Beginning handwriting

Start out very slowly, teaching her to form each letter correctly. I would teach the lower case letters first (or teach the upper and lower together), since lower case letters are used more often. You will need to sit with her, model the correct formation (and talk through what you are doing: for example for lower case ‘a’ I would say something like “we make a round ball that stays in the ‘downstairs’ (using that paper with the dashed line in the middle) and then a stick for a handle”). Then let her try. You may want to have her trace the letters with her finger first – either on the paper or in a tray of sand or salt or other ‘texture’. Gently encourage her to do each letter to the best of her ability, and stop before she gets frustrated or bored, even if you’ve only written one or two letters. As she gets more proficient you can do whole words (and teach the things like letter spacing), and then whole sentences (and then teach her things like moving down the next line when you run out of space). You will need to sit with her at first and guide her into good habits, and as she shows that she can do them you can back off and let her go on her own.

There are handwriting curriculums/workbooks out there if you care to use them if you feel like you need more direction or support (or if your child is struggling and needs a different approach)- maybe someone else can give reccomendations – but I personally prefer to use the simple model above and save my curriculum $$ for other things. =)

HTH some,

Jen