Start here: the five letters a young hand can already make

If you are about to start handwriting with a four-year-old, the first letter matters more than the next twenty. Get it right and they decide writing is something they can do. Get it wrong and you spend six months undoing that.

So do not start at A. Start with l — a single straight line down, and nothing else. Then i, t, u and j, each of which is that line plus one small addition.

Why the first letter should be l

A vertical line is the first mark a child can make deliberately. Most can produce one by about two and a half, long before circles close properly or diagonals appear at all.

That means l is a letter your child can already write before you teach it. The lesson is not the movement — it is that this mark has a name, and that they made it. Almost every child gets l right on the first attempt, and that first attempt is doing something more important than handwriting.

Starting at A instead means starting with a letter that needs a diagonal, which most four-year-olds cannot yet produce. The first thing they learn about writing is that they cannot do it.

What each one adds

The five build on each other, and each adds exactly one new job:

• l — a tall line. Nothing else. The whole letter.
• i — a short line plus a dot. The dot is a separate skill: aiming a small mark at a specific place above the line.
• t — a line plus a crossbar. Crossing is harder than it looks, because the child has to judge roughly where the middle is.
• u — down, curve along the bottom, and back up. The first curve in the set, and an easy one because it has straight walls either side.
• j — a line that carries on below the baseline, hooks left, and takes a dot. Two new things at once, so it comes last.

Notice that i and j are the only letters in the alphabet with a separate piece floating above them. Children frequently forget the dot for months, which is not worth correcting — the dot arrives on its own once the letter is automatic.

These are the letters for teaching the line

Sitting letters on a line is its own skill, separate from forming them, and this family is the right place to teach it because the letters are simple enough that there is attention to spare.

Three things worth establishing here, while it is easy:

Letters start at the top, not the bottom. Tall letters — l, t — go all the way up. Short letters — i, u — start halfway. And j is the first letter that is allowed to go below the line, which is worth pointing out as a rule rather than letting it be discovered.

u is not really a straight letter

It has a curve at the bottom, and it belongs here anyway, for a practical reason: it is the easiest curve in the alphabet. The two sides are straight lines, so the curve only has to join them, and there is no closing to judge.

It is also worth noticing that u is n upside down. Some children spot this and start producing n when they mean u, which is the same reversal problem as b and d in a different orientation. The fix is the same — teach the movement, not the shape. u starts at the top left and comes down; n starts at the top left and comes down too, but then retraces upward. They feel different in the hand.

How long to stay here

Not long. These five exist to give a child a fast, honest win and a working idea of what a letter is. Once l and i come out reliably, move to the magic c family, which is where the real work of lowercase begins.

There is no benefit to drilling l for weeks. A child who can write l can write l, and their attention is better spent on c, where there is actually something to learn.

Questions parents ask

What letter should a child learn to write first?

l, or a capital I or T if you are working in capitals. All are a single straight line, which is the first mark a child can make on purpose. Starting with A means starting with a diagonal, which most four-year-olds cannot produce yet.

Are these letter worksheets free?

Yes, both sheets print straight from this page with no email and no download. Use the button to print both, or the one above each sheet.

My child forgets the dot on i and j. Should I correct it?

Not for now. The dot is a separate movement that gets dropped while the main stroke still takes effort, and it reliably comes back once the letter is automatic. Correcting it early costs more goodwill than it gains.

Why does my child write u when they mean n?

Because u is n upside down — the same kind of confusion as b and d. Teach the movements rather than the shapes: u goes down and curves along the bottom, n goes down and retraces back up. They feel different, and that difference is what stops the mix-up.

What comes after these five letters?

The magic c family — c, a, d, g, o and q — where six letters share one starting stroke. That is where lowercase handwriting really begins.