6yo and handwriting woes!

[Sue G in PA]

Ds6 is really struggling with handwriting. He knows all his letters and sounds and is finally reading cvc words with some fluency. Big step in the right direction and I'm so proud of him. His handwriting is, well, not quite there yet. He is having huge problems with the 3 lines and forming his letters correctly. He uses the Phonics Road and we also practice with A Reason For Handwriting. Suggestions? Should I let him use his finger in flour or sand? Should I let him practice on a whiteboard first? Chalk on the driveway? Playdoh letters? This child will be 7 at the end of Jan. And I really, really don't like to compare him w/ his 4yo sister...but HE even notices that handwriting comes much easier for her. I never say a word except to PRAISE him for a good effort...and he will say something like, "It's not as good as Savannah's!" or "Savannah even writes better than me!". Breaks my heart.

[Tidbits of Learning]

:grouphug: Boys are often slower than girls developing fine motor skills. My ds6.5 is just now starting to do a little better. He is definitely where his sisters were at 4 just now. Are you using a fat pencil? This can make a big difference. I found some Ticonderoga My First Tri-Write pencils (fat and triangle) that have really made a big improvement with my son's ability to write well. We still have trouble with the lines, but I am thinking of trying Handwriting without tears next as well.

http://www.staples.com/Dixon-Ticonderoga-Tri-Write-Pencils-2-Dozen/product_562750

We also use the sidewalk chalk by crayola on the chalkboard. It helps with developing the muscles needed for writing to have them write on a vertical surface such as a chalkboard on the wall or an easel. A slant board also helps.

These are just some of the things that I have tried and seen improvements with my son's handwriting.

[clwcain]

Stop attempting to compel the child to do something he won't be ready to do for a while. Let him color and draw freehand.

 

Try handwriting instruction again in three or six months. If he still doesn't have the fine motor control, put it off another three or six months.

 

Many (most?) boys do not develop the requisite fine motor control for handwriting until they are 8 or 9.

 

HTH

 

ETA: If y'all are theists, let him know that God made little girls and little boys different. This is one of those differences.

[TheCoffeeChick]

I found using wipe off markers & board or even the magnadoodle help my ds. I told him to tell me what he wanted to write and I would tell him how to spell it. He would randomly choose words like spiderman or balloon. When he ran out of original ideas, he'd do things like lamp, couch, ... things he saw in the living room (or whatever room we were in at the time). It was no pressure -- I told him how nice it looked and how well he listened for the correct spelling. If he thought his writing look exceptionally good, he would show Dad.

 

I think anythink without lines works to build confidence because he wasn't worried about fitting his writing in a certain spot. He had a hard time keeping his lowercase s's below the half line for a long time.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I agree with the above. People are all different and kids need to learn this. He slowly works on the skills and they will come along in time. But some people have lousy handwriting. I wouldn't say that to him now or discourage him from learning, but down the road, it just may be the case (hard for this mom to deal with!).

 

Anyway, but sure, sensory activities would be helpful.

 

ONE more consideration. Are you sure he's using the correct hand? My daughter learned to write when she was under 2 years old. She just copied my mom and me so used her right hand. We found out when she was SEVEN that she was left handed! She has other issues also so her handwriting stinks either way, but now that I know it's a possibility for a child to be swayed, I suggest making sure they are using the correct hand to write.

[MerryAtHope]

HWOT made a big difference for my son--in fact, he had almost immediate improvement just using 2-lined paper. Suddenly he knew where his letters were supposed to be (no more e's floating up near the top of l's etc...). For some reason, 3-lined paper didn't make sense to him (dd was almost the opposite, LOL!). The tips on formation really helped both of my kids.

 

Your tactile ideas are right on target, I'd let him do lots of that. Have you seen Heather/Siloam's blog post on Sand Letter Cards? These are a neat idea.

 

One more idea--encourage your son not to compare to his sister, but to himself. We did this when we used GD Italic--if he does a row of M's for example, he should choose the best one and draw a star or smiley face above it, or you can give him some stickers to put above the best one. He can choose the best written word etc... too, depending on the handwriting assignment. Ask him why he chose that one as best. If you see another that you like as well or better, you can say, "I also like this one. Look how nice the curve is/how straight the line is/how neatly you bumped the line...etc..." Get him comparing his writing to his writing iow.

 

How's his pencil grip? You could try bigger pencils (my kids and I all like how these feel in our hands--easier to grasp!), or those putty pencil holders that are formed for where the fingers go.

 

HTH some!

 

Merry :-)

[Sue G in PA]

He uses the fat pencil and has a good pencil grip. I'll try those pencil grips, though. I do remember them helping my ds8 when he was just starting. I will start lots of tactile activities tomorrow with him. FWIW...I do not force him to do handwriting if he is really fighting me about it. I do not like it when he ends up in tears. We go at HIS pace...some days he wants to keep practicing and others he isn't interested. So, we go at his pace. I do not compare him to his sister...I know they are both different and girls develop quicker than boys in this area especially. My dd12 was much the same way but all my boys were slower. I ALWAYS encourage ds6 and praise his efforts apart from his sister, etc. I will try to encourage him to stop comparing to her and start comparing to himself.

 

The Phonics Road is such a great program for spelling, reading, etc. His writing just isn't up to par for that yet. So, I think I will use AAS for another few months or so until he gets the handwriting part down. Perhaps he'll be ready for PR by Christmas. Can anyone recommend any other activities for developing fine motor skils or muscle tone? Thanks!

