Handwriting

One of the prerequisites for handwriting is the ability of the eyes to work in close cooperation with the hands. This means that the eyes themselves must be able to move smoothly and must be able to follow moving targets. General motor coordination (balancing, hopping, running, skipping, et cetera) is necessary for laying the groundwork for smooth, fine muscle control. Play, for example, flashlight tag with your child. This requires two flashlights and a dark room. You be "It" and see if your child can, with his flashlight, "tag" your light.

Play tracing games. Have your child sit next to you with his eyes closed. Take his writing hand, index and middle fingers pointing and the other fingers flexed, and a-ace a shape or letter on a large surface. See if he can guess what shape or letter you traced.

If you're prepared to be squirted, and it's a warm day, and your back yard has a sunny wall, try this one. Get a squirt gun and let your child "write" letters with water on the wall. The sun will dry the letters reasonably fast. This allows your child to use space and estimate, on a large surface, just how he will execute the proper formation of the letter.

Observe the way your child sits when he writes. As a check, try this yourself. Sit at a table so that your elbows comfortably rest on the surface. Then fold your hands in front of you, flat on the desk so that your body and folded hands form a triangle. If you are right-handed, the paper would go directly under that folded arm. If you are left-handed, the paper would go directly under that folded arm. Notice that when you old the pencil, after this experiment, that the writing hand touches the surface of the paper directly along the line of the little finger and wrist. If you are right-handed, your back and head will be slightly curved to the left. (Vice-versa for the left-hander.) If your child is doing anything other than this, it means that he is not ready for the activity, or it is too demanding for him. It may also suggest that he has visual difficulties in the way he uses his eyes. (This does not necessarily mean that he has poor vision.)

If a child continues to reverse letters, even as his handwriting improves, give him opportunities to identify left and right on his own body. Play games requiring use of just the left hand or the right hand or the left foot or the right foot. Play "blind man's bluff, in which you must direct him across a room by giving him turns to make. Have him direct you when it's your turn.

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