Student vs Parent Challenges
Top 10 Handwriting Challenges for 11 to 16 year olds Sometimes it can feel that digital communication is dominating our world. Thus making handwriting a unique skill, but it really shouldn’t be considered unique. Students aged 11 to 16 can excel both academically and personally when they master handwriting. However, as many parents know, this […]
OT and Handwriting
About Occupational Therapy and OT Week Every year in November, the Royal College of Occupational Therapy runs ‘OT week’. This is a way to celebrate and promote the good work of the profession. The 2023 theme is occupation, which aims to spark conversations about this topic. It is a very difficult word to describe because […]
The Perfect Pen Grip
The Perfect Pen Grip: Mastering the Key to Beautiful Handwriting When it comes to handwriting, one of the most debated topics is the “perfect” pen grip. Parents and educators often seek a definitive answer on the ideal way to hold a pen or pencil. They are hoping it will lead to beautiful handwriting. Yet, research […]
Peppa Pig and Inspiring Handwriting
The Power of Peppa Pig – inspiring young writers to start to write letters Have you ever said something to someone, then someone else says it in roughly the same way and it gets done? This is the power that Peppa Pig can bring to future hand writers. Peppa Pig’s ‘Writing Little Letters’ will show […]
Letter s: How to write it
The letter S is one of the most difficult letters to write in the alphabet. This is because the letter s needs one smooth pen or pencil movement. Due to all of these curves, it is more difficult than the letter z. It is for this reason that sometimes the ‘s’ either sits too high […]
Left-handed writers and maths
Are there any differences in how left-handed writers write in maths? Left-handed writers comprise 10% of the population. But should they be doing their maths work any differently than a right-handed writer? For left handed writers, this is one of those yes and no type of answers. The key difference is about something called ‘push’ […]
How to motivate handwriting
Is it possible to motivate handwriting? Have you ever tried to motivate handwriting? To encourage someone to write who REALLY does not want to is difficult. In reality, it is nion impossible. If you come across someone who is not keen on writing there are a few stealth tactics that you can try. Yet the […]
What is illegible handwriting?
Everyone strives for legible handwriting. But the question should we should be asking is “What is illegible handwriting?” When we look at the word legible it comes from the Latin meaning readable. Simply put legible means clear enough to read. This is what we should be striving for with handwriting. It doesn’t need to have […]
Homework Strategies for Parents
Homework is such a controversial topic. Some schools give it, and some schools don’t. Some schools expect handwritten work. Others use a Chromebook. There are even schools out there that have a ‘no homework policy’. Whatever age your child is, I’m sure a common theme runs through your house. Most children hate the thought of homework. Before […]
Handwriting after lockdown
Handwriting after lockdown – We know that lockdown has been hard for us all. Life during and after lockdown was/is hard. In particular, it has had a huge impact on our children. We are only just beginning to understand more about handwriting after lockdown now. Children are taking time to get back into ‘the swing […]
Different Handwriting Styles – Why?
So why does everyone have a different style of handwriting? The teaching of handwriting within the UK National Curriculum has, in recent years, embraced the teaching of the continuous cursive style to students in primary schools. Continuous cursive handwriting is where all the letters, apart from capitals, are joined up. The theory behind it is […]
Why Cursive Writing Taught In Schools?
Is cursive writing old-fashioned and outdated? There are many valid reasons why cursive writing is taught in schools. Yet it is of no surprise given the tech-crazy world that we live in that many feel handwriting as a whole is not needed by anyone. Handwriting is a skill, some even call it an art, but […]