FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Fine and gross motor skills are the building blocks for how children move and use their bodies.

Gross motor skills are the “big body” skills- using tummy, back, arms, and legs to run, jump, and climb. They also give the core and shoulders the strength to sit upright and move the arm smoothly for table work.

Fine motor skills are the “small hand” skills—using fingers and thumbs to pinch, pick up, twist and turn. They help children hold a pencil, trace and colour neatly, cut with scissors, peel and place stickers, open packets and lunch boxes, use cutlery, do up buttons and zips, and tie laces. These skills also include two hands working together and moving small items within one hand.

Handwriting for Heroes (H4H) is designed for children who have general fine motor challenges. If your child has a cluster of the following difficulties, this programme could be a great fit:

• Struggles to sit upright at the dinner table (leans on their arms or rests their body on the table)
• Often supports their head with their hand
• Lifts their shoulders when using their hands or fingers
• Uses their whole arm when drawing, cutting, or colouring
• “Hooks” their hand when drawing, colouring, or writing
• Avoids crossing the midline of the body
• Switching hands frequently instead of developing a dominant hand
• Difficulty using both hands together (e.g., holding paper with one hand and drawing with the other, cutting with scissors)
• Finds cutlery tricky to manage
• Difficulty squeezing, pinching, or manipulating objects (e.g., playdough, pegs, scissors)
• Struggles to open containers, zip bags, or buttons
• Struggles with buttons, zips, or tying shoelaces
• Using a fisted or awkward grip rather than a tripod grasp
• Produces immature or poor-quality drawings
• Pressing too lightly or too hard when drawing or scribbling
• Poor control when trying to draw shapes or trace line
• Missing targets when trying to place objects in holes, trace, or dot specific points
• Trouble copying simple patterns or shapes
• Difficulty rotating, shifting, or adjusting small objects within one hand (e.g., turning a crayon around or flipping a puzzle piece)
• Avoids fine motor tasks altogether
• Shows low self-confidence, especially during fine motor activities

• Postural control
• Forearm stability and control
• Bilateral integration
• Midline crossing
• Wrist extension
• Body awareness
• Tactile discrimination
• Radial mobility, ulnar stability & strengthening of the hand muscles
• Development of the webspace
• Finger isolation
• In hand manipulation
• Self-confidence

No! Despite the name, the focus of this program is on developing the foundational skills children need to be ready for the demands of Grade 1.

Yes, absolutely.

 While children will use technology throughout their schooling, handwriting is still a core part of how they learn, especially in the early years.

Handwriting is how children record their ideas, work through maths problems, complete spelling tests, and express themselves in class. If writing is slow or difficult, it can hold them back in all these areas.

So even in a digital world, children still need to be able to write comfortably and fluently and that depends on strong foundations like hand strength, postural control, and knowing how to form letters without thinking.

Before the group begins, the therapist meets with each child individually for a short 20-minute screening session. This allows the therapist to get to know each child, help them feel at ease, and gain a clearer picture of their strengths and areas that may need support.

Please note that this is not a formal assessment—just an informal screener to ensure the group is a good fit.

If a child presents with more significant challenges, such as emotional, behavioural, perceptual, or sensory processing difficulties, this group may not be the most appropriate setting. In such cases, the therapist will gladly assist in finding a more suitable option to support the child’s needs.

Yes, there is a small amount of homework.

Handwriting for Heroes is an intensive, practical programme where children make real progress, and parents are equipped with simple tools to support them at home.

Each child receives a homework book with clear explanations of the activities, and short videos are shared via WhatsApp to make everything easy to follow. The hero-themed templates (by Megy Illustrates) make homework feel like part of the adventure, and parents often share that the whole family joins in on the fun!

Each week includes:
• 5–10 minutes a day of simple gross motor tasks
• A few short fine motor warm-ups
• One main fine motor activity (around 30 minutes total per week)

Children learn best through regular practice and repetition, and the activities are designed to be engaging so they don’t feel like “work.” The programme is carefully structured to build week by week, and the more consistently the activities are done, the more progress and confidence you’ll see in your child

Sessions are run at participating schools in the mornings and at our Rondebosch studio in the afternoons.

If your school is interested in hosting a group or you’re a parent considering home-based sessions, arrangements can be made to suit your needs.

You don’t need any special equipment. The homework activities use everyday items you already have at home, and the groups can be run almost anywhere. Children are encouraged to use their imaginations and are naturally motivated by the stories, collaboration and friendly competition.

We also offer workshops for parents, teachers and caregivers as well as a follow-on programme for children who have completed Handwriting for Heroes.