Hey Mama Monday: Homeschool Handwriting Help, Mama

Hey Mama,

A couple of my kids have chicken scratch for handwriting. And they are the adult children, even though we all went over handwriting together for years. Some of my kids’ writing abilities are just neat from birth, and others need a lot of help. We should teach excellence but not stress out if their handwriting is not a work of art by the time they are ten. Instead of perfection, our goal should be improvement over time. 

Copywork is a huge help for handwriting practice, as well as all of these other benefits.

• Increases attention to detail and vocabulary
• Improves penmanship
• Provides ideas and thoughts for their own writing
• Exposes them to many styles and voices of writers
• Copying great writers helps one become a great writer.
• Improves spelling
• Cursive benefits children with dysgraphia.
• The practice of cursive writing teaches children to attend to the formation of beautiful letters.

Here are a few more resources to help you in teaching handwriting.

• Ten Tips for Excellent Handwriting
• Make writing fun by learning fancy calligraphy or even Reformation style “illuminating” 
• Handwriting can be a challenge and a joy!
• Schoolhouse Review of American Cursive Handwriting

What does the Bible say about writing? Here are some verses to copy: Copywork: Bible Verses about Writing. Never underestimate the power of the Word of God written on our children’s hearts and minds. It is life and health and knowledge—all the things we want our children to possess. 

Speaking of copying, Jesus copied His Father. He only did what He saw His Father doing. John 5:19 says, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.’” We would do well to teach our children to copy Jesus.

God bless you this week as you copy Christ so your children and your world can see who He is. And may He grant you strength as you keep His children Home Where They Belong. 

Deborah Wuehler is the Senior Editor and Director of Production here at The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. She would say she is a very ordinary homeschool mom–with one exception: she has an extra-ordinary God Who provides all she needs for life and homeschooling. She has eight children aged 11 to 29. Deborah’s mission is this: to point other homeschoolers to the Lord in all they do, think, and feel—and to confirm that they, too, can find everything they need for life, godliness–and homeschooling–in their knowledge of Him (2 Peter 1:3, 4).