National Handwriting Day: Rediscovering the Fundamentals of Penmanship

Today, Tuesday, the 23rd of January, marks National Handwriting Day—a celebration encouraging us to embrace the art of penmanship, rediscovering the purity and power of writing by hand.

Handwriting, a fundamental skill akin to reading and spelling, requires practice and significantly impacts a child's development.

Here's a glimpse into how Whiteknights teaches your child to write.

Stage 1 - Early Years and Year 1

• No entrance strokes or joining of letters; emphasis on letter formation.
• Letters grouped into 'letter families.'
• Making use of Letter Formation Phrases - familiar to pupils  due to phonic awareness.

Stage 2 - Year 2 and KS2

• Once letters are formed correctly, children progress to joining them using various strokes: horizontal exit, diagonal exit, or a looped stroke.
• We also make use of Letter-Join, a handwriting scheme to aid in teaching pupils to write cursive, seamlessly blending traditional and digital resources. As a bonus, our pupils can access Letter-Join online for free at home.

Below are some useful resources for parents to utilise.