5 Things You Didn’t Know about Handwriting and Child Development 

In honor of National Handwriting Day, John Hancock’s birthday, we wanted to share a few facts you didn’t know about handwriting and child development. National Handwriting Day, January 23rd, was developed by Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association to promote the history and importance of handwriting.

1. Writing helps kids learn to READ and supports literacy.
Writing is “language by hand” and reading is “language by eye.” Their core is the same. As kids learn to create letters, they begin to understand and notice those letters in the world around them.
 
2. Writing by hand helps you to LEARN more easily.
When you write notes versus type them, you are using more of your brain and having to PROCESS the information more—so, you remember the information more!
 
3. Using WHOLE BODY MOVEMENT can help make it easier to learn to write.
Using multi-sensory strategies to learn letter formation is proven to support a child’s ability to learn to write more easily and automatically.
 
4. Teaching handwriting through FUN, DEVELOPMENTAL activities in the early grades can prevent later challenges that impact a child’s learning.
If an older child has to focus on how to create letters, it leaves very little “space” for processing the teacher’s instructions, planning what he or she wants to write, etc., affecting self-esteem, academic achievement and more. Currently, 80% of the day in elementary school involves writing!
 
5. In the United States, handwriting is still required to be taught in the early grades, but the focus on handwriting has declined.
HANDWRITING and KEYBOARDING can live happily together, both for their own specific purposes. Think about how YOU use handwriting in your everyday life!
 
About CEW®
Connect Experience Write (CEW) is an interpersonal handwriting program that uses sensory-motor integration and visual-spatial concepts to facilitate the development of handwriting skills in students. 
 
In CEW, students write letters using visual templates while listening to music that simulates the movements needed to form the letters.  This combination of visual templates and auditory guides strengthens the visual-spatial foundations related to writing.
 
How does it work?
Keeping relationships and emotional connection at the forefront, CEW classes begin as a group.  Students participate in whole body movements to the beat of music to help them identify the top, middle, bottom, left, and right parts of their bodies – all important foundational concepts to writing.  They then move their shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers to a song that helps them isolate the body parts used when writing.  Lastly, gross motor movements are performed with a partner (called “Mirror Movements”) that correlate with foundational writing strokes – vertical line, horizontal line, curves, and diagonals.  The music is comprised of the same tones as the music that is used for each letter.
 
About the Creators
CEW was developed in 2012 by occupational therapists, Michele Parkins and Carrie Davis, while working in a school for children with challenges in relating and communicating. Together, they realized that so many students are missing the foundations they need in order to be successful in writing and have experienced many defeats in the area of handwriting before. With their knowledge of music, development of gross and fine motor movement, visual-spatial development and engagement, they decided to create a fun, engaging handwriting program that effectively teaches kids to create letters!
 
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If you would like to learn more about CEW, please contact us!.
 

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