15 Ways to Celebrate National Handwriting Day

Coined by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association, National Handwriting Day is celebrated annually on January 23. The holiday dates back to 1977 and falls on the birthday of John Hancock, who is known for his famous signature on the Declaration of Independence.

Handwriting is known to have many benefits, some of which are improved reading comprehension, increased creativity, high levels of cognitive development and literacy, and well-developed fine motor skills. While keyboards and smartphones seem to be more popular these days, use National Handwriting Day as a chance to put physical pen to paper.

1. Write a letter. Take a moment to write a handwritten letter to family or friends.

2. Learn cursive. Practice your cursive, a faster and prettier style of writing. The second half of Horizons 2nd Grade Penmanship introduces cursive to students.

3. Write a story. Use this day to share a story with friends and family.

4. Learn about different fonts. Type different fonts into the computer and practice writing them on a piece of paper.

5. Practice your personal signature. Look at other signatures for inspiration and perfect your own “John Hancock.”

6. Write a quick message to a stranger. Leave an encouraging message on a rock, sidewalk, or piece of paper for someone to find.

7. Write down your goals, dreams, and hopes. Those who write out their dreams and hopes are 33% more likely to achieve them due to the more personal nature of handwriting.

8. Start a dream journal. Jot down anything you can remember about your dreams as you tend to forget them with time.

9. Assign your student a handwritten paper. Even if you’re using an online curriculum like Monarch, you can choose to have a paper or essay assignment handwritten.

10. Improve your handwriting. Develop your skill by practicing or correcting your own handwriting techniques.

11. Think about all the important handwritten documents in world. Take some time to study the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, or even songs, poems, and stories that were all originally handwritten.

12. Doodle. Express your creative freedom and exercise your writing skills with sketches.

13. Color in a coloring book. Coloring has been shown to reduce anxiety and encourage mindfulness.

14. Observe people’s handwriting. Handwriting can be as unique as fingerprints. Look at all the things in someone’s handwriting that makes his or her writing unique.

15. Buy yourself a new pen or two. Purchase some new writing utensils to increase the amount of handwriting you do in a day.