Most children have hard-to-read penmanship when they first start to learn to write. Holding a pencil is a unique action, and it takes time for the practice to become natural. Some children get frustrated with their bad handwriting, though, or sometimes a child just needs a little more practice.

In this blog, we discuss seven different activities that are not only fun but that will also help your child to improve and practice his or her penmanship.

1. Switch Up the Writing Instrument

A plain old pencil gets boring after a while. Switch it up by changing out the writing utensil. Use a
marker, a crayon, or a pen to bring in a little color. You don’t even have to write on paper anymore. Instead, get some dry erase markers and a whiteboard, or find some chalk and go outside to the sidewalk.

You can even take it one step further. Form letters with shaving cream. Use fingers to write in sand or salt. Break out the finger paints. Bake cupcakes and write a letter on each to form messages. Write letters in the air with a magic wand. Use your imagination.

2. Write From a Different Angle

You don’t always need to write at a table. Use a whiteboard or chalkboard to change the angle, or tape some paper to a window. You can even tape paper to the underside of the kitchen table and have your child write upside down. The extra challenge forces your kid to focus more.

3. Pretend to Be Secret Investigators or Spies

Buy a couple notepads or small notebooks and pretend to be secret investigators. Find clues and have your child write them down so you can look over them later and solve the mystery. Or pretend to be spies and leave secret coded messages for each other. These activities don’t force your child to focus on the writing aspect, so a particularly reluctant child may have an easier time.

4. Find a Pen Pal

Pen pals have always been an excellent way to help penmanship. If your child has a friend who lives far away or a cousin, aunt, or grandpa he or she misses, start an ongoing correspondence with your child and that person. For special occasions, make homemade cards.

5. Create Comics or Trading Cards

If your child loves comic books, help him or her to create an original story or strip. It could be the story of a superhero your kid created or the story of his or her favorite superhero. Maybe your child loves role-playing card games, like Pokemon. Have him or her create a brand new Pokemon and design the card.

6. Write and Illustrate Stories

Is your child an avid storyteller? Encourage him or her to put those stories down on paper. Does he or she have a deep love for Nancy Drew or Percy Jackson and want more stories from those universes? Those stories can be created and written by your child. All these stories can be illustrated too, and even that element will help with penmanship by fine-tuning your child’s motor skills.

7. Copy Iconic Fonts

Everyone, even your kids, knows what Google’s and Facebook’s logos look like. Everyone can recognize the fonts for Harry Potter and Star Wars. Have your child trace or copy those iconic logos and fonts. This will help him or her get more comfortable and confident the same way copying any letters will, just this time, it’s something more fun.

Be encouraging. Remember it may take some time before you can see any improvement in your kid’s handwriting, and that’s okay. The main concern is that he or she keeps practicing-and keeps having fun.