If you’ve ever worried about your preschooler’s handwriting skills and whether or not they’ll be able to write their name or their ABCs by kindergarten, let us (a pediatric Occupational Therapist and a former teacher with a Masters in Early Childhood Education) put your mind at ease. You might be shocked to realize that some of the expectations placed on kindergarteners and young learners isn’t actually backed by evidence. This episode will give you insights into how handwriting is actually developed, what underlying skills we should be focusing on and how to start that conversation with your child’s school or teacher.  Susie is a former teacher with a Master's in Early Childhood Education and a mom to 3 kids. She taught kindergarten and first grade for 8 years, and was also a math and reading curriculum specialist for a large school district outside of Seattle. Her mission is to bring hands-on play and learning back to childhood, support others in their parenting journey, and help everyone make it to nap time. Susie’s parenting book “Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting” is available on Amazon and she also created Playing Preschool- a homeschool preschool curriculum. In this episode, you’ll learn:  Why there’s such a huge discrepancy between natural childhood development and what schools are expecting of early learnerWhy we shouldn’t force preschoolers to practice handwriting too early What we should be focusing on instead The sequence of underlying skills that need to be mastered before even attempting to form lettersWhen is the right time to start practicing handwriting? Links:  Episode transcript: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/68 Companion blog post (email template to teachers is at the bottom): https://busytoddler.com/learning-handwriting/ Susie’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busytoddler Susie’s PlayingPreschool program Susie’s book on Amazon The OT Butterfly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theotbutterfly Work with Laura: https://www.theotbutterfly.com/parentconsult