Learning Proper Letter Writing Strokes in The Post-Digital Era: Does It Still Matter?
- mominprogress
- Jun 11, 2020
- 4 min read
In today’s world where everything can be made available digitally, does proper handwriting still matter?
Let me share a previous experience which is the reason behind why I think learning how to write properly is still highly important.
My firstborn went to school at a rather early age - she was just three. And knowing that most of the private preschools are kind of advanced with their curriculum, you wouldn’t be surprised if one day your child is learning how to color and trace, and the next day they are already learning the alphabet, then the seven continents, then the world history, etc.
During her early years in preschool, I was too busy with work, though I get to assist her with homework and all, what I usually do is just to let her do it, approach me if she has questions, then I’ll check everything once they’re done. One day I noticed that among all the activities, writing is the one she liked the least. She finds it tiring, exhausting, and at times, I’ll noticed that she’d fell asleep, with her writing activity left undone. But she’s just four so I thought it’s normal, and maybe it was way too much for her.
The next time, I watched her as she practice writing the letters of the alphabet. And I can’t help but noticed that she is writing some of the letters improperly. I tried to teach her over and over how to write them the right way but she keeps doing them wrong. One reason for that is because she’d been used to doing it that way, so correcting her will really take some time. That moment I cannot help but blame myself for not paying close attention; that I let her do it on her own, not realizing I should have sensibly taught her right from the very beginning. It took some time and patience, until she was able to improve her writing, and it was definitely worth it.
So, it’s not just learning the alphabet, letter tracing, etc. Proper letter formation is imperative. During that time, I didn’t know the exact reason why, but what I cannot bear is that when my child grows old and still writes a,b,c in a weird way. That is why I want to emphasize the importance of guiding your child as they learn to write, and making sure they learn it the right way. Being able to trace each letter is not enough, it’s crucial that they should know how to trace(write) it the proper way.
This is personally important to me, that’s why I’ve included in the printable learning tools available in this site the practice letter writing worksheets that can be downloaded here for free.
And if your child is already learning to write his/her name, you can also request for a customized name writing practice worksheet from us. Not only they will be able to learn and practice how to write their names, but they will learn how to do it correctly and practice it over and over as you can print as many as you want.
- customized worksheet made for my son -
Each practice worksheet will be provided with the proper letter formation strokes guide, showing the correct order of strokes on how to write each letter of their names. This guide is the guarantee that they will learn writing the letter strokes correctly. Just make sure that you are there to watch and assist them as well, to verify that they are using and following the guides properly.
Just so to support my advocacy for pressing the importance of learning proper letter formation, I’ve done a bit of research and found some useful information from trusted sources; and here they are.
1
It is not advisable to teach children how to write letters at a very young age (2-3), since their fine motor skills are not yet fully developed and forcing them to learn how to write will not be beneficial at all. Naturally, it will be common for toddlers to learn how to scribble at first, then how to hold a pencil, crayon, or any writing utensil, etc., thus those stages should not be overlooked and bypassed.
2
Also, children should practice and be comfortable first on tracing lines and curves, before they actually learn to write the alphabet. (free worksheet for tracing lines and curves available here) And before learning to write it, they must first learn to recognize each letter correctly, by sight and by sound.
3
It is also beneficial to group letters which are formed similarly, and provide the child some pointers or hints so they can remember what those letters all have in common; in the case below, they have the same initial stroke when written.
For example, small letter “a,” “c,” “d,” and “g” all start with the same curve direction and stroke when being written.
4
In addition, reversible letters like “b” and “d” as well as “m” and “w” should be taught separately (thus should not be grouped together) as this may cause confusion to kids who are just new to letter writing.
This has been true with my firstborn as there had been a few times during her preschool years that she’s mistakenly switching letters “b and d,” “m and w,” as well as “s and z.” There was a moment I got frantic having the thought that she might be dyslexic, but hearing similar stories from fellow moms, I felt quite relieved. Eventually, we’re able to correct it through time and practice.
As to the importance of learning proper letter formation, studies reveal that efficiency in handwriting often results to higher grades in school.
Also, when a child knows how to write properly, he/she develops automaticity (in handwriting), which is the ability to do something with little effort, as the brain already remembers how to do it correctly. And if handwriting becomes effortless, the child will be able to give more focus on what he/she is writing, rather than the writing process itself.
Studies also show that difficulties in handwriting may eventually lead to frustration and poor motivation resulting to undesirable writing experience.
Sources:
http://www.ldonline.org/spearswerling/The_Importance_of_Teaching_Handwriting
If you want your child to learn how to write letters properly, MominProgress provides free handwriting worksheets, perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.
You may also request for a customized name writing practice worksheet for your child(ren) if they are already learning to start writing their names.
Cursive Letter Writing Worksheet will also be available very soon.
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