* Children gain strength in the back, shoulders and arms which increases stability for fine motor activities.
* The wrist is correctly positioned for pencil-holding, and grasping strength is enhanced.
* Good posture is developed.
* Finger dexterity is increased and fine motor flexibility and accuracy is developed.
* Eye-hand coordination is improved.
* Not only do these help build physical readiness for writing, but also for tasks such as using eating utensils, picking up small items such as coins, using art materials and even getting dressed!

So what are some activities preschoolers can do on vertical surfaces, if you don’t really want them drawing on the wall? Try these:

* Tape a large piece of paper to an outdoor wall or fence and supply large markers, crayons or paint and have your child make a mural. You can write large block letters to make a sign, such as “Welcome” or “Happy Birthday,” and ask your child to decorate it.
* Use a chalkboard or whiteboard.
* Children’s stand-up easels are excellent.
* Try a flannelboard, or make your own by attaching a large piece of felt to a piece of cardboard or plywood, or tacked on a bulletin board.
* The refrigerator is a great place to play with magnets, including magnetic letters. Try turning magazine or photo cut-outs into play magnets by adhering the paper onto cardstock, laminating or covering them with clear contact paper,and gluing on a magnet.
* On a warm day, give your kids a large paintbrush and a bucket half-full of water. Let them pretend to be house painters and paint the outside of the house or a fence.

* At bath time, let your child decorate the tub walls with shaving cream, bath soap-crayons or foam letters. When the bath is done, your preschooler can wipe his art off the wall with a clean sponge or rag.
* Give your preschooler a sheet of stickers and a piece of paper taped to the wall or clipped to an easel.
* Kids love painting on windows, such as sliding doors. Make sure they have washable window paint, or make your own by mixing powdered or liquid poster paint with clear dishwashing soap in approximately equal amounts. Be sure to spread newspaper on the floor beneath the window and cover the windowsill. Perhaps they can make holiday designs.
* Tack a piece of clear contact paper on the easel or bulletin board, sticky-side out. Let your child make a nature collage of feathers, leaves, seeds, flowers, etc. You can also use magazine cut-outs, torn strips of tissue papers or gift-wrap shapes. When your child is finished cover the art with another piece of contact paper, pressing it smooth.

Whenever you are preparing supplies for your child to create art or work on writing, take a moment to see if any part of this activity can be done vertically. The more often it is done, the stronger the results for your child.

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Michelle B. is a veteran of 20+ years of homeschooling. She likes affordable homeschool materials.

Meteorology: The tall tale Grandpa shares is about the unusual weather a small town receives. This is a good intro to units on clouds, local or extreme weather or weather in general, climates, the water cycle, meteorologists and weather forecasting.

Food: Food in various forms plays a very important role in this story. This would be a fun start to learning about food sources, cooking, food in various cultures, nutrition and the food pyramid.

Social studies: How have people adapted to their food sources in different parts of the world? The townspeople of Chewandswallow had to adapt to a completely new food source when they had to leave their town, which opens up the topic of emigration/immigration. The book also offers the opportunity to discuss sanitation and recycling. You can even discuss safety and emergency preparedness, as the townsfolk had to deal with some scary weather situations.

Language arts: There are at least thirty compound words in the book. Learn vocabulary words such as incident, prediction and pulp. Grandpa told a tall tale; learn about tall tales and read Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill tales, then let the kids either write (creative writing) or tell their own (storytelling). What are some of the crazy things that happened in Chewandswallow? Have your kids write a descriptive paragraph. Compare and contrast the book to the new movie. Spelling word lists can be made up of the foods mentioned or weather words.

The book, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” offers the homeschooling family plenty of opportunities to begin or continue any one of an assortment of relevant learning topics.