What age/grade should students begin?
A. Consider skill, not age or grade, in deciding when to begin handwriting. Students are ready to begin printing (manuscript) when they can color well. When they print with facility and some speed, they are ready to begin cursive writing, whatever the age. Handwriting is a skill. We think of it as training, not education. Because fine motor skills are a prerequisite, children should not be expected to print or write before they acquire these skills. Copying letters like pictures is not writing. Many people start children too early, long before they have the needed basic skills to actually write (not copy) letters. If a child cannot write small, he/she is probably not ready. Boys are generally ready later than girls, often by two years or more. Students will generally read before they write. Starting after the needed skills are present is not a problem, but starting before they are present makes for unnecessary frustration and contempt for handwriting. We believe it is not a good idea t
