Handwriting Tip: b and d

I read this tip in a newsletter recently and thought it was so smart!

Make Your Bed

Letter reversals are common for children who are learning to write. The worst culprits are b and d. To help my children remember the difference between these two, I write the word bed on a three-by-five card and explain that bed begins with b and ends with d. I try to make the word look like a bed with a small diamond over the circle of the b as the pillow and a bedspread sketched in lightly.

To help with reversals while practicing reading, I teach each child to "make your bed." Circle your fingers as though you are pretending to look through binoculars. Then raise the pointer finger on each hand. Your left hand forms a b, your right, a d. The three-by-five card containing the word bed has reinforced the first letter. When reading aloud, if your child is stumbling over b or d, a simple reminder to "make your bed" usually clears up any confusion.