Learning the ‘Write’ Way

Learning the ‘Write’ Way

handpencilThe art of pencil to paper is not lost on today’s kids.

“Tap, tap, tap” is the sound of the 3-year-old’s little fingers as he plays on the smart device. He’s moving objects across the screen with a speed you wouldn’t think was possible at that age. With new technology in the hands of kids so early, it can seem like the art of motion with a pen or pencil has been forgotten — but it hasn’t. Many schools are still focusing on handwriting, especially in the early grades.

Beginning to Write

Infants and preschoolers are taught early about letters and numbers when parents sing the ABCs song or play counting games. Their motor skills begin to develop while grasping objects or eating with utensils. To prepare those little hands for paper-and-pencil tasks, Teri LaGuardia, occupational therapist at Westlake City Schools, recommends using fine motor pieces, not necessarily writing instruments.

Parents are giving their children a headstart with writing as washable crayons and paints become more accessible, however, there are other ways to help your child with fine motor skills. “Small (toy) pieces, such as games like Connect Four,” LaGuardia suggests. “Toys that are fun, that don’t stress handwriting per say — anything that ­allows them to use a multi-sensory ­approach, not just crayons or pencils, are best to start with,” she says.”

By preschool age and just before they enter kindergarten, children are typically beginning to color, draw, write numbers and letters including their own names.”

Teaching in School

Children enter kindergarten at all different levels. Principal Heather Hardy at Bellflower Elementary in Mentor says the school gets a wide range, from children who aren’t familiar with letters to those who can write their name. “In kindergarten, we work on writing their first and last names, understanding capital letters and lowercase,” Hardy says. “(They also learn to) recognize and write all the uppercase and lowercase letters, and put the sound to go with them.” She says all kids have an opportunity to write in a journal, which allows each student to work at his or her own pace.

“In kindergarten, it’s the first real dose of handwriting instruction,” LaGuardia says. “That’s where they are learning every letter of the alphabet, along with reading and writing programs that offer lots of different activities that are not only the physical act of writing.”

Handwriting Struggles

Children will continue through the developmental process of handwriting from preschool through third grade. So, when should parents be concerned about handwriting issues? Vanessa Diffenbacher, head of Lower School at Lawrence School in Broadview Heights, a school that serves students with learning differences and attention deficits, says handwriting issues are usually identified in the lower grades when children are beginning to learn the formation of letters and writing ­sentences.

In first and second grades, examples of difficulties include legibility, improper letter formation and not being able to separate letters — no spacing between words, Diffenbacher says. Parents need to be aware that some kids struggle with writing because of hand strength — the ability to grasp a pencil — and developmental delays.

“Parents should discuss with their ­pediatrician or school if they are ­concerned with their child’s hand coordination and development,” Diffenbacher says.

LaGuardia says for other kids the problem may lie in what they perceive, and are not able to mimic in writing. “There’s a disconnect with what they are seeing visually,” she says. “They might have an attention difficulty and get distracted. You want to see where they compare to the rest of the class.”

While parents might be concerned about their children writing their letters in reverse, Hardy says it is actually age appropriate through second grade. While the problem usually corrects naturally, if children are in the third grade and still doing it, it might be cause for concern.

On the bright side, schools such as Westlake and Mentor are not seeing an increase in kids who need help. In fact, LaGuardia says the number of referrals for handwriting help has declined. The children at risk are those who are not improving from grade level to grade level, especially those in the first, second or third grades.

A Helping Hand

girlonipadParents can use a variety of tools to help their kids work on proper letter formation and recognition. “We don’t want writing to be a punishment,” Hardy says, referring to the days of writing the same sentence on the board numerous times. “We don’t do anything like that anymore. We do provide lots of opportunities to help strengthen their hands.” Hardy suggests working on the motor skills in fun ways, such as having little ones write letters in sand in a jellyroll pan or write letters on the bathroom tub wall with shaving cream. “They can pick up ice cubes with tongs and put them in a small bowl to build those muscles,” she says. “Or give them uncooked rice and tweezers, to put them in a Dixie cup for hand-eye ­coordination.”

For word-spacing issues, Diffenbacher suggests using Popsicle sticks, finger spacing or color dots between each word. She also suggests that a way for kids to learn letters is to begin clumping them together in groups (such as ABCD) and then have them master those letters. Do not introduce anything else until they have that group down.

LaGuardia says tools such iPads or other smart devices have fun apps for skills such as letter formation and putting words together. For spelling difficulties, she suggests a spelling dictionary that is tailored to that specific grade level. Hardy says to expose children to print as much as possible such as reading to them 15-20 minutes a night. “It helps children to learn what the letters look and sound like, how letters come together and how to be a reader, from left to right, top to bottom,” she says. “The nightly reading will make a difference.”

Script Ohio

While people talk about cursive handwriting becoming obsolete, in Ohio, that won’t happen anytime soon. The Ohio Board of Education adopted a resolution during its February meeting in support of the instruction of cursive writing.

“Studies and research show instruction in cursive writing develops fine motor skills and improves literacy,” ­according to the board. “As a result, the State Board of Education wishes to ­emphasize that instruction in cursive writing is important and beneficial for children. We encourage continued ­instruction in this skill in the classroom and of the continued development of ­instructional resources and support for cursive writing.”

“One of the big things in education is to have children immerse themselves in complex text,” Hardy says. Documents such as the U.S. Constitution, which is used during a social studies lesson, wouldn’t be readable or appreciated without knowing script writing.

About the author

Angela Gartner has been the editor at Northeast Ohio Parent Magazine since 2014. She has won local and national awards for her features, columns and photography over the years. Previously, her work appeared in publications including The News-Herald, Sun Newspapers and The Chicago Tribune. She grew up in Northeast Ohio and is a mom of two boys. The whole family is busy every weekend with sports and finding new happenings around the region. She is also a board member and past president at the Cleveland Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. She loves reading, writing poetry and taking the family's Scottish Terrier on walks.

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