Handwriting Practice

from The Diary of a First Grade Teacher

Handwriting practice is required in kindergarten and in first grade – starting with writing the abc’s correctly.

But before the child can write legibly, good eye-hand coordination - a fine motor skill - is required.

For information on how to help your child develop his or her fine motor skills, visit Motor Skills.

Having good penmanship begins with knowing how to hold a pencil correctly ...

Remember, after a skill has been practiced incorrectly - for any length of time - it's so difficlut to change it.

Please, from the get-go, be diligent about teaching your child the proper grasp of a pencil.

Speaking of handwriting practice, here are some first grade quotes on that subject - taken from my journal - The Diary of a First Grade Teacher.

Look at This!

“Oh, I got one, too!” Weesie chimed in. “It’s right here!” She started digging in her school bag for something. But - whatever it was - she never found it, until later …

Later – as I was helping the yellow reading group – she sprang from her seat. Stomping her feet all the way across the classroom, she was bent forward, gasping ...

“GUESS WHAT! My sister RIBBA RABBLED all over my good scribble work!” She held up a handwriting practice worksheet for everyone in the reading group to see.

Loegan – who had been reading - stopped and peered at her paper. It was covered in red crayon.

With a hopeless sigh of disgust, he shook his head and quickly confirmed the diagnosis. “Yep, that’s ribba rabble, all right!”

Do You Mean Cursive Writing?

Amy gaped at Gena wide-eyed, as though she had just been slapped. “Curvis! Not cursing.”

“Oh,” Gena replied, easily. “I thought you said a ugly word.”

Blushing, Amy gazed at Gena in mute wonder for several seconds … then she burst out laughing. “Nooooo … I want to know WHEN we going to WRITE curvis ... I can’t hardly wait!”

Gena spun around with a request, too. “Yeah, Teacher, learn us to SPEAK curvis, too!”

Writing ABC's

Of course - for many reasons - no one wants to begin again. Mostly, the first graders don’t want to miss Recess.

It’s rare that someone has to begin again. But it does happen. As their teacher, I know if it’s their best work or simply something just slung on paper.

I pointed to Joe Joe’s handwriting practice page ... I couldn’t read a single letter of the alphabet. Folding my arms across my chest, I said, “Hmmm.” That’s usually all I have to say.

For a long time, he was silent.

I waited.

“Well, that pencil won’t write good,” he said between clenched teeth. “It’s my Papa’s fault. He’s the one that bought the thing!”

Grumbling under his breath, he continued, “And he bought it at a JUNK STORE!”

A little later - after he had erased and started over - I went to see him again. “Hmmm,” I said, stalling.

“I didn’t do that,” he insisted.

“Oh, really?”

He looked at me accusingly. “REALLY!” Then, with his chin tucked against his chest, he mumbled, My pencil done it.”

I picked up his pencil and paper. “Let’s go to the table ... I’ll help you.”

“No, REALLY!” he argued. “You might THINK it looks sloppy, but it ain’t!”

Tilting his head way back – and with a pained expression - he looked pleadingly into my eyes. “I promise ...” he whined, “it’s good enough!”

Alphabet Song