an idea for a manipulative

i was thinking about teaching reading and writing to sped kids. and since i was inspired by montessori, and her emphasis on motor skills as being fundamental to "cognitive" skills, i thought about creating simple manipulatives.

i thought that it would be fun to create something like that "trial of fire" on that japanese show. you know that one (maybe you don't), the one where the contestant has to pass a metal electrode through a "maze" composed of metal pipes; contact between the electrode and the pipe results in an explosive "spark," and the contestant loses... of course, nothing so dramatic and dangerous... but since i am an acupuncturist, and i use an electrostim, and the electrostim does have a "sensing mode" that passes a current from a pen-like probe to a "banana" plug "ground," i was thinking that i could connect the ground to some metallic sheet with some nonconductive tape in the shape of whatever i would want the student to trace (letters, words, etc.). the student would have to keep the probe on the nonconductive surface and move through the "maze" (in imitation of writing). if he strayed, then the electrostim would register a current and make a buzzing sound...

this would serve as an entertaining manipulative to train kids the basic motor skills to "write" (tracing letters), or perhaps even "read" (have the kid trace a line from left to right, and back again, as in reading). very basic stuff. of course, this wouldn't replace the actual teaching of phonics, whatever, but it could serve as an incentive/reward; since it's relatively entertaining, students could have it as a reward for accomplishing more mundane work, and since it serves an indirect purpose itself (practicing motor skills necessary for writing), well, it's win win.

i'll test this out with aiden, who needs to work on his letter-writing skills. who knows, maybe it'll be a cheap hit! sort of like those old "surgery" games, but with a practical bent.