Alphabet 8s and Lazy 8

Alphabet 8s adapt the Lazy 8 form to the printing of lower-case letters from a through t (these letters evolved from the Arabic system; letters u through z come from the Roman alphabet). This activity integrates the movements involved in the formation of these letters, enabling the writer to cross the visual midline without confusion. each letter is clearly superimposed on either one side or the other (see illustration). A downstroke either ends the letter or begins another letter. For most students, when the printing of the lower-case letters improves, handwriting also becomes easier.

Activate The Brain For

• crossing the kinaesthetic /tactile midline for bihermishereic writing on the midfield


• increased peripheral awareness


• eye-hand coordination


• symbol recognition and discrimination

I found that this is useful to help young children understand the shape and strokes of the lower case letters. Plus it is fun and improves eye-hand coordination.

You can get the child to write the word eg. cat, dog by tracing on the Alphabet 8s. See sample picture below.

Before doing the alphabet 8s, you might want to get the child to do the lazy 8s. Drawing the Lazy 8 or infinity symbol enables the reader to cross the visual midline without interruption, thus activating both right and left eyes and integrating the right and left visual fields. The 8 is drawn on its side and includes a definite midpoint and separate left and right areas, joined by a continuous line.

He starts on the midline and moves counterclockwise first: up, over and around. Then from his waist he moves clockwise: up, over, around and back to the beginning midpoint. As eyes follow the Lazy 8, the head moves slightly and the neck remains relaxed. Three repetitations with each hand separately, then with both together, are recommended. Two colours of chalk or ink may be used.

You may watch a you tube series on this at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyWZzDNGUFk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq2POOCFWJo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psX8n7KikLY

Writing problems

Some children face difficulty in writing. esp. with dyslexic children. They have difficulty in memorizing the sequence of movements which make up the writing of each letter. This can lead to uneven handwriting, and, if severe, may be described as 'dysgraphia'.
They may also find it hard to remember which way round certain letters go (like b/d, 9/p, p/q. c, z, j, g, and others).
Some of the suggested approaches:
a. to ignore the poor spelling and handwriting, and to grade on the content rather than the handwriting.
b.teach them cursive writing
c.allow to do homework assignments on a word processor at home, and to bring in the print-out.

Handwriting Without Tears

I have been looking at several techniques to teach a child to write. Especially for those who have learning disabilities. I found the method used by Handwriting Without Tears (HWT) is good. It's simple and systematic which a child can easily follow. At least I found it easier to explain and guide the child.

Rather than using the conventional way of 3 line writing page, HWT uses only 2 lines. The child only needs to know how to draw a line - both big and small and curves - both big and small. Instructions are kept to the minimal.

Normally I would advice that the child traces before attempting to start to write the letter. There is a sequence of letters which are recommended for the teacher to start with the child. Not the typical methods you find in most workbooks comprising of dotted letters and repeated letters.

Reason being that the child tends to follow the dots, rather than knowing the actual flow/sequence of the letter which starts from top to bottom and right to the left. You never write from bottom up or right to left. Very often I noticed especially with younger children, they tend to start writing at any direction especially from bottom to up and their pencil grip is also wrong. Most times especially in Malaysia, children are expected to write at the age of 3. We have to note that the fine motor skills of young children is constantly developing. Forcing a child to write before he/she can hold a pencil properly is detrimental. I would suggest working on the fine motor skills first e.g playing play dough or making letters using dough......etc...., follow by pre-writing skills first. There is no hurry and pressure to insist that the child must write at 3-4 years old. Make it fun and interesting for the child, rather than a chore for both the teacher and the child. We often end up frustrated and scolding the child and if you think about it, it's really unfair.

For more information please visit the following site - Handwriting Without Tears

Why it works for my child: My son is 6 years old. I have been teaching him writing for at least 2+ years and he still cannot write properly. The biggest frustrations we face teaching him is he always will not write in the space. So he and us we are often frustrated. I used to use the 3 lines writing page and it gets very confusing for him to take instructions of which line to stop and which line to begin. I didn't have the technique and method of explanation for him eg. start on the `happy face' - which sits at the top left hand corner of the letter, big/small lines or curves....


So far I have make it simple and started all over again with him in the process and sequence to reinforce the correct flow. I found it less stressful and I think he also enjoyed the session more than having to be scolded again and again for his inconsistent writing. The double lines helps a lot to reduce the confusion of lines.


I used the singular line exercise book and drew 2 lines with a coloured pencil (you can use blue or other colours than black, since he will write using a pencil). I added on a faded top line so that he can know where to start but that's not necessary once he gets the hang of it.


Here are some pictures which you could find in the HWT website which I copied for easy reference.

Drawing With Letters

Do you know that you can make pictures using the letters of the alphabet?

It's quite easy and fun. A wonderful way to be creative and at the same time your child can practice his/her writing and creating pictures!

Copy The Same

You can use the following idea to create your simple drawings to assist your child to copy and colour the same.
Draw a butterfly. One with with coloured dots. Your child is to copy the same on the other wing.

Note: For younger children, they are unable to draw small circles, normally circular shapes, usually large. It doesn't matter. Most important is to make them feel happy of the new creation. You can help to encourage the child by adding on the circles to make the picture look better. Or you could hold his/her hand to guide him/her to draw the circle.

I found that you can incorporate art in your pre-writing skill time with your child. This makes it more interesting at the same time the child is able to explore his creativity in a fun way.

Writing Paper

There are lots of printable writing line paper online which you could download and photocopy for your child to use.

I found it useful to use the 3 line writing paper. To help children to visually see and understand your intructions as to where to write e.g from second line/middle column, you could highlight that section with a yellow highlighter. There are also paper with pop up grid line to help children to write better but it's not available locally and you will need to import it from the website.