Sometimes it's easy to tell that a child is ready to learn to write because she can easily pick up Cheerios using her thumb and index fingers or she can build with things like Lego's with ease. Or she might walk around with a note pad and pencil jotting down "notes" to herself like she has seen her parents do.
Joslyn was interested in writing and she would sit with a pencil and paper and write down "notes". One day she was watching her dad make a list of what he needed for a project outside. He was thinking through all the materials he had and what he still needed as she was, unobserved by him, watching him carefully and imitating him. As dad remembered something he needed, like peat moss for the garden, he would write it down on the list. Soon his list was completed and he left the room for a minute. Joslyn came over to the table with the list that she had written. She looked at her dad's list and at her list and decided that dad forgot something so she added it to his list. When dad came back, he noticed an addition to his list and asked Joslyn what she wrote. Joslyn, looking at her list, replied, "We also need bubbles for outside dad."
Joslyn has shown an interest in communicating her ideas and a desire to learn to write. It's a great indication that she is ready to learn the process of writing.
Introduction to Conventional Handwriting
Learning to write isn't a chronological skill, not everyone develops the needed fine motor skills at the same age – it is more a skill that each child develops at his/her own rate. So if your daughter needs to continue doing pre-writing activities like drawing or making circles for a little while, it is okay. When she has a desire to write, then she's ready to go on.
Here is a progression of activities to guide your daughter to learn to write with ease. It's important for her to practice writing the letters but not for extended periods of time. Doing one or two pages of letters to practice a day is enough for her to master forming the letters and still not get bored with the activity.
Dotted Letters for Handwriting
- We have had a lot of success using the dotted words and it's easy for you to make for your daughter to trace.
- Start with the most important word in your daughter's world: her name.
- Write her name in all capital letters to start. Later as your daughter's fine motor skills develop, you will introduce lower case letters.
- You can make your own dotted words using our lined paper PDF.
- Be sure to mention to your daughter that the dots are only temporary and will not be used in the future. Once we observed a young student that was very confident in writing her letters but after she finished writing, she would go back and add the dots thinking they were part of the letters.
- When your daughter is first learning to write the individual letters it is helpful to make the beginning dot larger and to give a clue to the direction you want her to go, like with a small arrow.
- Once your daughter has mastered writing her own name and has developed her fine motor skills, then she is ready to go on to learn the rest of the alphabet.
NOTE: If your daughter is interested in writing before kindergarten, check to see what font your local school district uses. Using the same font as they use in school will make your daughter's life a little easier. It's never fun to have to relearn something you have learned another way.
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The Alphabet
- Start with the capital letters then progress to the lowercase letters. The larger letters are a little easier for small fingers to make.
- You can introduce the letters in alphabetical order, if your daughter likes things in sequential order, it would be logical and she might be more comfortable with that approach.
- Or you can introduce similar letters together, such as letters made with a circle, or the tall letters or all the letters that have a "tail". Doing them in order of similar motions might make it easier for your daughter to complete.
- We wouldn't suggest introducing the following letters on the same day because some children do get confused. Some of these letters look similar or are mirror images.
The letters are:
| d and b |
i and j |
| D and B |
n, h and m |
| E and F |
n and u |
| M and W |
w and m |
| p, g and q |
I and H |
In time, your daughter will have no problem differentiating between the letters.
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Fun Handwriting Paper
- We created our special "house" paper PDF which has a small image to indicate where the letters should be in relation to the lines. Children have an understanding of the basic idea of a house - that some houses have an upstairs and a basement and all of them have floors. So we are building on that knowledge.
All of the letters rest on the first "floor",
some like the - y, p and q - go into the "basement"
and others like the - l, t and b - reach into the "attic".
- Also try our fun "boat" paper PDF, if your daughter loves the water or boats, she might enjoy using this paper.
All letters sit on the bottom of the boat (so the boat doesn't tip over),
some letters reach down to the fish in the water – like a q or g
and others reach up in the sail – like k or h.
Using our special "house" or "boat" paper will help your daughter quickly learn the proper placement for each letter in a fun way that will help her remember it – so in time the placement of the letters will become automatic.
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Handwriting Assessment
- Use the special "house" or "boat" paper for practice and until your daughter is fairly comfortable with each letter.
| Large boat paper PDF |
Large house paper PDF |
| Small boat paper PDF |
Small house paper PDF |
- When she has learned how to make the letters of the alphabet, she can progress to regular lined paper.
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Handwriting Jokes
- In school one day, a teacher asked a 6 year old why his handwriting wasn't as neat as it usually was. "I'm trying out a new font," he replied.
- Riddle: How is a pencil like a riddle?
Answer: It's no good without a point.
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Handwriting Links
- Pencil Grip - Check out our video for an easy and effective way to show your child how to properly hold a pencil.
- Pre-Writing - Check out our video on pre-writing activities to do with your child.
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