Making the Kinesthetic Connection to Language
Providing teachers with effective resources for the direct instruction of handwriting so every child is equipped with the fundamental skill needed for learning and communicating.
Ensuring Success by Instilling...
basic stroke muscle memory to ensure letter formation is automatic
efficient formation of letters and numbers to ensure that writing is easy
proper pencil grip & posture to ensure that writing is comfortable & healthy
developmentally appropriate expectations so writing intrinsically rewarding
a playful learning process so writing is fun
Origin Story
During my time teaching writing to middle school and elementary age students, I noticed that most students could come up with plenty of creative thoughts, stories, and ideas, but often they could not get them onto paper. I started experimenting with narration exercises – asking students to vocalize their thoughts while I wrote their words – and found that most had ready-to-write imaginations without the skills to actualize their ideas. Many needed help putting their thoughts into full sentences. Many needed help ordering their thoughts. But genuinely perplexing was the fact that most of them struggled to actually write their thoughts down. I wanted to find out why this was happening and discover when and where the breakdown in writing instruction was happening. I have found that many students’ struggle with handwriting began very early- kindergarten or before. Their struggle is often undetected and rarely addressed. Time spent in kindergarten settings confirmed my suspicions that handwriting instruction often takes a back seat to other academic subjects, and students are frequently left to figure it out with little guidance.
It became clear to me that if handwriting was not natural, easy, and comfortable, advancing to higher levels of writing could prove exhausting to both the student and the teachers. Squiggle Squad approach for teaching handwriting is meant to remove a substantial barrier that frustrates many students’ writing efforts.
-Holly on Handwriting
The Program’s Creator
The Squiggle Squad’s program designer, Holly Britton, M.Ed., is a curriculum and instruction specialist with teaching experience in all grades K-8. She is an author and conference speaker and a former home educator of four now-adult children. Holly brings over 22 years of private and public educational experience to this program. Holly relishes time with her friends and family including her horse, Shasta.
Read more about Holly’s thoughts on handwriting as it relates to writing literacy and life on her blog here:
The Program’s CoFounder/Designer
Ellie Britton holds a design degree from the University of California, Davis where she focused on graphic and sustainable design. She has contributed to the design and function of Squiggle Squad Handwriting since its founding in 2020. In her free time she loves riding her horse, Duke, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.
Production Artist
Josh Castaneda has been designing graphics and imagery since elementary school. He graduated from the Visual Arts program at University of California, San Diego in 2004 and has been producing art for work and fun ever since. He has been an integral part of the Squiggle Squad team since 2020. In his free time, Josh enjoys writing music, gardening, and hiking the Sierra Nevada mountains and California coast.
