As promised, here are a few of my favorite penmanship teaching tips...

Tricky Letters and Numbers
1. When a student struggles with writing a number/letter that can be divided into two parts, trace the first half for him in purple, and the second in green. Then, instruct the student to trace and say, "purple, green" as he forms the letter. Both the rhythm of the words and the color code help the student to remember what to do first. This was the key to my kids learning to write the number eight. I'm not sure who created this idea; I learned it when I volunteered in a first grade classroom years ago. Let me know if you know whom to credit.

For Kinesthetic Learners
2. Texture is important to some kids with who need tactile learning experiences. Purchase some fine-gauge wire screen, and using wire cutters, cut it to the size of a sheet of paper. Use colorful electrical tape to frame and cover the sharp outside edges. Assist the student in setting a piece of white paper on the top of the screen, and then guide him to use a crayon to write a letter, number or word. A bumpy, textured result will give him something to trace and feel with his fingers when finished.

"Pre-Penmanship" Activities
3. For kids who just don't like to sit still and write yet, venture away from paper and pencil. Allow children to write letters in a shallow box or pie plate filled with sand, salt, whipped topping, yogurt or pudding. Also, use different writing utensils: sidewalk chalk, paint, markers, gel pens. My kids also really like using personal-sized ruled dry erase marker boards. These are all great "pre-penmanship" activities that will lead to success later, and seem a lot more like playing than formal learning when kids are just learning the basic shapes of letters and numbers.

"Invisible" Letters
4. Instruct kids to use their fingertips to write an "invisible letter" in the air or on their desktop before putting pencil to paper. That way, you can see if the formation is correct, and give additional instruction if needed without requiring that dreaded eraser. This is especially useful when teaching cursive penmanship.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry