Handwriting reception preferences

[PantaRhei]

Quick question for parents and teachers of Reception children!
When children are first learning handwriting in Reception, which type of paper would you prefer them to practise on?

1. Completely blank paper (no lines)
2. Paper with just one line to write on
3. A four-line handwriting grid with the middle space lightly shaded to help guide letter size and positioning

I’d love to hear which you’d prefer for your child or pupils, and why! Really interested to know what parents and teachers think works best at this age.

3 lines so they can learn size of letters.

3 but wide.

At this point in the year I would be focusing more on improving fine motor skills and providing lots of mark making opportunities to help get those basic skills right. So access to all kinds of paper!

I think often we are too quick to try to rush through writing before getting the basics right.

my reception child still licks the paper

Maybe trying to lick the lines off as they prefer plain white paper. ‘Can solve problems independently’.

Are you a parent looking to buy resources to help your child, or someone designing a handwriting scheme to sell? I suspect the latter, but I'll respond assuming the former as I'm always happy to help parents.

Children need to learn correct letter formation, before learning about sizing and placement on lines etc. Our whiteboards have a line for them to sit the letters on, but most are way off that stage and completely ignore the lines in the Autumn term (with their letters either 'floating' or going through the lines). That's ok. The only thing that matters right now is that they're learning the correct formation. They'll eventually learn where to place the letters, in time.

Away from the formal handwriting sessions that the government very sadly insist we do daily now, we don't use lines at all at this stage in Reception. In provision, I put out flour or coloured sand for the children to form letters with their fingers. They use chunky chalks to form letters on a chalkboards without lines (or even the floor). They use jumbo coloured whiteboard markers to write on our easel in the outside area. The children get far more from this than they do writing on small whiteboards with lines for 10 mins each morning.

You can only teach size and placement once a child knows how to form the letter, otherwise it's cognitive overload with far too much for them to think about at once.

As a teacher, I'd agree that fine motor skills come first, so plenty of mark making on plain paper early in Reception is really valuable. Once children are forming letters with some control, the four line grid with the shaded middle space works well because it shows them clearly where letters sit and which parts go up or down. Single lines can come later once letter sizing is more secure.

If you'd like more advice on handwriting at this stage, feel free to PM me.