Writing the letter w

Start with our whoosh to the top (lead in) and then make a diagonal line back to the bottom. Make a diagonal line in the other direction to the top creating a point at the bottom. Repeat this making another diagonal line to the bottom and then another to the top creating another point at the bottom. Finish with a small flick out to the side.

When forming pre-cursive letters, always start on the line, whoosh up and continue to form the letter.

To print the letter w, simply follow steps 3 - 6.

No worries, there are lots of exercises that can be done to help them. Practise fine motor control by using different tools such as tweezers to pick up e.g. small pom poms and move them from one bowl to another. Have a go at threading beads onto a pipe cleaner or building and undoing lego bricks. Once they are ready to have a go with a pencil, use the nip, flip, grip technique. It might also be helpful for them to use a triangular shaped pencil to start with.

No worries, you can take it back a step and practise copying patterns and shapes such as circles and zig zags before coming back to letter formation.

No, in the UK capital letters are not joined.

Don’t worry too much about size when they are learning to write. It is best to encourage consistency in size between the letters to begin with. Continue using lines and practising. The aim is to have consistent and legible handwriting.

If your child is just beginning to write, observe them and see which hand they use when they pick up their pencil. This may be the same hand they use to eat, brush their teeth, brush their hair etc. You don’t need to tell them which hand to use, they will naturally use whichever feels most comfortable to them. Make sure they have elbow room on the side they are using to write.