Squeezers

Squeezers are a way for students to practice making words as well as working on fine motor skills.

How I made them: I used clothespins, paint stir sticks and different colored permanent markers. I made squeezers for all the high frequency words that my students were expected to know by the end of the year. I put a smiley face on the handle so that the students would know which direction the word should be. I wrote the word on the paint stir stick leaving plenty of space between the letters for the clothespins. I wrote the words one letter per clothespin matching the color of the word on the paint stick. The students can remove the clothespins and mix them up and then put the word back together. Squeezing the clothespin helps to develop the writing muscles in the children's hands.