Helping Kids Learn to Print - Jean Hetrick

 Printing legibly can be frustrating for some children even with extra help and encouragement. Many first graders have difficulty forming letters, keeping them on a line, and spacing between letters and words. It is most important to help them love reading, telling stories, and putting their creative ideas down on some surface eventually.  Children learn at different rates, but families can patiently and gently help them progress with fun learning activities.
 Here are some ways families can help with printing, especially during the summer months.
 Drawing Fun
  The American alphabet uses circles, line segments and curves. Producing them requires fine motor control. One way to help children print is to help them draw figures. Ed Emberley’s drawing books teach children that the whole world is made of geometric figures and by adding one precise figure at a time one can make cars, animals, and much more. When they make these drawings, they are developing coordination between fingers, eyes, and brain.  Since the way to any child’s brain is through fun, these library books can help struggling children and frustrated families.
  Enlarging the writing instrument may also help. Use fatter pencils and crayons or add pencil grips. Grips are found in office supply sections. Winding a rubber band around where the fingers properly grip the pencil can make a homemade grip. Check on- line for images of how to hold a pencil efficiently.
Enlarge Printing
  Provide ways for large printing. Keep a white board handy for children to make notes and drawings. Leave it clear at first so children can scribble and pretend to print. Then make it look like lined paper. Children can help you use a ruler to make black lines four inches apart. Gradually go to three, two, and one inch as children reach first grade.
  A second white board can look like children’s penmanship paper with red bottom lines (for stop), black or green dash lines, and solid lines at the top. A red bottom line shows where most capital and lower case letters should rest. If children have difficulty finding where to start letters, use a green dot to show where letter strokes should begin for their difficult letters.
  Double check which printing system your school is using and make letters correctly. Penmanship paper may have dots and numbers to help correct formation.
  Take many breaks and change activities often since this is hard word for little hands. Run around, hop, skip and jump.
  Do not try to change the dominant hand. If they use their left hand, that is their comfortable hand. 
Photo: Fran Darling; Sketch: Nowicki
More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest