As a teacher helping children with dyslexia I see many children struggle with their handwriting. There are many reasons why this is so and they are all correctable. Handwriting is a fine motor skill and takes time to develop the small finger movements required for neat, tidy writing. You can help your child in a number of ways by using the following 5 tips.
Ensure that your child is sat with both feet flat on the floor and sat up straight. This helps concentration and gets children ready to write. Slouching over their desk and resting their head on their hand is not good for being alert and concentration. It could also mean that they need to visit an optician that specialises in helping children with handwriting and vision problems.Turn the paper about 20 degrees away from the hand that they write with, this will give their elbow room to move as they write and their hand can relax on the paper.Hold the pencil with a tripod grip, this is the most effective way to hold a pencil for neat handwriting.Grip the pencil by imagining it is a baby bird, you don't want it to fly away but you don't want to squash it either. This is helpful for children to understand just how tightly they need to hold it, especially for children who hold on to their pencil so tightly their fingers go white at the knuckles.If your child is having problems holding the pencil then invest in a good quality pencil grip to help them master the tripod grip with ease.
You will undoubtedly be met with some resistance to these changes but do persevere with lots of fun practise focusing on pencil holding skills regularly, not just with writing but with drawing and painting. They will take time to master, but once mastered, they will lead to success in handwriting for a lifetime.
You can learn more about the tripod grip and the right kind of pencil grip for your child's handwriting by reading more at Let Me Learn.
Sue Kerrigan is a teacher helping dyslexic, dyspraxic and dyscalculic children in the UK.
No comments:
Post a Comment