How to write the letter C

Forming the capital C

C is the parent shape for O, G, Q and S, so every minute spent making the counter-clockwise direction automatic here is repaid four times over. Capital and lowercase c are identical apart from size, which makes this one of the easiest pairs to teach together.

Start: Top line, just right of the centre of the letter space

1. One unbroken curve: from the top, curl back to the left, sweep counter-clockwise down past the midline and round to settle on the baseline, leaving the opening facing up and to the right.

Forming the lowercase c

c is the letter the whole curve family stands on. Once a child can put the pen at the upper right and travel counter-clockwise without thinking, o, a, d, g and q cost very little to add. Teach it before any of them.

Start: Just below the midline at the upper right of the letter space

1. Swing up and to the left to meet the midline, then carry the curve counter-clockwise over the top, down the left-hand side, round along the baseline and up again, stopping just above the baseline on the right so the shape stays open.

Common mistakes with c

These are the errors that actually show up on the page, rather than a generic list. Watching for them while a child writes is far more useful than correcting the finished sheet.

• Drawing it clockwise from the top left, which trains the wrong movement for the six other letters built on this curve.
• Carrying the curve too far and sealing the gap, which produces o.
• Opening the gap so wide the letter flattens into a shallow arc with no recognisable shoulder.
• Beginning down on the baseline and pushing the stroke upward.

And with the capital C

• Turning the wrong way, a clockwise curve gives a backwards C, and c is one of the classic reversals.
• Carrying the curve too far round so the letter shuts itself into an O.
• Beginning at the baseline and curling upward.
• An opening so wide the letter reads as a bracket, or so narrow the shape chokes.
• Stopping short so the curve never reaches the baseline.

Letters that move the same way

Letters that begin with a counter-clockwise curve: The pen starts just below the midline at the upper right of the letter space and travels counter-clockwise, up and left to the midline, over the top and down the left side. c leaves the shape open, o closes it, a/d/g/q close it and add a line on the right, and s reverses direction halfway down. Teaching c properly buys most of this family for free.

Teaching these together is more efficient than working through the alphabet in order, because the hand is learning one movement rather than several unrelated ones.

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Practise C with words

Once the letter is reliable on its own, move to words that start with it. Letters learned in isolation often fall apart the first time a child has to join them to anything.