Poor handwriting may be used as a cover for difficulties with spelling, but some children have a degree of dyspraxia (poor muscle control) and this will cause problems with the fine motor control movements needed for handwriting (dysgraphia). Motor control difficulties due to immaturity are more common in boys, who, in the early years, may be up to a year behind girls developmentally, especially in the fine control skills needed to manipulate pens, pencils and scissors. Playing with 'Duplo', threading beads and using other manipulatives, can improve hand strength and dexterity.

Encourage your child to hold the pencil correctly right from the beginning (RRF 46 p18) especially if they are left handed. Remind them of ''froggy legs with pencil resting on the log''. Initially, use 'handwriting' exercise books with special ruled guidelines, or make your own by ruling over every other line in a conventionally lined exercise book with a dark coloured pen or pencil. Before showing children how to form individual letters let them practice making strings of different shapes and patterns (Williams p54-55) These could be used to make decorative borders for their own pictures.

'Ball and stick' print script should not be used. Start all children off with a pre-cursive style of handwriting (see link below for an example); the individual letters are less easily confused and moving to joined-up writing is easier.

Debbie Hepplewhite, a synthetic phonics trainer, points out the, ''difference between learning to write with a mini whiteboard sitting cross-legged on the floor with a marker pen – and learning to write with paper and pencil, learning correct pencil hold and sitting comfortably at a correct-sized desk'' (ABC Does...blog)

Debbie says that, ''It is handwriting that adds to the 'multi-sensory' set of activities for core phonics learning. We have virtually a nation of children learning to write with marker pens sitting scrunched up on the floor. I ask teachers wherever I speak or train to conduct observations around their schools when children are writing to see just how they write (physically).
What is their posture, how do they hold their implements, do they write 'under' the words or 'above' (hooking their wrists around -writing 'upside down' in effect), where is their 'spare hand', how well do they form their letters on writing lines??? Further, how do the STAFF handwrite in front of the children, when modelling any writing, when marking the children's work?'' (Hepplewhite. RRF message board)

A common problem is b / d confusion - this is more likely when print script has been taught; show the child how to use their own mouth shape as a cue. 'Make your mouth the shape to say a letter b ..... your lips make a straight line, so you write the letter that starts with a straight line- the b. When you start to say 'd'.... your lips and tongue make a circle (ish) so that's the letter that starts with a circle'.

http://www.scribblers.co.uk/acatalog/Guideline_Generator.html
Handwriting paper to print.

http://www.senteacher.org/Worksheet/35/Handwriting.xhtml
Handwriting sheets- including dotted font

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/kids-writing-pad/id366491984?mt=8
App for iPad. Kid's writing pad. 'Lined writing pad useful for practicing numbers and letters to make sure you draw them appropriately. It has a middle dotted line between two solid lines'.

http://www.phonicsinternational.com/Joined%20Handwriting.pdf
Debbie Hepplewhite's hand-writing instruction sheet using pre-cursive style.

www.prometheantrust.org/admin/files/tracing.pdf
Sound Foundations handwriting tracing sheets; pre-cursive leading to cursive.

www.senteacher.org/wk/hands1.php
Patterns to help pre-schoolers with pencil control.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IUK/is_2001_Summer/ai_78177291/
'The Write Stuff' by Christina Hoff Sommers, on Boys and Handwriting.

http://desktoppub.about.com/library/fonts/hs/uc_boringboring.htm
Free 'Boring Boring' font to download.

www.spellingsociety.org/journals/j19/handwriting.php
Handwriting, and its relationship to spelling.

Why the pen is mightier than the keyboard:
http://literacyblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/why-pen-is-mightier-than-keyboard.html

http://www.schoolsworld.tv/videos/france-teaching-handwriting
Teaching handwriting in France

http://www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/winter2009/graham.pdf
Want to improve children's writing? Don't neglect their handwriting.

http://www.dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk
Dyspraxia Foundation

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