Handwriting Warm-Ups: Quick Exercises To Start Every Handwriting Lesson
Handwriting warm-ups are two- to four-minute exercises for the body, shoulders, hands and fingers that get children ready to write. Press Start to run a routine on your whiteboard, then go straight into today's letters.
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Start A Warm-Up
Start A Warm-Up
Ready
Press Start
The routine runs on its own. Each move has a countdown.
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What Are Good Handwriting Warm-Up Exercises?
Good warm-ups work from the body out to the fingers. These exercises come from an NHS Borders occupational therapy warm-up sheet.
Body
- Jumping jacks. Ten, at a steady pace.
- Wall push-ups. Stand one step from a wall, bend the arms so the nose comes towards the wall, then straighten. Ten times.
- Chair push-ups. Hands on the sides of the chair, push up and down. Ten times.
Shoulders
- Shoulder shrugs. Raise the shoulders slowly towards the ears, then let go. Ten times.
- Butterflies. Arms straight, thumbs linked in an X, hands facing out. Make small circles from the shoulders, ten each way.
- Pencil twirls. Twirl a pencil in the air like a baton.
Hands
- Hand rub. Rub the palms together quickly to warm them, then rub each finger.
- Praying push. Press the palms together near the chest and hold for five to ten seconds.
- Finger pull. Hook the fingers together and pull without letting go, for five to ten seconds.
Fingers
- Finger opposition. Touch the thumb to each finger in turn, five times on each hand.
- Fist and star. Make a fist for a count of five, then spread the fingers wide. Ten times.
- Pencil walks. Hold a pencil in a tripod grip and walk the fingers up the pencil and back down.
For longer-term hand strength, see fine motor skills.
How Long Should A Handwriting Warm-Up Be?
A handwriting warm-up needs two to four minutes, done just before writing. The NHS Borders sheet suggests choosing a selection of exercises to make a warm-up of that length.
| Routine | Minutes | Mix |
|---|---|---|
| Quick | 2 | One body, one shoulder, two finger exercises |
| Full | 4 | Two from each group |
The Education Endowment Foundation's Helping Handwriting Shine sessions also began with a warm-up before the handwriting activity.
Why Do Handwriting Warm-Ups Help?
Warm-ups wake up the shoulder, hand and finger muscles before children write. NHS Borders occupational therapists compare it to a runner stretching before a jog, and note that children sometimes complain of hand fatigue. The DfE writing framework adds that poor postural control causes pain or fatigue, which shows up as reluctance to write and slow writing. See how to teach handwriting for where the warm-up fits in a lesson.
Questions About Handwriting Warm-Ups
Can I Print Warm-Up Cards?
Yes. Each exercise prints as a card with the name, the movement and the count.
Are Warm-Ups Useful In KS2?
Yes, especially before longer writing tasks. Pick the shoulder and finger exercises, which take under two minutes.
Can Children Do Them Seated?
Most of them. Shrugs, butterflies, chair push-ups and all the hand and finger exercises work at a desk.