If I switch to Italics 2/3 of the way through 1st grade

[Snowfall]

How should I go about doing that? We've used Peterson and I was very happy with the way it helped dd learn her letters in K, but my satisfaction has diminished as her handwriting has failed to improve. She is only 6.5, so I'm not expecting great work or anything, but I think it could be better. She gets so hung up on getting perfectly round circles and such, and I think Italics would help with that, since the goal isn't perfectly round circles anyway.

 

Should I get a first grade book and start working through it, or would I need to start over from the beginning? Surely first grade is early enough that I could just do that, right? Or is it too late, since she's already used to ball and stick anyway? She does continuous stroke, but it's all circles and lines, and I think it frustrates her trying to get those circles. lol

[nansk]

Hi,

 

If your dd needs primary lines, you should start with the Book A; it has 11 mm body height. Otherwise, start with the Book B, which has 9 mm body height.

 

It's not too late; I learnt Italics last year. My dd learnt ball-and-stick in preschool but can write in the Italic style now. She does need daily practice at this age.

 

Also, please reiterate that the letter shape need not be exactly like it is in the GDI book. Within Italics also, there are variations in letter shapes and writers are encouraged to find their most comfortable style. You can show her the different Italic fonts available (Getty-Dubay, Jarman, Briem, Barchowsky) to stress this point.

 

HTH.