Step 1 – Proper Motor Patterning

STEP 1

Step 1 is the foundational component for A Time for Phonics. If the child writes letters in an unusual pattern, such as writing letters from the bottom up or crossing the letters from the right to left, then that child is going to do a tiny sweeping eye movement from the bottom up and from right to left. That child will most likely have problems with reversals (b and d confusion or reading “was” as “saw”) and inversions (u and n confusion as well as 6 and 9 confusion). The goal of Proper Motor Patterning is to maximize greater activation of the speech and language areas of the brain.

You, as the instructor, will first model and then guide the child how to print lower case letters. This will stimulate of all three gates (the eye gate, the ear gate, and the motor gate) and maximize the development of new neural pathways. Writing short words that follow the rules of phonics will firmly establish this skill and increase the joy of learning. The next set of flashcards, Step 2, will provide you with an excellent variety of perfect words.