Handwriting
The following information and documents are here to provide you with information to support your child at home with their handwriting.
The four Ps
It is important to establish routines to prepare children for handwriting. Use this checklist to ensure that your child is well prepared to start handwriting with confidence and control.
Posture
If children have poor posture when writing, it can result in pain and fatigue, causing poor presentation, handwriting that is difficult to read, slow speef and lack of motivation to write.
Pencil Grip
Children need to learn how to hold their pencil correctly from the outset, as grip affects the flow, speed and overall quality of handwriting. Without a proper grip, children's hands can tire more quickly, their writing can become harder to read and they may struggle to write for extended perionds - an essential skill as they progress through school. As children develop, they will progress through a number of different pencil grips until they have developed a tripod grip.
Paper Position
Paper angle helps to support natural hand movement and improve handwriting psoture. It is important that children use the optimal paper position for writing. The paper placement should not be directly in front of the child, but slightly offset and encourage the use of the non-writing hand to hold and steady the paper.
Pressure
As children learn to write, the pressure they apply with a pencil often varies based on their developmental stage and the nature of the task. With practice and experience, most children naturally figure out the appropriate amount of pressure to use. Excessive pencil pressure can cause hand fatigue and slow writing, while too little pressure can make handwriting faint and hard to read.
