This morning I answered an email asking how I help with handwriting. Feeling rather verbose, I gave this mother a very long answer perhaps overwhelming her in my response. I was asked by colleagues to share my response. Here it is knowing that I have a lot more to say.
“Dear mom,
I would happy to talk with you more about how I teach handwriting. It is quite different than what might be described by others you have reached out to. The approach that I use mimics that which was used to teach writing in the Renaissance.
It starts with learning about the anatomy of letters. We learn that some ascend (go up) and that others descend (go down). Yet, some letters stay comfortably within the x-height. I also teach fun language and movements related to
We practice tracing on our hands before we ever put pen to paper. After all,
When we start practicing handwriting initially, we use unlined, blank paper, so kids can write as big or little as they want. I want them to get used to creating letters in proportion to each other rather than arbitrary lines on a page. Some kids really struggle with this and will even make their own lines. The goal is for them is to see the letters as connected to each other and this is where ligatures come in. The connecting segments, although not required and not recommended for every single letter as it’s not cursive, allows for a free-flowing pathway to form graphemes, morphemes, and words. They start to have fun making <th> with a looping <h> ascender.
Now, I do get a lot of questions about directionality, reversals. Because of learning about the anatomy of letters, the auditory pairing, as well as learning about entrance and exit strokes, directionality issues dissipate quickly. We don’t talk about sticks and balls, nor do we talk about left and right. It is about entrances, exits, ascending, descending, and connecting not only of that particular letter but its journey in a word.
Lastly, I must mention the tools that we use. Besides blank paper, we practice with fountain pens. Yes, old fashioned nib pens with ink and no eraser. Don’t worry, there are inexpensive ones I can recommend. The reason is that in order for these pens to work it requires a certain hold and angle. It helps to reduce hand fatigue as well. It takes some getting used to and frankly can be quite messy, but in the
If you want to give it a try, I typically start with a 5 session commitment and recommend parents are present to learn this fun way of writing so you can practice together. I would be happy to share more despite this note being much longer than I intended. I hope to talk with you soon.
Thank you,
Lisa Klipfel
Educational Therapist”
So, I’m not really sure I’ll hear back from this mom as I’m sure she wanted me to teach a particular handwriting program so popular in the school. Most people want me to support sticks and balls but I don’t. I find directionality issues often still persist, as well as lack of ascender and descender use.
I really do enjoy teaching handwriting. I actually started studying handwriting at age 16 and when I circled back to it to teach others, I was amazed at the how the anatomy of the letter has not changed but my understanding has deepened looking at it from the per
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About Lisa Klipfel
Lisa Klipfel is an educational therapist with a private practice in San Clemente, CA. While she primarily offers interventions in reading and math, she also offers instruction in handwriting online and in-person, individually and as a group. Group classes are offered to gatherings of 4 families or more. Contact her directly for information about how to schedule your class.