Letting children win at the starting line is the aspiration of most parents. Whether the font is beautiful or not is undoubtedly very important to a student. This has also caused many parents to not start from the actual situation of their children. Sign up for so many training classes for your children at the age of 10, including calligraphy, painting, dancing, and everything else. It is true to hope that your children will become successful, but if the timing is wrong, it will be very detrimental to the healthy growth of your children. So what age is the best time for children to practice calligraphy? How to start practicing calligraphy for children?
15 Teacher Xiaomo from Calligraphy Learning Network suggested:
Writing and practicing calligraphy cannot be achieved overnight. It must be done step by step. According to the different states of children in different grades, children should be given corresponding education and slowly guided to fall in love with writing and practicing calligraphy.
In the early childhood period of 1 to 3 years old, the child's fingers are not yet mature. If the child is forced to grasp a pen and practice calligraphy, it is easy to cause deformity of the hand joints. But don’t control your children to draw with pens, as long as they don’t correct them.
In the preschool period of 4-6 years old, through living and studying in kindergarten, children have already developed a certain ability to take care of themselves and have the physiological conditions to practice calligraphy. However, children's active thinking and extremely short attention span determine that they do not yet have the psychological conditions to practice calligraphy.
Therefore, during this period, we cannot force children to practice calligraphy, but rather cultivate their interest in writing. For example, read picture books with your children, or teach your children to write some simple Chinese characters. Remember not to be demanding, but encourage him to write more to prevent boredom.
From 7 to 12 years old in elementary school, after all the preparations in kindergarten, I can finally start practicing calligraphy!
So how to practice calligraphy for children? What is the specific method?
My idea is to first develop the correct habits of holding a pen and sitting posture, and then practice using the pen, which requires writing horizontally and vertically straight, and then basic strokes, such as horizontal and vertical strokes, hooks, etc., and finally typical characters, which are the actual operations of practicing handwriting. I usually practice penmanship, practice some basic strokes, and write the learned characters well one by one.
1. Gamify pen-handling exercises to solve the problem that children are unwilling to write. For the problem that pen-handling is too boring, make it into a game. The child writes a stroke and he writes a stroke. It is required that each stroke can pass through two points and be a straight line. Take turns writing. One point is awarded if the standard is met, no points if the standard is not met. This game can also be used by children to play with their classmates.
2. Parents demonstrate on the spot, analyze and write at the same time, and teach at home through the teaching structure. They can write on the spot and show it to their children, tell them the whole thinking process, and then comment on each other. You don’t need to write too much at one time, just one or two of each character. There is no need to write one line at a time. Children generally lose patience if they write too much. There is no need to practice calligraphy specially when the children are still young. Just practice while writing.
3. By the time they reach the first grade, the children have also learned a lot of relatively simple Chinese characters and have a certain understanding of the structure of Chinese characters. However, due to the lack of wrist strength, the children will feel tired after writing for a while, so the children in the first grade have more time to practice calligraphy. It should not be too long. It is best to control calligraphy practice time within 20 minutes every day. It is recommended to start with simple content such as basic strokes to allow children to build confidence.
In the second and third grade, the children's arm muscles and finger joints have been basically fully developed, and they also have the understanding of horizontal and vertical directions. Their wrists are strong and they will not often feel tired. Therefore, this period is the most suitable time for children to officially start practicing calligraphy. It is recommended that parents choose a set of regular script fonts for their children and let them practice it every day. However, practicing calligraphy is a boring thing after all, and it is difficult for children to persist. It is best for parents to practice calligraphy with their children to enhance their confidence and motivation to continue practicing.
In short, before the age of 5, focus on cultivating interest in Chinese characters. After the age of 5, start to slowly learn to write, starting from the posture of holding the pen and sitting posture! Control your time and your attitude (encourage more), and your child's handwriting will definitely not be too bad!
