When I listen to parents and grandparents nowadays, I hear the same recurring grumble … our kids can’t write legibly! Sometimes just writing their names is an effort. Read, yes. Tap computer and phone keys, yes. But - handwrite legibly — no! Actually enjoy writing? Oh my! That’s a tipping point, yet they really haven’t been given opportunity or guidelines. Young children are usually eager to learn to write, and to write cursive. And, it’s these growing years that writing skills are established. Habits formed in childhood are often rooted for a lifetime.
In modern times, researchers have found that when we write by hand, we are connecting to neurons in our brain. We literally stimulate brain cells, and we are forming pathways for nerves to send messages. When we repeat certain patterns in our handwriting, we are establishing patterns of pathways in our neuro-centers. These become our habits of thinking, where or how we most often work on our problem solving skills, or approach new situations, or learn new skills. Some people learn best by hearing, some by seeing, some by doing. There is no right or wrong way, but there can be more efficient ways to think about things and easier ways of doing them. Writing the Vimala Alphabet™ is key to opening that door to innovative thinking.
Studies have found that children who enjoy writing learn better, faster, and are higher achievers than those who don’t. Perfection is not the goal, rather, the purpose is to let handwriting flow onto the page with clear, casual, legible script that engages the writer’s attentiveness and is fun to write. Learning to read and handwrite is one of the most important skills a child can acquire. Helping a child learn to write fluent cursive letters, always ending to the right, is one of the most rewarding gifts you can offer.
Why not take five minutes a day … just five minutes, to write with your children? Just a few minutes with a letter or two or three, maybe a sentence and some thoughtful insights into the letters themselves.
Begin a routine practice of writing letters every day. Including some of the aspects of the letters and Alphabet symbolism can make handwriting much more engaging. Using the Vimala Alphabet™, begin with the communication letters … just one or two lowercase at first.
Handwriting and the Alphabet have come down to us through centuries. We’ve visited some ancient scripts and writing styles through this series of blogs. It’s amazing that we can decipher the thoughts, feelings, and accomplishments from our ancestors who lived so long ago. What does your child feel when he or she sees these writing systems? Consider the complexities involved in how writing evolved over time. Consider the form and style of some of the scripts pictured in earlier blogs. Think about how the individual letters or symbols were made. How easy or how hard would it be to use these scripts?
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