MANSFIELD — Kindergarten students begin by drawing letters when they start to learn how to write, according to Springmill Elementary teacher Nancy Niedermier.
“I start each school year with less than half of my students being able to write their name correctly. Many students do not know how to hold and use pencils, crayons and scissors correctly. They also have difficulty forming letters,” Niedermier said. “One of the things we find when students come in is they have issues with fine motor skills and holding pencils correctly.”
After speaking with an occupational therapist about what students could use help to gain muscle in their writing hands and arms, and muscle memory of the shapes of letters, she took to DonorsChoose.org, a site for educators to collect donations to help with their school projects.
Niedermier said she was in need of golf pencils, which are small enough for young children to hold correctly. She also found games she can use to help students understand the shapes of letters and aid in building muscle in their hands and arms.
The project, called the Fun Fine Motor Activities For Kindergarten, was $161 for the items, she said. On Nov. 16, BIC donated the money to Niedermier to fulfill the project.
Nov. 16, on the Donorschoose project website, Bic wrote the following notice:
BIC is honored to fund your project. Thank you for all that you do to foster a better future for your students! Supporting educational initiatives, such as this project, is important to BIC and we are proud that through this funding we are “Writing the Future!”
Had she not received the donation, she said, she would have to pay for the supplies herself.
“According to Hanover Research, 15 minutes of daily writing promotes individuality, enhances motor skills and improves cognitive development,” said Linda Palladino, Senior Brand Manager, BIC Consumer Products USA. “At BIC, we are committed to education and serving our communities.
“Through our donation to DonorsChoose.org, we hope to help students in Ohio and across the country not only be successful in the classroom, but also develop writing skills that they’ll carry with them for a lifetime.”
Niedermier said she is sharing pencils and extra games with other kindergarten teachers in an effort for all the students to be able better their fine motor skills.”
“Thanks to BIC’s generous donation, my students will develop the needed fine motor skills to grip pencils correctly, practice letter formation and strengthen their hand and arm muscles with the Learning Letters Activity set,” she said.
The games and new writing materials, will be used to help students have better penmanship, Niedermier said.
“When they are writing their name or even a sentence, we want them to be automatic,” she said.” (We don’t want them) to think about the letter formation.”
This was not Neidermier’s first successful project on DonorsChoose. She has completed seven projects, including one fulfilled by Tom’s of Maine Natural Toothpaste.
