Program for handwriting?

[persephone43]

My son is almost 10 and his handwriting is horrible, which I dont get because he is a wonderful artist. He is terrible with spacing and if its not on lined paper the words slowly start to creep down on the right side of the page, eventually making the entire thing slanted and almost impossible to read. Getting him to slow down has not helped. Any suggestions?

[Hedgehog]

Have you tried him doing his handwriting on squared paper? That helped my artistic-but-struggling-with-handwriting DD9. We are using CLP Handwriting series for cursive practice.

[persephone43]

Bump

[mcconnellboys]

My younger son has had problems that sound similar. I've used Getty-Dubay italics with him and still have him doing copywork at age 12.....

[Dolphin]

I second the Getty Dubay. My son is 8 and his handwriting was horrible, the switch to italics was so worth it. They talk a little about it in the teachers manual, I guess manuscript and italic use different paths in the brain and some kids just can not do manuscript(and vice versa). I noticed and change within a week of changing with my son.

[persephone43]

Thank you for the suggestion...it looks great!! Thinking about starting him off in 2nd book before it gets too heavy into cursive. What do you think?

[Guest]

I would switch AND use graph paper. Also, the more he writes on unlined paper, the better he will become as he develops his 'will'. (A little Waldorf creeping in.) Odd as it sounds, you might consider having him write on nothing but unlined paper for a while. It does straighten out and improve. Or approach it by telling him handwriting is simply organized art. Speak his lingo, help him see that the letters are graceful forms that happen to mean something.