Readiness, Printing, or Cursive?

School and Handwriting Readiness

Readiness begins at birth as infants start developing skills (social, physical, and emotional). These skills evolved through play in the toddler years. It is important to prepare your child for school and handwriting by helping develop readiness skills in the preschool years. The HWT Get Set for School preschool program includes readiness activities that are appropriate for children ages 3-5.

Transitioning from Readiness to Printing

Postpone pencil and paper activities (kindergarten level work) until your child has established handedness and can hold a crayon correctly. Teach your child a proper grip. Help your child understand size, shape, and direction concepts and use the activities in the Kindergarten Teacher’s Guide to build a foundation for printing. HWT teaches printing in grades K-2 moving to smaller size writing.

Transitioning from Print to Cursive

The HWT curriculum enables a seamless transition that helps children become proficient at handwriting quickly and easily.

• In first or second grade, you can assess your child’s writing and determine which areas need more work. The workbooks are ideal for developing good habits and correcting problems. Some parents start cursive in second grade and that’s fine if your child is ready.
• In third grade, you can start from scratch and teach cursive writing. The HWT style of cursive is vertical, not slanted, and is very easy to learn. It looks more like the familiar printed letters that children can recognize. Introducing a new handwriting program at this age is easy, particularly because cursive writing will be a new concept.
• In higher grades, allow your child to use whichever style of writing works best. Don’t force a switch in styles if your child’s is working. Again, the workbook is a good way to build good habits.