After trying to help my 5 year old son learn to write his letters throughout this year, I think I may have found a secret to taking away some of the tears. Here are 4 things that have been helpful:
- Back way up and confirm that the child understands the language/terms you are using. Don’t assume that he knows what “Start at the top” , “dotted line”, “middle line”, or” bottom line” means. Practice having him/her point to the top/mid/base line.
- Do it BIG! Use a big piece of paper and have them do their first practice of the letter huge! I love this video (it explains strokes, position on paper and the value of large muscle movement) for explanations on large and small muscle movement and muscle memory.
- Have them say the steps to writing the letter as they write it and go slow! The idea is to create muscle memory of the correct way to write the letters. So, make sure what your child is practicing over and over is actually right.
- Keep the lesson time short! Better to leave your student wanting more than crying because they are so frustrated over handwriting.