A little backstory

What prompted this blog was a discussion about handwriting that took place in the comments of a fb post a few weeks ago.  I expressed my frustration that my children's generation (born in 2008 and 2013) has vastly less exposure to handwritten language than we did.  Not only do they not need to write, but there are hardly any opportunities on a given day for them to READ handwritten information.  Their teachers don't write on a board.  They don't hand write assignments.  And even at home, the signs in handwriting are.. just mine.  No letters come in the mail.  No birthday cards or notes.  I don't even know if they pass notes in class... I should ask though because my kids would be the ones doing it.
I am clearly letting my fear of cultural loss lead to exaggeration in my narrative.. I bought pens, pencils and notebooks for both of them.  They must write something at school.  And they are still young.  I didn't start journaling consistently and with interest until 7th grade.   Yeah, all the good writing stuff started in 7th grade.   But I'm still going to encourage it.  Give them opportunities.  We make a lot of lists at home now.  I am a visual person so seeing  a plan or an idea written out makes me more likely to go along with whatever they want to do.  I offer opportunities to trade pages of handwriting for "mom bucks" which buy them 20 minutes of screen time.  The older one can also write pages in exchange for cash.  He needs to see how important this is for me.  It is my secret language and I fear later in their lives, not many will know it.  Or know it fluently, with culture and character, as we do.

So what I want to do with this blog project (and your purpose for writing here may be completely different) is to share ideas on how to encourage the children of 2019 to practice writing by hand.  It is a skill that just needs practice for fluency.  I'm not concerned with their language ability-- they have strong vocabularies and fluid communication, and learning to *write* is a completely different story.  In time they will develop their written voices.  But I just want to make sure that when they find themselves, they can also express their visions by hand, and in their own unique script.  As identifiable to their loved ones as their smile.  I want to know that part of them.  ⭐