Dedicate a section of your classroom or home to a handwriting center. Stock the center with colorful pencils, pens and markers. Supply thin markers, as thick markers will hinder good handwriting. Add a variety of papers, including border papers, tracing paper and stationery. Stickers and stamps enhance any handwriting project.
Choose one letter of the alphabet to practice, and then have the students write out a tongue twister featuring that letter. For example: "Seven snakes slithered slowly," for the letter S. Children love making handwritten labels for toy bins and other belongings. Purchase labels in a variety of sizes, and let them label away by hand. Young children adore their own name. Have your students write by hand an acrostic name poem describing themselves. Acrostics feature the letters of the name written vertically, and then each letter of the name is the first letter of an adjective describing the child.
Pre-teens and teens may enjoy penning a fan letter to their favorite celebrity. Try also having them design and illustrate a greeting card with handwritten text. Encourage sending handwritten holiday cards and thank-you notes. People appreciate a handwritten note over an email or text. Ask teens to construct a shopping list of all of their favorite foods. Take this one step further, and have them write recipe cards for a few meals featuring those foods. Give them a handwriting workout by letting them choose a favorite poem, or a passage from a favorite book, then copy it by hand and illustrate it.
Some children find handwriting frustrating due to poor fine motor skills. Strengthen fine motor skills through building-block activities, crafts, scissor cutting skills and clay modeling. Remind students of the appropriate pencil grip. Occupational therapists recommend the tripod grasp. The first finger should point toward the tip of the pencil or writing implement, with the thumb and middle finger resting on either side of it. All five fingers should be slightly bent.