ez Write™
Research shows that handwriting instruction is a critical component of a child’s early development, and children who struggle with speed and/or legibility of their handwriting face numerous challenges as they progress through the education system. Handwriting is the hands-on way that children learn to read. That is why New Horizon Academy has partnered with ez Write™ to incorporate a handwriting curriculum into our preschool classrooms.ez Write™ is a research-based, developmentally appropriate handwriting program that engages all learning styles. Easy to use and easy to implement, the program encourages “automaticity," or the ability of students to retrieve and produce letters automatically. It is based on research showing that handwriting competency can have dramatic effects on academic achievement and self-esteem.
With the ez Write™ handwriting program, preschool children start early writing skills by first learning the 8 Beginning Strokes used for letter and number formation. Children are engaged in hands-on activities that take place in art, music, and physical education to reinforce the 8 Beginning Strokes. For example, one exercise has the children make the letter ‘C’ in sand. As children commit each of the 8 Beginning Strokes to “Muscle Memory," learning to form letters and numbers using those strokes becomes easy and automatic.
The curriculum teaches children to write from top to bottom and left to right (the way we read and write) and use a crayon and pencil in the most efficient way. As children learn these skills, they gain confidence, their frustration levels go down, and they are ready to actually learn to write.
In addition, ez Write™ has a strong home/school connection built into the program. Worksheets go home with instructions to teach parents how to help children form the letters.
ez Write Website
