Supporting an older child with hand writing

August 26, 2024•1 min read

I was asking someone about supporting older children with handwriting practice and they suggested using Handwriting Art Journals.

The idea is that we encourage the child to keep an art journal where they combine handwriting practice with creative illustrations. They can write out quotes, lyrics, or their thoughts in a variety of fonts and styles, incorporating doodles, borders, or illustrations around the text.

They suggested that this approach would make handwriting practice more engaging and personal, allowing students to focus on the aesthetics of their writing. It also gives them the opportunity to practice different letter forms and experiment with their handwriting style in a low-pressure environment.

Hand writing practice for older students

The thing I liked about this idea is that journals/ diaries are supposed to be private, so if they mess up or are not happy with what they have created, it’s theirs to keep to themselves. If they like it and are proud of it, they can share it.

For younger children I would still advocate Jenga, silly sentences, or funny pictures so that the practice is hidden in a game and the sentences are kept short. I would also encourage things like colouring, dot-to-dots, and other similar ideas.

If you are inspired by our blogs or know others who might benefit from reading them, please do pass them on so that we can support as many children as possible.

Dawn Strachan

For the past 20+ years I have been a firm believer that learning should be an enjoyable experience. I appreciate that traditionally education has revolved around worksheets, textbooks, listening to teachers. But a grounding in early years and working with children who had a variety of learning styles from I learned that it is an individual activity that is personal to all of us. We don’t all learn in the same way. Our influences, our experiences, our capabilities all influence how we retain information. But through it all, I believe that if we can make it enjoyable and engaging, they will want to participate. With participation comes practice which in turn boosts skill and confidence. With an increase in skill and confidence comes a willingness to have a go. This in turn leads to more practice which leads to a positive spiral of success. The moral, we need to make learning fun, engaging, use a range of techniques.

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