Friday Find – Handwriting Matters
For those of you who think spending a little too much time on Facebook or Twitter is time that could be better spent elsewhere, today I’m going to spoil your fun!
Sometimes the Universe (or God, or whatever works for you) works in mysterious ways.
Today, while “wasting valuable work time” on Facebook, I found a great quote that I decided to share on Twitter. Heading into Tweetdeck to share it, I noticed a Tweet that captured my attention. And I found this article in the Los Angeles Times (because I read the LA Times every day… not!)
The many health perks of good handwriting.
Read it. Go on! Then come back here for the rest of my story.
This is such an important article for my business and its underlying belief in the importance of paper as a communication medium – and to help justify the expense of sending a pre-literate munchkin to Occupational Therapy to correct his pencil grip.
These findings are not totally new – not even to me – but it is the first time I have seen them put together in one place, in a language that can be understood by people other than neuroscientists. Perfect for those people like me who are fascinated by all this, but really don’t have clue!
I probably should use this article as a jumping off point to delving further into the research. But today that’s not the point.
Yesterday, I had a lovely lady from one of THE most divine toy shops in Melbourne tell me that in her experience, kids’ stationery and journals don’t sell very well. While I tried to put on my “big girl boots” and take it all in my stride, I have been feeling very disheartened – wondering if I am indeed in the wrong industry.
This article has changed all that… well, it has at least kept me going for one more day – to believe again in what I am trying to achieve; to hope that more and more people will realise the importance of hand writing on paper as a means to build creativity, literacy, memory and confidence in our children. These are the skills our kids will need in the future.
Thank you Twitterverse… you have delivered yet again.
2
Jackie says:
June 17, 2011 at 10:49 pm
I certainly agree that handwriting improves memory. For myself I also feel that I ’spell’ better when I’m handwriting (I guess it comes down to forming letters and words). I tend to make a few more ‘unforced errors’ when typing.
Cath says:
June 17, 2011 at 10:58 pm
I agree Jackie. I’m certainly a much better speller when I handwrite. I actually am quite surprised by the number of spelling errors I make while typing. It’s just far more automatic…