When is the best age to start working on handwriting?

[Earth Yarn]

Ok DS is still young at 2 3/4 old but he is my oldest and I don't have any experience yet LOL right now we do things like draw circles counter clockwise and make lines. When are you supposed to start with handwriting? We are going to be using ZB when the time comes but I am unsure when that time should be if that makes any sense :P

 

Again so sorry for all the questions I am still learning and you guys are super awesome and knowledgeable! I would have made one big post of questions but I thought it would be too overwhelming to read through LOL

[Mama2Three]

You might want to pick up a TM from Handwriting without Tears. I understand that you want to go with ZB, but HWT talks about readiness and gives lots of great prewriting and writing strategies for little ones starting out.

[Sunshine State Sue]

With 20/20 hindsight, I would start earlier than 6th grade. I'd start in K if I had a second chance...

[Pretty in Pink]

With 20/20 hindsight, I would start earlier than 6th grade. I'd start in K if I had a second chance...

 

This made me giggle a little bit :D I'm right there with you, on so many things! Our poor, poor oldest children!

[Pretty in Pink]

To answer the OPs question, I start "handwriting" with my children between 3 and 4, but it is just exercises like you described. I use the primers from HWOT and transition to the real writing workbooks when my child can easily complete the activities in the primers. I guess this is around 5 or so.

[SonshineLearner]

Now's the best time to start looking into if you want to teach printing or cursive first. I believe that Cursive First makes the most sense, and wish that I could undo what was done with my oldest girls... Cursive First for my son! There are some great sites about it.. and the book I use is "Cursive First" and goes along with SWR, although I'm using it with WRTR. SWR is more popular... Spell to Write and Read by Wanda Sanseri.... she's going to be putting out a video for her seminar soon... and you may be able to get to a conference...

By 4 or 5... my son knew all the sounds for the phonograms... and is starting to read at 6 (I didn't push him)

 

Carrie:-)

[johnandtinagilbert]

I liked how HWT talks about drawing versus writing. At such young ages, most kids are really drawing, so they are developing some hand eye coordination and general hand coordination. Many children are not truly ready to write, in the lines usually provided until 5-7. This varies by child.

[Ellie]

When you have your dc working on writing circles and lines, you're doing handwriting. :-)

 

Here's a tip: Teach your dc to hold his writing implement properly from the very beginning. Every time he picks up a crayon or anything to write with, help him hold it properly. If you wait until he's 5, even, and try to correct the monkey grip on his pencil, you'll be fighting an uphill battle.:glare:

[Tidbits of Learning]

I like using Donna Young's printing readiness pages around 3. You can print them out and best of all they are free.

http://donnayoung.org/penmanship/redines.htm

I moves to these "big" manuscript practice sheets from Donna Young after the readiness pages but before a formal handwriting program.

http://donnayoung.org/penmanship/k_1.htm

Edited October 14, 2009 by OpenMinded
added a link

[Earth Yarn]

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions!!!! I have it bookmarked and reay to go when DS seems ready for that step! :)

[NavyWifeandMommy]

The age 4.5 has been the handwriting age in my house. Before that it was just lines and curves and attempts with shapes, numbers and letters. I don't use a handwiring curriculum. I just buy the blank lined pages from Walmart, Target and even the dollar store.

[sagira]

I would say as soon as your dc turns five. Before that there are always shapes, squiggly lines, etc. as the previous posters mentioned.