[Laurie]

I met my dd's Occupational therapist in a store when I was looking at some fat colored pencils for children. She started talking to me about them because she doesn't like the fat pencils for kids but she'll use the special pencil grips to help with proper grip if necessary.

 

She's a big fan of Handwriting Without Tears. And she said the best thing to strengthen the hand muscles is climbing! Is there a jungle gym or something good to climb in your neighborhood?

[klmama]

Can anyone recommend any other activities for developing fine motor skils or muscle tone? Thanks!

 

Some things that helped here: pinching the bubbles in bubble wrap, practicing snapping clothing snaps, and playing darts (uses similar hand position to holding a pencil). Also, using dry erase markers on a small white board helped a lot, too.

[samba]

My ds8 has Down Syndrome and poor fine motor skills. I tried a K handwriting book with him last year and he couldn't do it at all. I ended up letting him write on a blank piece of paper with no lines and it was an improvement; huge, poorly shaped letters, but still an improvement. This year I am still using blank sheets of paper and I am drawing just a baseline for him. The improvement from last year has been tremendous. Part of it has been simply a developmental spurt, I'm sure. But also, sometimes it's really hard for some kids to write in those little lines (even though they seem big enough to me)and it throws everything off. I've had to toss the idea of a handwriting program (and my dh works for Zaner-Bloser!) temporarily and do it our own way. I dictate sentences using words he knows and let him get practice that way. It's working wonderfully so far.

 

I would not use the fat pencils. It throws off their natural grip. My ds is using little golf pencils...it helps keep his hand in the right spot without a lot of adjusting higher or lower.

 

Carolyn

Edited September 19, 2009 by samba

[mrsanniep]

Wonderful suggestions.

 

My son just turned 8 and his printing and cursive are finally improving. Dramatic difference between this year and last May, even. I think it's a boy thing. Age 6? He was just starting cursive and was horrible. Printing wasn't much better. And that was BEFORE we started homeschooling. :)

[Classically Minded]

I agree, I never used fat pencils.

 

I met my dd's Occupational therapist in a store when I was looking at some fat colored pencils for children. She started talking to me about them because she doesn't like the fat pencils for kids but she'll use the special pencil grips to help with proper grip if necessary

[Devotional Soul]

My 5 year old really doesn't like lower case letters, so I'm letting him just write in capitals. In traditional waldorf, capital letters are taught through drawing pictures in 1st grade (like a swan is an S), and lower case letters aren't even taught until 2nd grade. Blank paper is used and the child makes the lines to write on (the golden road), and also stars in between words for spaces.

 

So, when I feel like my ds is behind in handwriting, I remember he's ahead of our local waldorf school, lol!

[MerryAtHope]

Can anyone recommend any other activities for developing fine motor skils or muscle tone? Thanks!

 

A big part of it is also gross motor--so things like climbing a rope ladder at the park will help too. Anything that uses the pincer grasp is good for fine motor--play dough, picking up cheerios one at a time, little legos, scissor work etc...

 

I know what you mean about not wanting to push him! Hang in there, Merry :-)

[Guest Cynww]

My little guy was not interested in practicing is printing either. Making fine motor skills fun - through shaving cream, play dough or Legos really helped to develop his hand and arm muscles. I found this website that offers suggestions for handwriting. http://www.parentchildeducation.com/units/handwriting/a_top/handwriting.php

Hope that gives you some ideas to use with your son.

Good luck - it does get easier.

[Crimson Wife]

My oldest is a girl but has *AWFUL* manuscript penmanship. I just started her in cursive and it's like night and day. She finds it much easier to write words in one fluid motion rather than having to constantly pick up her pencil.

 

With my younger two, I'm seriously considering the "cursive first" approach.

[Reya]

Italic works well for us. I was a bit...frightened..at how bad DS's was at the beginning of K--I mean truly horrific. We took it very slowly and concentrated on just one thing at a time. The improvements were amazing.

[rwjx2khsmj]

My ds7 was interested in learning cursive and loves it. His cursive is so much better than his printing and he enjoys it so much more.

[lulubelle]

My ds 5 1/2 was really having a hard time with writing. I have been working with him for about a year to develop it. It's come a long way. We did some clay forming of letters (HWT), lots of mazes (Kumon), cutting (Kumon), dot to dot, forming letters in the salt or rice, and lots of tracing letters (Progressive Phonics - Alphabet - free online). His wrist had to also get stronger. His hand would get tired so quickly. Karate, and using a bow for some parts of it, really helped him strengthen his arm. He was also very frustrated with himself. He hated to draw anything and wouldn't. His older brother drew constantly. And, his little sister can draw much better than him too. I would tell him that there are just some things he has to work harder at than others. My son has begun to draw letters and numbers independently of tracing and is also drawing on his own. I would say just be consistant and give him lots of variety of "writing" activities and he will get there. Good luck.

[mom31257]

My 6yo ds really struggled with handwriting last year. I started out with A Reason for, but he didn't like it, nor I. I used some books from Wal-Mart the rest of the year. This year it has really turned around and all I'm doing is side by side copywork. I bought primary paper, which I find he really needs. I write his bible verses or spelling words, then he writes them on the same page. His handwriting has changed like night to day. I do think some of it is just motor skill development, which does take time in boys. My dd was writing better at 3 than he was at the end of K.