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What is the Best Handwriting Curriculum?

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An Expert's Guide to Choosing the Right Program

Many teachers, parents, and school leaders ask me the same important question:

What is the best handwriting curriculum for young children?

As a handwriting instruction specialist, former classroom teacher, curriculum director, kindergarten coach, and creator of Squiggle Squad Handwriting, I’ve spent more than a decade supporting early writers in both public and private schools. And I can tell you with confidence:

The best handwriting curriculum is one that is explicit, developmentally aligned, engaging to children, and practical for busy classrooms.

But before choosing the right program, it’s important to understand why handwriting instruction matters—and why many widely used curricula fall short.

Why Handwriting Instruction Is Still Essential

Handwriting is far more than neat penmanship. Learning to write by hand affects:

  • How children process and organize information
  • How they remember letters, sounds, and words
  • How they express ideas in writing
  • Their reading and spelling development
  • Fine-motor growth and overall literacy readiness

Strong handwriting fluency frees the brain to think, create, and communicate. Weak handwriting slows down everything—from reading development to written expression.

Handwriting is not naturally acquired.

It must be explicitly and correctly taught, just like phonics.

Where Popular Handwriting Curricula Fall Short

Many of the handwriting programs used in schools today share similar problems:

1. Visually Unengaging

Most traditional handwriting curricula are black-and-white, text-heavy, and repetitive. Young learners—especially ages 4–7—need color, visuals, characters, and sensory cues to stay motivated.

2. Rigid or Developmentally Misaligned Instruction

Some programs rely on uniform starting points or unnatural movements that slow children down and create stiff, awkward handwriting. These approaches don’t match how early childhood motor development actually works and hinders writing flow needed for fluency.

3. Overwhelming for Beginners

Most curricula introduce letter formation and fine-motor skills at the same time, which can overload new little learners who haven’t yet built the strength, dexterity, or foundational motor patterns needed for smooth handwriting.

4. Low Student Engagement

Without playful elements or meaningful visuals, handwriting quickly becomes boring. When children disengage, their handwriting progress stalls.

5. Not Practical for Busy Classrooms

Teachers often report that the lessons are time-consuming, uninteresting, or too disconnected from what children truly need to grow as writers.

These gaps lead to the biggest pain point I hear in schools:
“We don’t have enough time for handwriting.”

But the real problem isn’t time—it’s using time on instruction that doesn’t actually build handwriting fluency.

What Makes Squiggle Squad the Best Handwriting Curriculum for Young Children?

1. Motor Skills Are Taught Before Letter Formation

Instead of overwhelming children, Squiggle Squad separates motor development from letter learning. Students build handwriting movements incrementally, which leads to confidence and fluency.

2. Colorful Characters Increase Motivation

Kids fall in love with the friendly Squiggle Squad animals, who guide them through each skill step. Teachers report that children ask for handwriting every day because it feels fun and meaningful.

3. Activities Are Developmentally Aligned

Lessons match early childhood motor and cognitive development. Children feel successful because tasks are paced appropriately and designed with their needs in mind.

4. Built for Real Teachers and Tight Schedules

The structure is simple, efficient, and effective. Teachers don’t need long blocks of time—just consistent, high-quality instruction.

5. Strengthens Early Literacy

Because handwriting is foundational to reading and writing, Squiggle Squad supports the entire literacy block—not just fine-motor development.

So—What Is the Best Handwriting Curriculum?

The best handwriting curriculum:

For many schools, teachers, and families, Squiggle Squad Handwriting meets these needs more directly and effectively than traditional approaches.

It was intentionally designed to fill the gaps I witnessed year after year in classrooms: low engagement, ineffective instruction, and missed opportunities to support early writers.

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Handwriting Deserves a Place in Every Literacy Block

If we want children to become fluent, confident writers, we must take handwriting instruction seriously. This piece of the literacy puzzle is not optional; it is foundational. It is a learning tool that shapes a child’s entire academic future.

For teachers, principals, and preschool directors looking to give students the strongest start possible, a thoughtfully designed curriculum is essential.

The Squiggle Squad approach to handwriting instruction is fun and research-aligned to ensure students receive a strong start to their writing journey.

Holly Britton, M.Ed

I am an educator. I have worked in both private and public education. I founded Squiggle Squad, a unique handwriting curriculum for students ages 4 to 8. This blog is my attempt to synthesize and share my findings, observations, and hopes for reversing the downward spiral of literacy rates in the US.

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