With the temptation of technology at our fingertips, how can we encourage children to write more letters" Rosy Edwards finds out
Thank-you letters: three words likely to make any child scarper quicker than you can say ?gratitude?. They can feel like a full stop to the fun. When the cake has been eaten, the presents have been opened and the balloons have withered, the onerous task of writing reams of ?thank yous? is all that?s left.
Writing a letter is no small feat for children. It demands fine motor skills, concentration and language comprehension all at the same time; how much easier to just send a text message or ping off an email, a quick cut-and-paste with a space left to ?insert gift here?. We have the technology, and though it?s galling to admit, children are often more dextrous with an iPad than a pencil.Children are writing less by hand, and relying more on tech. As adults we?re just as guilty, which means letter writing is sadly dying out. ?Letter writing is a great thing,? says Dr Jane Medwell, associate professor of education at the University of Nottingham and a leading academic in the field of handwriting and literacy. ?The point of writing is about connecting with an audience and writing a letter is about as direct as you can get.?
There are educational benefits, too: letter writing improves handwriting and develops spelling, reading and penmanship. But, ?we need to recognise that handwriting has a more important function than just getting the words dow...