I'm overthinking handwriting curriculum. DD, my oldest, is almost 5 and reading proficiently. Overall she picks things up at a normal to slightly fast pace. I wouldn't stress about teaching her handwriting but she's a leftie. I've read so much on yes & no & contradicting rules on leftie modifications that it's made my head spin. Goals are for her to have decent if not beautiful handwriting and for it to become easy and painless. Personally I prefer a zaner-bloser type look, and want something that will not lift the pencil in the middle of letter formation as much as possible. Even though she's reading & spelling well, she has no training on letter formation whatsoever. She wants to start writing, but does not regularly attempt to draw letters. I've been so afraid of ingraining bad habits that I've not encouraged it at all. So, here are the curriculum I've been contemplating and questions about each. Peterson Directed Handwriting - I like the idea of ingraining the movements with rhythm, and they seem so passionate about handwriting. I wonder if it's overkill for most. Also, they say there are lefty skills, is this beyond paper slant? Do they actually recommend some different stroke directions? I downloaded a PDF from their site about teaching lefties, but I didn't see in it any directions about which letters should/shouldn't have modifications. Can anyone speak to this from a lefty perspective? Handwriting without tears - I know so many love it, I kinda wonder if it's overrated. Yes, the letters are a little ugly/weird. Should I just suck that up and go with the program everybody and their dog does? Zaner Bloser workbook - Again, not clear that it has lefty modifications. I'm also confused on what I'd need to order to teach (just the workbook? Teacher manual?). Does the current set of workbooks teach the old style, or the 'simplified' ZB that limits pencil lifts (e.g. for 'b' go down then trace partway back up and go around)? Do they group letters based on common formation? Simply Charlotte Mason's Delightful Handwriting - I like the simple aspect of this, but I've seen it mentioned that aside from a top bound coil, it doesn't address lefty quirks.

We decided to pull our 2nd grader out of public school to homeschool a few weeks ago. He is a lefty with some fine motor challenges (which are being addressed in OT) and writing has always been a huge source of frustration for him - his brain just works so much faster than his hands. He and I have had several conversations about it, and we agreed that cursive might be easier for him than printing because the pencil stays on the page, but I'm really struggling to find the "right" program for him. My first thought was Getty-Dubay (I realize it's not true cursive, but I care much more that he can learn to write fluidly and legibly than I do for any particular font) but then I thought the slant would be too tough for him being a lefty. I felt like an upright script would be better, so we started HWT (Cursive Kickoff) and...I just don't love it. I got over my initial issue (that I just dislike their font) but it just feels...not right, I guess, for some reason. I also haven't been incredibly impressed with the company - I find their website and resources hard to navigate, and their CS has been less than helpful when I've reached out. (Off-putting, but I suppose not actually a deal-breaker as we are currently using the program.) His OT uses Loops and Other Groups (which I've heard good things about in general) but again...it's slanted...and I couldn't find much on the internet as far as a worksheet creator (or similar) goes, which makes me feel like it might limit us down the road. I'm just not sure. I've also looked at Cursive Logic, Handwriting Lessons through Literature, the left-handed book from Preventing Academic Failure, and some other lefty cursive book on Amazon. I do realize that most people develop their own style...but my kiddo is 2e (adhd/autistic and gifted) and is incredibly literal - I feel like it might be really tough for him to understand that it's ok for his writing to *not* slant if he's learning from a program that insists that it should. ETA: It's also entirely possible that it wouldn't bother him at all, or that he would be totally fine with a slanted script. I just don't know. I'd love to hear from people who are educating/have educated a kiddo with similar issues - what worked for you? What didn't? What is our best bet for neat, easy-to-write handwriting?

My ds (13yo/8th) has terrible handwriting. We have worked on it for 8 years with little improvement. His organic state of writing is to have all the letters the same height, floating between the lines, with no spaces.He is sweet and compliant and not happy with the situation, but we have run out of ideas. Every Fall I have a panic about this. I'm thinking that there is something in his brain or his eyes that is miswired and causing this, because nothing we have tried at home has made a significant difference. Who would I have him see if we wanted to put a label on this? His vision is corrected, and has been since he was a baby, but I've read enough posts on the Forum to understand that simply correcting the vision is not always enough. In the meantime, his typing skills are completely adequate for what he needs.

