| Do you find yourself cajoling, wheedling, | | | | necessary to learn its form correctly. This might |
| demanding and insisting on handwriting practice? A | | | | be the whole lesson for one day. When your child |
| child can be resistant to practice because some | | | | knows the form, move to lined paper. Show him |
| small changes are needed to meet the needs of | | | | where the parts of the letter go and give him an |
| the child. | | | | opportunity to practice under your watchful eye. |
| Most children struggle to learn proper penmanship. | | | | Evaluate his writing with comments on letter |
| It is a huge developmental task for them. Many | | | | formation. An example might be, "I like the shape |
| burn out, not for lack of practice but for lack of | | | | of the oval" or, "Look how nicely this letter |
| some relatively small adjustment to be made or | | | | touches the top (or bottom) of the line." |
| activity presented. | | | | Evaluating in this way prepares your child for |
| Here are seven golden tips that are guaranteed | | | | evaluating his own writing. |
| to improve your child's handwriting. | | | | Self-evaluation |
| Appropriate desk height | | | | Another method to encourage good penmanship |
| To measure the appropriate desk height for your | | | | is to have your child evaluate his own writing at |
| child, have him hold his arm at his side with the | | | | the end of each practice based a scale that |
| elbow bent at a 45-degree angle. When his | | | | includes: letter form, height, spacing, and |
| forearm can rest on the tabletop, this height will | | | | consistency. If he is working on an individual letter, |
| give good writing posture. It is also important to | | | | have him look at each line, choosing his best and |
| have a chair that allows his feet to rest flat on | | | | worst letters. |
| the floor. | | | | Writing projects |
| Pencil grip | | | | One of the things I've found that motivate |
| Teach your child early on the correct pencil grip. | | | | students to improve their penmanship is to give |
| An incorrect grip is a hard habit to break. We use | | | | them something to produce. A special penmanship |
| the word grip, but in reality the pencil should be | | | | project such as one of these could be offered to |
| gently held. A test of this is to slowly pull the | | | | your child: |
| pencil from between your child's fingers. It should | | | | - Letters to friends |
| slide out easily. To teach the correct grip, lay the | | | | - Verses on fancy paper to hang on their walls |
| pencil across the thumb and second (index) finger. | | | | - Poetry to copy (their own, or one they hear |
| Then, grasp it near the point with thumb and | | | | and like) and send to someone or to put on a |
| index finger. This pencil position provides easy | | | | poetry bulletin board, or in their copy notebook |
| control without the cramping experienced with | | | | - Cards of all types |
| many other holding methods. | | | | - Titles for drawings |
| Copy strip | | | | - Non-fiction re-writing to put into publication |
| While learning and using certain styles of | | | | (journal, science newsletter) |
| handwriting, whether manuscript or cursive, your | | | | - Family history or newsletter |
| child will need a model from which to easily work. | | | | - Historical document in poster form |
| A copy strip with the letterforms is a great help. | | | | - Final copies of stories sent to friends or family |
| Prepare a strip of lined paper with each of the | | | | members. |
| letters of the alphabet, written in the manner you | | | | Other ways to practice penmanship |
| expect your child to print or write. You can copy | | | | For just practice of penmanship, some things can |
| the appropriate letters from the italic handwriting | | | | be used that are practical, but don't add much to |
| book. Then, post the copy strip where | | | | the student's work load such as the following |
| penmanship practice takes place. Cover the strip | | | | - One day a week use spelling list |
| with clear, self-adhesive paper to make it last | | | | - Poetry, verses, or historical documents being |
| longer. | | | | memorized |
| First lessons | | | | - Spelling or grammar rules to be written in a |
| It can be helpful to begin with a desktop | | | | notebook |
| whiteboard and erasable markers. Make a couple | | | | - Final copies of stories, letters, thank you notes, |
| of models on the board, commenting where the | | | | or other documents |
| letter begins and how the strokes are made. Let | | | | - Lists to be memorized. |
| your child copy the letter as many times as | | | | |