Kumon is tracing, staying in the lines when connecting two dots, etc.

We also got an indoor climbing wall and put it up in the playroom to further develop hand strength /coordination. It is similar to this.

https://www.amazon.com/Avenlur-Convertible-Montessori-Playground-Gymnastics/dp/B0CXYVKK18/ref=asc_df_B0BRBS3F1L?th=1&psc=1#aw-udpv3-customer-reviews_feature_div

We didn’t want any services at his preschool because we felt it could be seen as stigmatizing and I just couldn’t find evidence 30 min of OT a week was effective. When I looked at research on OT for 4 and 5 year olds there isn’t a lot of good research showing it is effective.

Op here. I don’t think we can afford kumon as we have another child on the way but I’m going to sit with him everyday for 15 mins and practice tracking, writing etc. Love the rock climbing idea. I’ll have him do that at the playground. The only place we could put something like that is in our unfinished basement which has concrete walls. Won’t work… wish we had more money !

Just try the free service for awhile. You can quit later, if there was a problem. It seems like there is more benefit to having extra support in the classroom. See if the coat zippering improves over the next 2 months. Etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a public preschool he can go to instead? So that he gets more hours of preschool plus the OT? They don’t qualify a child for services unless the child really needs it, so I wouldn’t skip.

No. They don’t have public prek where we live. You need to have severe delays for that. Kinder is also only half day in our school district.

Is it really so difficult to type out the word "kindergarten"?

Is it really so difficult to keep this thought to yourself?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a public preschool he can go to instead? So that he gets more hours of preschool plus the OT? They don’t qualify a child for services unless the child really needs it, so I wouldn’t skip.

No. They don’t have public prek where we live. You need to have severe delays for that. Kinder is also only half day in our school district.

Is it really so difficult to type out the word "kindergarten"?

Take all the free services while you can before he ages out of eligibility and while his brain is more plastic and open to change!

I personally would not recommend declining op. Therapists know how to push in. if you are offered services your child likely needs them. Therapists know how to push in without being distracting and they can definitely help with a goal like improving motor skills by integrating into activities they are already doing (that would ultimately help with zipping a coat!) without being disruptive. I agree the process can be confusing though, I wish it was better. Sometimes they are willing to do every other week like one week at school one week at home, maybe you could ask for that? You could say it would help you integrate at home as well which is really important. If you don’t ever see the therapist you won’t learn the tips so that’s important I agree with your point there.

But you absolutely don’t want to be declining because of the poster above worried about stigma that can be so harmful for your child to miss out on services. No preschooler is worried about why another adult is in the room! Do not worry about this. Get your child the services they need.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best OT I did was having my kid do Kumon where you go once ir twice a week and do some pre writing and reading activities then he had “homework” we worked in together the other 5-6 days.

I tried just buying workbooks but having someone actually be checking his work took the pressure off me. It was good that one on one everyday he learned to firm his letters correctly, learned letter sounds, then learned to read and write words.

He went to a play based preschool so he never chose to do the fine motor activities. We started in the fall before kindergarten when he turned 5. I thought it was well worth the $125 a month (it might be more now).

https://kumon.sg/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Table-of-Learning-ENGLISH.pdf

Op here. Thank you so much! His brother was in kumon for grade 1-3 . I was thinking to put him in kumon since kindergarten is only half day here.

If the goals are just learning to zip and pre-writing I wouldn’t even bother with having the OT push in for 30 min a week. Start kumon NOW. You have to sit there to make sure his grip is correct and he is forming letters correctly. He needs to build up the strength and dexterity in his hand muscles. Doing 10-15 minutes a day of paper and pencil tasks with the kumon papers is going to get there faster because it’s 7 days a week. The first level of preschool Kumon is tracing, staying in the lines when connecting two dots, etc.

We also got an indoor climbing wall and put it up in the playroom to further develop hand strength /coordination. It is similar to this.

https://www.amazon.com/Avenlur-Convertible-Montessori-Playground-Gymnastics/dp/B0CXYVKK18/ref=asc_df_B0BRBS3F1L?th=1&psc=1#aw-udpv3-customer-reviews_feature_div

We didn’t want any services at his preschool because we felt it could be seen as stigmatizing and I just couldn’t find evidence 30 min of OT a week was effective. When I looked at research on OT for 4 and 5 year olds there isn’t a lot of good research showing it is effective.

Get as much therapy as possible as early as possible! Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He needs the OT more than circle time. You can attend K without any preschool at all. Plus you can work on the preschool stuff with him. Do not decline the OT.

Op here. Unless he’s getting pulled out it feels pointless to me. They specifically said they won’t pull him from preschool activities. Let’s say he needed speech therapy. Can you imagine if they said that? Doesn’t make sense to me to just observe unless it’s behavior therapy.

Plenty of SLPs and OTs "push into" classrooms. It's actually a required method of servicing children in some preschools such as headstart programs. They are professionals and know what they are doing. I have never heard of "observing"only. Is that the exact words they used?

These “professionals” also seem to rotate through early intervention. It’s very common to have a change of therapist. Private services are usually almost always better.

Private therapist also do "push in" therapy.