Print Curriculum for Special Education - PROFESSIONAL EDITION 2020

Printable handwriting curriculum in a course framework for a professional to take students through handwriting and fine motor skills

Course Summary

This is curriculum for professionals to take students through a handwriting course. It is organized into sessions, with printable materials to use with students.  It allows the user to print and use the materials with their own caseload - but does not allow sharing of materials with other professionals. This is a tremendous amount of curriculum to use in a professional setting. The program has differentiated levels using the First Strokes Handwriting Program. It consists of modules for an instructor/parent to work on with a child. The course was created by Jan McCleskey, MA, OTR. It includes handwriting instruction as well as fine motor skills activities with each module! It is differentiated with easy learning of strokes and letters and includes practice pages where the instructor can choose differentiated levels! It is perfect for beginning learners who may not be ready to write in handwriting lines. Crisp outline trace and copy letters, in boxes but also some practice to be able to progress up to handwriting lines for some students!  It even includes our higher level workbook to progress too!  It comes with over 1000 pages of fine motor skill activities for scissors, tongs, coloring skills. The handwriting pages are developmental, and at differentiated levels. (3 pages per letter, multi sensory activities, ad nd 3 levels of workbooks). As an occupational therapist and owner of The Handwriting Clinic since 2002, this is the curriculum I have used for my private therapy students!  There is not a certificate of completion of this course for professionals - the course is for professionals to take STUDENTS through curriculum.  Perfect for a handwriting camp, tutoring or individual therapy.

Course Curriculum

Jan McCleskey

Hi, I am Jan McCleskey, MA, OTR. I have owned The Handwriting Clinic since 2002.  We have provided classes and therapy for fine motor skills and handwriting in the Plano, Texas area.  I have been a fieldwork coordinator for occupational therapy students for over 30 years. In 2002 I create the First Strokes Handwriting Programs and have traveled around the country doing First Strokes workshops.  I am adding distance learning courses to this site where a learner can access the courses online, and get AOTA approved CEU's. These are workshop courses, that an individual can take for continuing education at their own pace.

Current workshops:  

Evaluation and Interventions for Fine Motor Skills and Handwriting (.4 CEU's/4 contact hours

Surviving Pediatric Occupational Therapy Fieldwork with the Therapeutic Use of Self (.25 CEU's/2.5 contact hours)

Future workshop:

Dysgraphia interventions workshop

 First Strokes products are now digital, where a user can download the entire program (plus so many extra supporting documents).  

First Strokes Handwriting Programs are:

First Strokes Preschool Program (includes fine motor program)

First Strokes Differentiated Learning Handwriting Program (graded learning, without handwriting lines - several levels)  Includes a a comprehensive fine motor program.

First Strokes Multi-sensory Handwriting Program (pre-K - 1st grade - includes workbooks for ALL levels - Pre-K, K, and advanced print). Includes a comprehensive fine motor program.

First Strokes Print Legibility Program (2nd and above) - does not go back over letter formation, but goes over sizing and spacing and speed handwriting errors. Also has a chapter for number legibility.

First Strokes Cursive Program (2nd grade and above - this is the BEST cursive program! Not only does it work on letter formation, it works on legibility and visual memory and generalization skills. Generalization skills are important for legibility on notebook paper, fill in the blank worksheets with sizing and spacing.

All the above programs are sold as:

  1. COURSES on Zenler platform - where I have the sequential order of how I would teach the programs at my clinic! Two levels of courses: 1. for parents to work with their child 2. for professionals to use with their students on their caseload. This is an individual license where the user can use for all their students, print pages as needed, and share with students on their own caseload for distance learning.
  2. Workbook hardcopies can be purchased from The Handwriting Clinic website: www.TheHandwritingClinic.com - go to the products button. Building licenses on USB's are available as well.
  3. Digital workbooks and supporting documents are available as individual workbooks on Teachers Pay Teachers in The Fine Motor Store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/The-Fine-Motor-Store.  The products can be purchases as individual licenses or building licenses (a building license allows teachers or therapists in one building/school (not district) to use the program and to print worksheets and activities from the digital copies.

Not on the Zenler platform, but available from The Handwriting Clinic or The Fine Motor Store are:

First Strokes Print Legibility Workbook (teen - adult)

First Strokes Keyboarding Program

parent of a pre-k student

My child has benefitted greatly from this course.  He is ready for Kindergarten!  He previously was not even interested in picking up a pencil, coloring!  

parent of a first grader

When my son finished kindergarten, he was mixing upper and lower case letters and he had some reversals.  He just was not confident in writing. The program helped!  His handwriting looks dramatically different from where he began!  I am so thankful to Jan for her expertise in helping my son with his handwriting.  


Course Pricing

  • First Strokes Special Ed PROFESSIONAL Edition
  • $150 USD

    First Strokes Special Education Professional Edition Course to use with students

    Buy Now