Tools for practicing Chinese - Writing

Writing Characters with a hand is a very important part of learning Chinese, I'm not talking about calligraphy here, but for most people who never learned Chinese or other Asian languages, they tend to think that Asians "draw" their characters. And I might disappoint by breaking the concept, but it is not drawing - it has its order and rules like any other language. and with some practice, anyone can master those rules.
So, where to start? 
I'd recommend starting with basic strokes to get used to writing. Do you remember the time before you started going to school you would have to practice drawing circles, triangles and other simple figures before you actually were able to write the ABC? You will have to repeat this experience with characters.
So, here are the basic strokes you will have to master:

There is a very nice article, where you can read about the strokes.
http://happycottagesg.blogspot.ru/2011/05/basics-about-writing-chinese-characters.html
You can print and then trace the strokes. I usually print it and put inside the transparent folder, so the kids can trace the strokes with erasable markers  (aka whiteboard markers) over it as much as they need, without wasting too much paper.
If you want to have a more aesthetic feel though, you can try disappearing ink pens or make it fancy by buying a set of calligraphy brushes and aqua ink with reusable mat, that allows you to create a special atmosphere and at the same time it is kids friendly, so even if you spill too much water all the "ink" disappears as soon as it dries out (few minutes) and you can start over. It is about 5-15 USD, and you can easily find it on Amazon, Aliexpress or Taobao. Of course, it is more exciting than tracing a simple folder file with an erasable marker.

Also, there are plenty of different mobile applications for phones and Ipad. There are so many of them, that it requires a special post to review =)

After getting used to strokes, you might find it useful to learn the radicals and implement Golden Rules (I call them golden just to be witty) for writing characters while learning:

I've found a very interesting article about the strokes order, so please check that article for more information on strokes.
https://www.thoughtco.com/stroke-order-for-chinese-characters-2278406

Learn Radicals

Why do you need to learn radicals? Radicals are keys to reading Characters because Chinese characters consist of a combination of radicals. When you know the meaning of them it becomes more fun trying to decipher new characters. It also makes you understand Chinese logic. So, even though at the beginning it might seem counterproductive to learn the radicals, it would help you later a great deal in seeing the logic in characters rather than painfully trying to memorize all of them. Besides, there are not so many radicals (about 300), you don't have to learn all of them, just some basic ones and you can learn them while learning the actual characters too.

I hope this post was useful. If you like it, please share and subscribe. And please-please, don't hesitate to leave your comment. ^_^