Advice on Correcting Bad Handwriting

[goldenecho]

I homeschool my youngest but my two oldest boys have always attended public school.   They are 14 and 12.  The 14 year old doesn't have particularly great writing, but I can read it.  My 12 year old's handwriting is so bad I really struggle to read what it says.  I'm thinking of letting the 14 year olds go as is...he's so stubborn I doubt I'd get him to change his ways now, and he would really resent the time spent on this.  

 

But the 12 year old's writing is bad enough that I feel like we need to do something about it.   Any suggestions for methods of correcting writing at this point?

 

He has some letters misformed.

He doesn't write on the line...his writing goes up and down between the two lines like waves, making it really hard to read.

His spacing is horrible.  We've worked on this before so it's gotten a little better, but when he's writing quickly it will look like one long word.

 

 

[winterbaby]

I struggle with my daughter's handwriting too. She is 11. Is he using college ruled paper? The common advice that having them write smaller helps them write neater has really helped in our case. Other than that the only thing I really have is to go back and study the formation of the letters. I demonstrate them myself because the large size of the models in the workbooks was part of the problem. I've basically repeated a handwriting curriculum, except with my own writing on college ruled paper rather than a workbook. I am very critical of the results. Not in a negative way but I am really exacting and specific about what to change, and I choose a few words to make her do over. Now that we have reviewed all the letters and done a bunch of words I am slowly moving on to sentences. When she is writing outside of these exercises, it's obviously not as good as when she knows we are working on handwriting, but it's definitely had a positive effect.

[SKL]

Have you had your kids' eyes checked to see if vision issues are the root of the problem?  This made a big difference for one of my kids.

 

For a while I was militant about spacing etc, but I noticed a few things.  One, my kids automatically write better at school.  Two, they naturally improve as they get older; now they are in 6th and I'd say their writing is pretty legible, though not gorgeous.

 

I always had bad handwriting.  What helped me was to turn the lined paper so that the lines were vertical instead of horizontal.  This allowed me to get the slant right and write legibly.  I'm not really sure why, but give it a try - it can't hurt, right?

 

I also agree with having them write smaller.

 

Other than that - I think that at this point, you might as well teach typing, since that's how they are going to write most of their lives anyway.

[mschickie]

We have been using a Zane-bloser workbook to help dd.  It actual gives tips and talks about where folks normally make mistakes in their handwriting and how to correct it.  http://www.rainbowresource.com/product/sku/060145

[Guest]

Use a.fatter barrel pen like a bic 4 color or put a gripper on pencil.

If they need more friction/ feedback switch to a bic flair marker.

Cursive nstead of manuscript

Use a style that is simple..not D'Nealian - too many tails etc and the slant is impossible to.get consistent enough for legibility.

[gstharr]

My handwriting is atrocious. A random combination of cursive and print letters. Frequently both combined  within a single word. Probably a result of poor schools, and many, many school changes through the 7th grade (12 y.o). i can force more legibility when I concentrate. Otherwise, it is a mess. Not a big deal for me.  I have highly selective college and professional school degrees.