How to Teach Handwriting When Your Child is Ready
Fostering fundamental skills such as handwriting is a crucial step toward your child's academic success. Handwriting not only lays the foundation for effective communication, but also enhances cognitive and fine motor skills. As a parent, you play a pivotal role in guiding your child through this developmental journey. In this blog post, we'll explore a research-based approach to teaching handwriting in a developmentally appropriate manner, helping your child find success and enjoyment with their new skills!
Previously I’ve discussed the importance of waiting until children are developmentally ready to begin formal handwriting instruction. If you haven’t read that post, please start there. It is MUCH EASIER to instill good habits from the start when children are developmentally ready, than it is to try and correct poor writing habits.
I also believe it is disrespectful to a child’s developing mind to push worksheets and workbooks instead of experiences, play, exploring outdoors and hands-on learning.
When children are truly ready, it is advised to use a multi-sensory approach, meaning one that targets multiple sense which strengthens neural connections, improves retention, and is more enjoyable for children. The brain prefers this type of instruction, which also increases cooperation, confidence, and success!
How to Teach Handwriting
Pencil Grasp
Proper pencil grasp allows the child to write neatly at a reasonable speed with efficiency and ease.
Children who struggle with pencil grasp are not using their hand muscles efficiently and can experience pain, fatigue, messy handwriting, and frustration that limit their ability and enjoyment of writing throughout their school years. An incorrect pencil grasp is a very difficult habit to break.
As children’s muscles and skills develop and strengthen, their pencil grasp also matures. When it comes to developing a proper pencil grasp, kids need a lot of fine motor exposure and play.
The problem is that preschools are pushing children to write letters and words, and sentences in kindergarten. Going by developmental progression, this is before a child is developmentally able to manipulate a pencil with precision and mobility in the fingers and hand.
Tips
Short pencils encourage proper grasp.
Dynamic Tripod Grasp (4-6 yr) - Thumb and pointer finger hold the pencil as it rests on the last joint of the middle finger. Pencil movements occur via manipulation of the fingers and hand. A dynamic Quadropod grasp including the fourth finger is also an efficient grasp.
Wrap colored tape or place a sticker on the pencil to show your child where to put their fingers.
Position
Children should sit comfortably with feet on the floor and a 90 degree angle at the ankles, knees, and hips.
Paper Placement:
Left-handed - place the left corner of the paper slightly higher.
Right-handed - place the right corner of the paper slightly higher.
WRIST EXTENSION
A child’s wrist should not be bent while writing. Try moving the paper to a vertical surface or sliding the paper a little further away to encourage proper wrist extension.
Style
There are several styles of writing with varying approaches to letter formation. Whichever curriculum or writing style you choose (Zaner Blosler and D’Nealian are the most common), stick to it; consistency is important! Print out a letter formation guide for reference and use consistent terminology when you are teaching the strokes of each letter, such as big line, little line, big curve, little curve.
Handwriting Without Tears
This curriculum is designed for pre-kindergarten through fourth graders (cursive) and includes multisensory learning methods. In a typical lesson, children build the letter using wooden (or magnetic) shapes, listen to a CD and sing songs, work with an adult using a chalkboard, and then practice independently in a simple workbook. The program follows a developmentally appropriate order: groups of letters with similar strokes or starting points are taught together, from easiest to hardest, which eliminates reversals. Children first begin forming letters inside a box and then progress from writing on double-lines to single-lines. This program also works very well with left-handed writers.
(Note: I’m not sponsored by this company, just a big fan.)
Handwriting Without Tears' pedagogy guides students to success with:
Developmentally appropriate sequence of instruction
Consistent guided practice to develop automaticity and fluency
Multisensory components engage visual, audio, and kinesthetic learners
Hands-on manipulatives for developing fine motor and phonics skills
Simple, student-friendly, step-by-step language for letter formations on student practice pages AND teacher's guides
You can purchase entire classrooms curriculums directly from the website (not affiliated) or select items a-la-carte from Amazon (linked below).
Handwriting without tears Songs
FREE Handwriting printables
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