Do you remember the last time you actually wrote a handwritten letter? In this age of technology, e-mail, e-cards, and evites seem to be the standard over traditional pen and paper. Call me old fashioned, but I still love pretty stationary and getting birthday cards in the mail.
When I was a child, my grandfather and I were pen pals since we lived in different provinces. He used to write me beautiful letters (in cursive script) that I still have to this very day. This is something my own children will likely never experience. Handwriting is starting to feel like a lost art.
I was excited to learn about National Handwriting Day that takes place annually on the 23rd of January. If you are hearing about this for the first time, it’s meant to raise awareness and encourage the practice of handwriting. Wearing my educator hat, I believe there are numerous academic benefits for kids to learn handwriting with respect to cognitive development, fine motor and writing skills.
With this in mind, I challenge parents to treat January 23rd as a time to put away the screens and engage kids in handwriting. It does not matter if your style is printing or cursive, all you need is a pencil and paper to get started.
Just in case you need some activity inspiration, here are 10 ideas for kids to practice handwriting:
- Write out a creative story
- Make an alphabet book
- Get tracing books or print out tracing sheets
- Send a birthday or thank you card
- Mail a postcard or letter to a family member
- Start a diary or journal
- Get a head start on writing Valentine’s Day cards
- Write out a favourite recipe
- Create a shopping list for the grocery store
- Practice a personal signature
CONTEST ALERT!
Tell us which of these activities you and your family are going to try for your chance to win a set of Mabel’s Labels Limited Edition Notebook Labels!
Contest closes January 28th, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. One entry per person, winner to be chosen by random draw. This contest is open internationally. By entering you are confirming that you are at least 13 years of age.
