Foundations incorporates handwriting instruction for lowercase letters while teaching the A-Z phonograms. The reason: While reading is a visual experience of language, handwriting is the kinesthetic element. Learning how to form the shapes of the letters helps students to more readily recognize them for reading.
Handwriting is taught in Foundations through large-motor motions, with lots of active movement and a variety of sensory experiences, so that students can begin learning to write the letters even if their fine motor skills are still developing.
If your child is not ready to write with paper and pencil, use a whiteboard, sidewalk chalk, finger paint, etc. to keep practicing writing. While working on spelling activities, feel free to allow him to use magnetic letters or phonogram tiles to form words. Keep handwriting practice playful, large motor, and short.
It is not important that students master handwriting at this stage, so it is fine to keep moving through the Foundations lessons even if handwriting is coming slowly; just keep providing frequent opportunities to practice it and to connect the physical motions of forming each phonogram with the phonogram's sounds.
We do not recommend using writing practice as a way to strengthen weak fine motor skills - both because this can lead to frustrated students who hate handwriting and because there are other more effective ways to develop fine motor skill. Instead, practice handwriting using large motor movements and work on fine motor development separately. For ideas, see My student struggles with fine-motor writing. What should I do?