Handwriting

Practising Handwriting

Top Tips:

Little and often is best, regular 10-15 minute practices are better than one hour long practice.
Use pencil, not pen.
Ensure they are using the right pencil grip- watch this video for guidance
Do finger and hand exercises to warm up before practising. This strengthens the muscles and helps them to make small neat movements. You can get some ideas on this website- Fine Motor skills warm up ideas or use our Fine Motor skills leaflet
Do not allow children to start their letters in the wrong places or to move their pencil in the wrong direction. For example- children must not start the letter m or n from the bottom and then roll their pencil over to make the letter. They must start from the top, draw downwards, then back up and then roll over. Another example is the letter o. Children must not roll forwards on an o, their pencil should roll backwards. Children who form these bad habits find them very hard to undo and struggle to join their letter later.
Use our blank handwriting sheet for practising at home.

Individual Letters- FS and Y1

Children must have neatly formed letter shapes that are the correct sizes and the right way round by the end of Y1.

Use these practice sheets to help your child improve. They are grouped in letters that are formed in a similar way.

Academic Year 2019/2020

Watch our video to see where the children should start the letter and which way their pencil should go.

Joining- Y2 and Y3

By the end of Y2, children need to have neatly joined handwriting in order to meet the high expectations of the new curriculum.

Some children will continue to need practice in Y3. Please note that, at Chepping View, we do not loop letters like g and y. Use the sheets below to practise at home.