Many schools are moving away from teaching handwriting after 1st grade and focusing on keyboarding skills. This is a mistake. The New York Times published an article on June 2, 2014 titled, What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades read it here
What is lost when we skimp on handwriting skills? According to psychologists and neuroscientists, there is a link between handwriting and broader educational development. Children learn to read more quickly when they first learn to write by hand.
Montessori always taught writing skills before reading, or simultaneously. When learning sounds that letters represent, we use sandpaper letters. Students trace the letters while hearing the sound and seeing the letter. The tracing reinforces muscular memory. Hearing, seeing, touching, uses three senses to learn letters. Experts say that handwriting has links to working memory – a skill linked to long term success in school.
