Poor handwriting may be used as a cover for difficulties with spelling but some children have a degree of dyspraxia and this will cause problems with the fine motor control movements needed for handwriting (dysgraphia). Motor control difficulties due to immaturity are more common in boys, who, in the early years, are often up to a year behind girls developmentally, especially in the fine control skills needed to manipulate pens, pencils and scissors. Playing with 'Duplo', threading beads and using other manipulatives, can improve hand strength and dexterity.

Encourage your child to hold the pencil correctly right from the beginning (RRF 46 p18) especially if they are left handed. Remind them of ''froggy legs with pencil resting on the log''. Initially use 'handwriting' exercise books with special ruled guidelines, or make your own by ruling over every other line in a conventionally lined exercise book with a dark coloured pen or pencil. Before showing children how to form individual letters let them practice making strings of different shapes and patterns (Williams p54-55) These could be used to make decorative borders for their own pictures.

'Ball and stick' print script should not be used. Start all children off with a pre-cursive style of handwriting (see RRF link below for an example); the individual letters are less easily confused and moving to joined-up writing is easier. http://www.rrf.org.uk/newsletter.php?n_ID=45

A common problem is b / d confusion - this is more likely when print script has been taught; show the child how to use their own mouth shape as a cue. 'Make your mouth the shape to say a letter b ..... your lips make a straight line, so you write the letter that starts with a straight line- the b. When you start to say 'd'.... your lips and tongue make a circle (ish) so that's the letter that starts with a circle'.

www.scribblers.co.uk/cgi/gridlines.pl Handwriting paper to print.

www.prometheantrust.org/admin/files/tracing.pdf Sound Foundations handwriting tracing sheets; pre-cursive leading to cursive.

www.senteacher.org/wk/hands1.php Patterns to help pre-schoolers with pencil control.

www.aei.org/news/filter.,newsID.13071/news_detail.asp 'The Write Stuff' by Christina Hoff Sommers, on Boys and Handwriting.

http://desktoppub.about.com/library/fonts/hs/uc_boringboring.htm Free 'Boring Boring' font to download.

www.clubtype.co.uk Sassoon educational font family including Dotted and Joiner.

www.spellingsociety.org/journals/j19/handwriting.php Handwriting, and its relationship to spelling.

http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk Dyspraxia Foundation.

www.teachers.tv/video/24021 Teaching handwriting -how do they do it in France?

©