Handwriting

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (June 2025),  Why It Is Important (July 2025), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand,  Part 3 (August 2025)

Leave a Comment / Back to School, Handwriting, Literacy & Technology, Parenting / By

Prelude: The Takeaways from Parts 1 and 2 I’ve written about pencil grip, letter formation instruction, and handwriting over the past two months. Read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. The main takeaways: Now, About those Touch Screens – Swipe, Tap, Click, and Flash! The Younger Child Ages 0-5 As I wrote in Part […]

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (June 2025),  Why It Is Important (July 2025), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand,  Part 3 (August 2025) Read More »

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1),  Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 2

2 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Handwriting, Homework Help, Literacy & Technology, Parenting, Social-Emotional Health, Written Language / By

July (Part 2), Coming in August (Part 3) 2025  Introduction If you are just reading this article for the first time, I suggest you click back to my June 2025 article here, which explains the development of an appropriate pencil grip from birth to about age 5 prior to reading this month’s article. As a

Get a Grip!  What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1),  Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 2 Read More »

Get a Grip! What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1), Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 1

2 Comments / Early Literacy, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, Language & Literacy, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Science of Reading, Written Language / By

(Parts 2 and 3 in the works!) How Does Your Child Hold a Writing Utensil? Ages and Stages…Pre-Writing Ages 0-4 Babies are born into a world in which they are totally dependent on their caretakers, most often their parents. Although their capacity for full sensory and muscle development is intact (in most cases), these skills

Get a Grip! What Parents (& Maybe Teachers Too) Need to Know About ‘Pencil Grip’—How It Develops (Part 1), Why It Is Important (Part 2), and What About the Influence of Screen Time on Writing By Hand (Part 3) – Part 1 Read More »

What Parents Need to Know About Teaching Letter Names AND/OR Letter Sounds…and Which to Teach First…Get On the Train!

2 Comments / Decoding (Reading), Early Literacy, Handwriting, Language Literacy Connection, Literacy, Parenting, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain / By

The Train is in the Station –The Toddler The Question… As many of my readers are aware, I am a Moderator of the 242+K member FaceBook Group, Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College. So…I see, read, and respond to many questions on an almost daily basis. It is one way I can

What Parents Need to Know About Teaching Letter Names AND/OR Letter Sounds…and Which to Teach First…Get On the Train! Read More »

What Parents Need to Know About Literacy ‘Words’-It Can Be CONFUSING!?#@

4 Comments / Back to School, Decoding (Reading), Early Literacy, Handwriting, High Frequency Words, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Reading Fluency, Science of Reading, Sight Words, Spelling / By

The new school year is now pretty well underway, so many students have been screened, tested, assessed–whatever your child(ren)’s school(s) wish to call it. Getting the results, as well as the ‘plans’ for literacy instruction can be confusing–if not a bit overwhelming. You will likely receive, or have received, paperwork with these terms, as well

What Parents Need to Know About Literacy ‘Words’-It Can Be CONFUSING!?#@ Read More »

My Book About How Kids’ Brains Learn to Read and Spell Is About To Be Published! Be One of the First to Get YOUR Copy!!

24 Comments / Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, Language Literacy Connection, Morphology - What's That?, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain, Reading Fluency, Speech to Print, Spelling, Vocabulary Development / By

WHEN? My new book entitled Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen will be published at the end of May, which coincides with the end of the school year. Timing of the publication is perfect for several reasons including: With adult guidance, this book is appropriate for children beginning at age 8. Older students

My Book About How Kids’ Brains Learn to Read and Spell Is About To Be Published! Be One of the First to Get YOUR Copy!! Read More »

Does Your Child(ren) or Student(s) Struggle With Reading? I’m So Passionate About Helping Kids Learn To Read and Spell, I Wrote A Book!

6 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, Education Equity, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, High Frequency Words, Language & Literacy, Language Literacy Connection, Morphology - What's That?, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Pre and Early Literacy, Reading Brain, Reading Fluency, Resiliency, Science of Reading, Social Emotional Learning, Speech to Print, Spelling, Vocabulary Development / By

WHY DO I SUGGEST STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE READING/SPELLING/WRITING BRAIN PROCESSES? Let’s talk about this phrase: “Knowledge is POWER.” Don’t you agree? The more students of any age know abour how a task is accomplished, it’s got to have a positive outcome. Children and parents alike are often confused and upset when things aren’t going well

Does Your Child(ren) or Student(s) Struggle With Reading? I’m So Passionate About Helping Kids Learn To Read and Spell, I Wrote A Book! Read More »

Do YOU Worry About (Your) Kids (or Adults!) Who Struggle with Reading and Writing? I Worry Too, So I Called Upon Some Neurons!

30 Comments / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Attention, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Comprehension, Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Early Literacy, Education Equity, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, High Frequency Words, Language Literacy Connection, Literacy News, Morphology - What's That?, Parenting, Phonological Awareness, Reading Brain, Resiliency, Science of Reading, Social Emotional Learning, Speech to Print, Vocabulary Development / By

My first book Calling All Neurons! How Reading and Spelling Happen will be published this spring! You will be able to find it on Amazon and all your favorite online book retailers too. SO I WROTE THIS BOOK…WHY? Well…. It is my belief that all children have the right to be taught literacy skillls. According to

Do YOU Worry About (Your) Kids (or Adults!) Who Struggle with Reading and Writing? I Worry Too, So I Called Upon Some Neurons! Read More »

‘Tis the Season to be Give and Receive. Do Our Children Know How to Express Gratitude in Writing?? Let Me Show You How and Tell You Why!

Leave a Comment / Adolescent/Young Adult Dyslexia, Background Knowledge & Literacy, Executive Function & Literacy, Handwriting, Parenting, Social Emotional Learning, Spelling, Written Language / By

Why Write a Thank You Note? A thank you note is simply an effective and simple way to show appreciation for the kindness of others in terms of generosity and support.. One can write a thank you note not only for gifts received (’tis the season), but also for any kind gesture including, but not

‘Tis the Season to be Give and Receive. Do Our Children Know How to Express Gratitude in Writing?? Let Me Show You How and Tell You Why! Read More »

Science of Reading: What is ‘New’ is Really ‘Old’

Leave a Comment / Decoding (Reading), Dyslexia, Education Equity, Handwriting, Language Literacy Connection, Literacy, Literacy News, Science of Reading / By

I came across a question posed this past week to the increasingly popular FaceBook Group called Science of Reading–What I Should Have Learned In College (SORWISHLIC): What is the history of Science of Reading (SoR)?  A poster’s question from Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College First, a little about the FaceBook Group

Science of Reading: What is ‘New’ is Really ‘Old’ Read More »

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