What About Handwriting?

We believe handwriting is an important part of literacy. Being able to record ideas without having to labor over letter formation creates the foundation of fluent writing. Nellie Edge, esteemed leader in all things kindergarten and early literacy writes this in a recent blog post:

Kindergarten and first grade teachers must share a coordinated approach to handwriting instruction. Unless the kindergarten teacher has provided a foundation for efficient, automatic letter formation within real words, it is almost a waste of precious time for the first grade teacher to introduce focused handwriting instruction. Small muscle memories are soon engrained and after a year of daily kindergarten writing, a child's handwriting motions may be very resistant to change.

It is imperative to teach and provide time to correctly practice letter formation until it becomes automatic. We are thrilled to connect you with a blog, Joyful Pathways, Accelerated Literacy with Nellie Edge. This post outlines the importance of handwriting instruction and what works in real classrooms. What we love about Nellie's work is that she is grounded in developmentally appropriate and researched practices. She believes that handwriting, as well as all other aspects of literacy, must take place within authentic literacy experiences, not isolated drills.