BJU Press Blog

handwriting

The Value of Handwriting Skills: Keep Writing

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the value of handwriting skills
With technology always available, there are many skills we might think would become obsolete. Handwriting skills among them. After all, if we can type emails with our thumbs or dictate messages on our phones, what’s the point of writing something with our hands? And if there’s no point in keeping the skill, why should we have our kids learn it?

Is handwriting still a vital skill to train? As many homeschool parents know, things aren’t always as they seem. There’s more to handwriting skills than just putting pen to paper.

Handwriting skills are linked to motor skills.

One critical reason to encourage handwriting is the motor skills it develops. Handwriting challenges the writer to integrate gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and visual motor skills. Gross motor skills are the basic, larger muscle functions we use on a daily basis. Can your child maintain maintain posture and grip a pencil? Fine motor skills make small, subtle manipulations. Is your child able to write different words on a piece of paper? Mastering these skills helps children produce clear and consistent written work. Finally, visual motor skills are what we know as hand-eye coordination. How well can your child write what he sees?

Encouraging your children to learn and master handwriting requires them to use all three skill sets to process, understand, and copy what they see. Using all three skills together enables them to comprehend and use the information they learn each day.

Handwriting has a greater impact on us and other people.

The act of writing out our thoughts and what we hear is helpful in engaging in the learning process. As your children write, they’re using those motor skills as well as their mind to process information in a new format. Studies show that writing helps memory more than just typing on a computer. If your children keep their writing skills sharp, they will retain more of what they learn and function better on a daily basis.

Writing also often has a greater impact on other people than something typed. In an age of instant communication, taking the time to craft a handwritten note can mean so much more to the person reading. Handwriting is personal. You invest time to choose words and write carefully. A text or email takes seconds to punch out. If you teach your children to write personal messages to friends and family, they learn to communicate with more depth and intentionality than typing an email or sending an instant message.

Fluency in handwriting opens artistic potential.

One more reason that handwriting is important is that the skills go beyond everyday use. True, we can create all sorts of fun and interactive designs with our digital software. But often a Scripture verse or quote can come alive to you if you write it in an artistic form like calligraphy. Part of stewarding our creativity is using it to help us focus on God and remember His truths. Have you seen people Bible journaling by pulling out verses that have touched them and writing them in a beautiful script in the margins of their Bibles? Handwritten calligraphy, more than just an elegant typed font, can help us meditate and integrate valuable truths in our lives. By encouraging your children to hone artistic skills, you’re also giving them another tool to use to meditate on Scripture and encourage others.

Even though handwriting may be less common today, its impact on the reader is no less powerful. Training your children to write well and write clearly can help them be more influential as they grow older.

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Matt recently graduated with an MA in communication studies and currently works as a freelance writer. He attributes the wild variety in his current opportunities to the exploration his parents gave him through the homeschooling experience. He enjoys theater, the gym, and choral music and will rarely say no to a cold glass of sweet tea.

Embracing the Unfamiliar in Math and Handwriting

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unfamiliar teaching
I have a confession to make. When I started homeschooling last year, I was scared. I was scared of messing up my children’s education. I was scared that my carefully ordered life was about to be turned upside-down. And I was scared of two subjects in particular—math and handwriting.

As I read through the Math 2 and Handwriting 2 Teacher’s Editions in preparation for the beginning of our homeschool year, I began to get really nervous. I knew, of course, how to write in cursive and how to add and subtract. But this teaching methodology, this style of writing—all of it was new. I couldn’t help thinking to myself this is not how I learned it.

My memory of second grade isn’t perfect, but I remember drilling math facts, the long homework papers filled with math problems, and the stressful timed tests. I didn’t learn cursive writing until third grade, and my uppercase Ts, Gs, and Fs looked nothing like the letters that I saw on BJU Press’s handwriting chart.

Maybe you find yourself having similar thoughts as you evaluate the BJU Press math or handwriting curriculum. Like me, you might want to avoid the unfamiliar in favor of the familiar. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind that I hope will be a help to you.

BJU Press math is different because it emphasizes understanding.

I grew up with a “drill and kill” math curriculum that heavily emphasized the memorization of facts, formulas, principles, and so on. And I did fine . . . until I had to actually apply the math. Since I had no real depth of understanding, I struggled to apply what I learned.

Without ignoring the need for learning math facts, BJU Press aims to develop a depth of math understanding that leads to application from the very beginning. I personally learned so much as I was teaching second-grade math—I went from a mindset of “I didn’t learn it this way” to “I wish I had learned it this way.”

BJU Press handwriting is different because it’s based on how kids naturally write.

Many young children struggle with writing. I know I did. In first grade, I even had a tutor to help me with my handwriting. Straight lines and round circles aren’t easy for small hands to form. That’s why BJU Press developed the PreCursive handwriting style. It’s simpler for little hands. Plus, it makes the transition to cursive a breeze.

It took me a couple weeks to retrain my own pen strokes, so kids who didn’t start out learning BJU Press PreCursive from the very beginning might need a little time to get used to the new handwriting style. But once they learn it, it will be easy for them to produce neat writing.

BJU Press math and handwriting have been a big blessing to our homeschool. I no longer consider them odd—I think they’re awesome.

Check out our math and handwriting products for yourself, and see what a difference  “different” can make.

3 Benefits of Writing Thank-You Notes

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After every special occasion involving gifts, there’s the inevitable round of thank-you cards. And while you do want to show gratefulness, they probably aren’t something you look forward to writing. After all, who has the time?

But, for your children, writing thank-you notes has a lot of value. They give your children a chance to. . .

(Image use) WP 12/2016

1. Practice Composition Skills

Thank-you cards give your children an opportunity to apply composition skills outside of their studies. If they follow the traditional “thank-you-for-your-gift-I-will-use-it-for . . .” format of thank-you notes, they’ll need to consider what the item is, how it’s typically used and for what, and who they’re writing to. All these considerations involve important writing skills. For instance, they might change their tone if they’re addressing a jovial uncle as opposed to an affectionate grandma.

2. Practice Writing and Grammar Skills

Thank-you notes also give your children an opportunity to practice handwriting and grammar skills. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a thank-you card on college-ruled card stock. Writing cards encourages them to practice writing in a straight line, rather than letting their writing curve up or down. And since they won’t want to ruin the card by making too many mistakes, they’ll need to recall what they’ve learned about grammar and spelling to get it right the first time.

3. Practice Gratitude

But most importantly, thank-you notes are an opportunity to teach your children how to have a spirit of gratitude for the things they’ve been given. It’s a time to pause and appreciate the value of not only the gift but also the relationship with the giver. Even if they may not fully appreciate the gift itself, they can appreciate how much the giver means to them. After all, we as believers may never be able to fully comprehend the sacrifice Christ made for us, but we can love Christ because of the love He has shown us.

So encourage your children to take the time and write handwritten thank-you notes this year! At the very least, you can count them as extra credit later.