Letter R Handwriting Practice

Do the P first: stick, then bump. Then lift the pencil and add the leg, a diagonal going down to the right from the middle of the letter. Say it as three parts: down, round, kick. A Large row first and a Medium row second works well. Red, rug and run are quick words to write after. Expect about eight minutes in all, and do not worry if the leg takes several rows to find its starting place.

The leg is the hard part. It should start where the bump meets the stick, not from the bottom of the bowl, and it should leave the letter at an angle. Children draw it as a straight vertical, or start it from the stick's bottom. Lowercase r is a small stick with a little arm, and it ends a lot of words, so the arm shape matters. R is one of the more common letters in words.

Stay on Large until the leg begins in the right place. If the child makes the bump too big, remind them it only goes halfway down. When the leg is steady, shift to Medium. A fun method is to print the P page and the R page together and show how one letter becomes the other.

Why does my child's R look like a B or a P?

The leg is probably missing or tucked inside the letter. Trace a P, then say now kick the leg out, and add it from the middle with a different color.

Where does the leg of R start?

At the point where the bump meets the stick, in the middle of the letter. From there it goes down and to the right in a clean diagonal.

Is R a hard letter for beginners?

It is among the harder capitals because it has three strokes. Most children manage it by about six, once P is secure, though the leg may stay wobbly for a while longer.