I am considering ordering one of the handwriting workbooks from the Getty Dubay series for my 5th grade daughter. Her handwriting is "ok," but it often ends up rather sloppy, as she tends to be lazy with it. She has gone through several Pentime books, which we really like, but I'd like her to focus more on legible printing. One thing I've noticed is that she often starts her letters from the bottom and goes up (with certain letters). She went to public school for kindergarten, and I think she was taught that way there, although she did get instruction in writing from the top down after kindergarten. Anyway, I've been looking at the Getty Dubay series, and I'm just wondering which book she should start with? I don't want her to feel that she's doing "baby" work, but I think there would be value for her in really practicing her letter formation, possibly with some tracing, before jumping into copying paragraphs.

I have a 9yo DS in the public gifted program who was recently diagnosed with dysgraphia among other things. It's mostly a lack of fine motor control from going on writing/drawing strike for 3 years when little. I am hoping to homeschool some handwriting practice over the summer break. Does anyone have experience/suggestions with what to do when teaching handwriting/letter formation to an older, bright kid? Is Handwriting without Tears the way to go?

CursiveLogic.com I am looking at this for my 12yo son. We have tried New American and Getty-Dubay over the last two years without much success. The reviews I have been able to find look promising. Interested in hearing your experience and wondering if the webinar is necessary.

I am trying to decide which handwriting curriculum to use for my DS (6) for first grade next year. I have not been impressed with A reason for Handwriting this year and can't decide between Zaner-Bloser or HWOT. Any preferences or suggestions? I am a first time homeschooler living overseas so buying multiple things is not an option if something doesn't work out. Please help...

I have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader. We started out with Getty Dubay Italic and my DS was into Book D and my DS was into Book C. After repeated requests by my DS, I have switched them both to Cursive First for a more simple and traditional cursive and because we use Spell to Write and Read. Obviously, we did printing first. So far, we have followed the directions and done all the steps (saying the strokes out loud, doing it with our finger- in the air, on the card and in salt, writing it with a dry erase marker and finally writing it on paper) with the beginning strokes and letter a. However, we are all finding it boring and tedious. My DS keeps chomping at the bit to just get to the writing. He would be fine to do that- he has very neat writing and attention to detail. My DD (6) has a harder time with neatness although her motor skills are fine, so she would benefit from more, I think. The only reason I hesitate to skip any steps in the process is because I want them to know the how-to inside out, not just copy. But, at the rate we are going, we'll never finish because it's the first to get dropped when we get busy since we all find it to be drawn out. Do any of you who use Cursive First NOT do all the steps and just say the strokes and write it? How well did that work for you in the long term? Any other suggestions? I would like both of them to work thru cursive by the end of this year (and they want to also!). Help! Thanks in advance!

Does any one teach manuscript, Italics, and Cursive to their children? Or is it to Confusing? If you have what do you find works best to use for curriculum?

My boy has steadily declined in handwriting to the point where he is slow, messy, and illegible. He's developing fine in all other ways but it's like a regression back in time. Any recommendations for a handwriting program that would be good for an older child writing in regular ruled notebooks (and not giant sized lines)? He needs to write both faster AND neater (he's in public school now) and I'm not sure how to help him. Thanks!

I've searched around on this forum to see what others had to say about utensils for writing and came up with several older threads. I've been a fountain pen enthusiast for about a year now, but I'm at a loss on what makes a good "first" pen/writing utensil for a child learning proper penmanship. I've got a handful of different styles of fountain pens, some very light weight, others exhaustingly heavy. I'd love to transition my oldest (Ms. Bug) over to a fountain pen but don't know what characteristics to focus on with choosing a pen. She tends to write much better on a standard "wide rule" paper than the designated early writing lined paper. I'd think the ease of ink flow would also help her improve her writing. Any thoughts? Thanks