All About Handwriting

[buds]

[Editor's note: Topic selected and edited for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/beginning-handwriting.]


There is a strong connection between learning to read and learning to
write. Being able to write a word will clearly help a child to read that
word. In a more general sense, writing down things they want to say
and then reading them to someone, helps children to appreciate that
writing is for telling another person something.

Given the opportunity, most children start to enjoy scribbling with crayons
and pencils while still toddlers. They often want to \"read\" to you what they
have \"written\". This shows that they are already beginning to grasp the
idea that squiggles on a page can tell you something and that there is a
relationship between talking and writing.

By the age of four, most children are capable of writing some letters,
usually those that appear in their own name. At five, most children are
ready to start copying words. As their pencil control increases, their
writing will gradually improve. Do remember that neatness in handwriting
has nothing to do with intelligence and that too much insistence on it may
constrain what a child has to say. It is important however, to develop
legible handwriting. If, after two or three years of practice, your child's
handwriting remains very poor, discuss with the child's teacher.

Holding It
It does not matter whether your child uses pencils, crayons or felt pens
to write with... but do check that whatever the child uses, he/she is holding
it correctly. It is easy to develop bad writing habits by starting with the
wrong grip. They should be held lightly between the thumb and the first
finger (pointer), about 1 inch from the point as a rough estimate..

Pencil Control
It takes a lot of practice to develop sufficient pencil control to write legible
letters. Activities such as drawing, tracing, colouring, using chalks or
paints, and copying or making up patterns can all contribute significantly
to this process.

Mirror Writing
Many children start by writing some letters and numbers backwards,
especially \"b\" and \"d\"... 2, 3 and 7... or even produce superb mirror
writing. Six and seven year olds, often continue to do this. It is something
that nearly puts itself right in time, but try to point out the mistake and
gently suggest correcting it.

Our elder girl used to write superb mirror writing around age five... and
knowing all the terminologies used for such children (dyslexic) and how
we ARE in the industry, i must admit... it was panic attack! We were kinda
hard on her at first, until i really sat down to think how to positively tackle
this situation. As constructive as possible... So we all played letter games,
did crafts and also painting activities to motivate her to write the proper
way. It was a few months phase.. of correcting and of encouraging..

And now she not only writes properly, she also writes beautifully.. :love:

Left-Handed Children
A minor percentage of children are left-handed. Of this group, some are
ambidextrous, that is... they can use both hands. In the past, all children
even those who were strongly left-handed, were trained to use their right
hand for writing. In some cases, this is thought to have caused
stammering. It is now understood that children should be allowed to
choose which hand is best for them. If however, they can use both... it
is sensible to choose one dominant hand and stick to it. Otherwise, it can
get confusing.

Writing with the left hand is not easy because it entails a pushing
movement - right-handed people use a pulling movement. A right-handed
person's hand moves along the page leaving visible what has just been
written. Two simple solutions help to overcome this problem...

1.Get the child to hold his pencil a little further from the end than you
would for a right-handed child.

2.Position the writing paper at an angle 45 degrees to the child's body.

3.Special 3-sided pencil grips can be bought rather cheaply. These make
the pen or pencil fatter and easier to grip and can help a left-handed child
to write more quickly and with much less effort.

In the early stages of reading, children often like to point to the words in
the book. A left-handed child is better off using a strip of card or a ruler,
to place under the words and sentences.

[jedamum]

buds:

Do remember that neatness in handwriting

has nothing to do with intelligence

:idea:
I can safely say...\"my son writes like a doctor\".

[buds]

jedamum:

buds:

Do remember that neatness in handwriting

has nothing to do with intelligence

:idea:
I can safely say...\"my son writes like a doctor\".

I somehow expected you to come up with this..

[jedamum]

buds:

I somehow expected you to come up with this..

boo...I am getting predictable....
hope that no one will predict my next auction bid moves...

[ChiefKiasu]

buds:

...Oh Chief...

May we alter the title to a general > All About Handwriting?
Thinking to have the word \"bad\" omitted. What do you think?
So, not necessarily we only talk about \"bad\" handwriting here.
But good ones as well and pen down good writing practices..
Just my suggestion.

Good point. We don't want to be negative here

[KS_me]

I have the same experience. The recent talk with my son’s form teacher, she commented my son needs to improve his handwriting. His handwriting is too big in size. I started asking him to copy down the "good value" that stated in his school handbook, 5 sentenses each day hoping to get him practise more to control his handwriting… I’m still working on it, not sure if the result is good though but this is something I can think of for now…

[mama_mia]

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


My 4 yrs old girl is left-handed, and as a result, she has a tendency to write her letter in mirror image. I frequently had to correct her. Is it true that left-handed person tends to write in mirror image? Will this be corrected as she grows up?
Recently i had discussed with her chinese teacher and the teacher is of the view that it is not necessary to correct her strokes. Usually for Chinese character, you have to write from left to right. Hence i think it is necessary to correct her writing, otherwise, i am worry that she will continue to write in mirror image esp. writing english words.
How to help a left-handed kids to write and also is it ok to tilt the paper so that she can see what she is writing?

Any advice is really appreciated.

[buds]

Heyya mama_mia,


There's some discussion on this
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1939&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

[mama_mia]

buds:

Heyya mama_mia,


There's some discussion on this
[url=http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1939&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30] here.


thanks buds!

[smum]

[Moderator's note: Topics merged.]


Hi, Parents. I just recently found that my P2 boy is not holding the pencil correctly. He is holding it very near to the lead and fingering is also not correct. Plus can see that he is holding it very tightly, so will always complain that finger is tired if he needs to write for long.

I remember when he was in Kindergarden, the teacher taught him to hold the pencil with the first two fingers and the third finger is resting below the pencil. He was trained initially with those triangle pencil. But somehow or other, over the years, he developed his own incorrect style of holding.

Is it important to correct him now? His writing is horrible as the penmanship in school always get C. I'm wondering if it's too late now that he is in P2. Any advise or thoughts. Thanks.