Let Handwriting Wire Your Brain

Ever read someone's writing and the handwriting left you stumped? I'm sure we all have experienced  that at some point. I recall being in elementary/middle school and having to work on handwriting every day for at least 15 minutes. My 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Grant, would send me back to my seat to re-write a sentence if she wasn't pleased with my handwriting. At the time, I really hated her guts for doing so. Later on in life, I learned to appreciate her no-nonsense take on handwriting! While at a Zaner-Bloser workshop for new textbooks (as a rookie teacher), I came across their handwriting books and instantly thought to purchase them for my 3rd/4th grade class. My principal at the time was opposed to the idea, "We don't have time for that!" I'm pretty sure the look on my face was (-_-). The school day is from 8-3pm, I was pretty sure we could spare 10-15 minutes for handwriting; besides, I was struggling to grade papers because of half of my class' poor handwriting skills. Being the renegade that I am, I purchased a copy and decided I would copy the pages and assign them to my students as morning work!

I did do a bit of research (Googling) on the effect of handwriting on the brain and here's what I found:
-students who have greater ease with fine-motor writing tasks have better academic skills in second grade in both reading and math
-when students develop the fine motor skills that accompany learning to write by hand, their speed and output increase
- increases brain activation for higher level learning
-provide a foundation for literacy skills development and critical thinking in reading, writing, language, and mathematics

Consistent handwriting practice wires the brain for learning and creates a calmer classroom environment! It worked in my room and I did have the pleasure of watching my students benefit from the practice. I also never got caught by my principal :) #SmallVictory 

Parents, if your child isn't receiving conventional handwriting practice at school, you can always go ahead and purchase a handwriting book from the local teacher store, Wal-mart or Toys-R-Us and have them work on it at home! 

Sincerely, 
Karen C.