Handwriting Readiness

Resource Guide
HANDWRITING readiness

Know Your Learner

Use The Early Childhood Handwriting Resource Guide’s Kindergarten Rubric as the first source to help determine current level of performance, including the ability to demonstrate the pre-writing strokes, shapes, and control needed for handwriting.

The following is a checklist of visual-fine-motor foundational skills that can also impact a child’s readiness skills for handwriting.

Pencil Grips

Young children need time to explore grasp of writing tools with their hands. There is no need to use pencil grips with students in preschool or prekindergarten classes. Working daily on foundational fine motor skills will be most beneficial to help develop control of writing tools. Providing short, broken crayons or chalk will assist in developing a more mature grasp.

When kindergarten students are exhibiting immature/insecure grasp on writing tools, it is appropriate to begin exploring using a pencil grip. Two grips that are found to be most successful include the following:

• The Pencil Grip Links to an external site.: this grip increases comfort, teaches proper hand position and improves control. It’s ergonomic design also provides relief of hand fatigue. There is an “R” on one side to prompt where the right thumb is placed for righties and an “L” on another side to prompt where the left thumb is placed for lefties.
• The Crossover Grip Links to an external site.: this grip is especially helpful for students that have the most difficulty learning to “pinch” the writing tool. It works with the body’s natural physiology to gently place fingers in the proper position for gripping. It uses the same design as The Pencil Grip, but has added wings to prevent fingers from crossing over each other.
• There are other grips available, such as the Stetro Grip, but might be more challenging for kindergarten level students.

Posture

Sitting Posture

Postural control is the strength and stability of hips, trunk, shoulders and neck muscles. To successfully learn and refine handwriting, posture is an important component in controlling writing tools.

• When sitting, children should have both feet on the floor and if cannot do this, a footrest or box could be used;
• Table/desktop approximately 1-2 inches above elbow, arms resting comfortably; hips/knees at 90 degrees; and, Hips all the way back in the chair.

Standing Posture

For children who seem to do best while standing at a raised desk or table, posture is also important to facilitate success with tools and formation table/desktop approximately 1-2 inches above elbow.