Spryte Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 My son is really struggling with handwriting. He is in first grade, and we have been using HWOT, and doing the copywork from WWE 1. He's a leftie, and I'm not - but HWOT has been fairly leftie-friendly, so I'm not sure that's the issue. He forms the letters correctly, with a few minor slips which I correct as they occur, but overall... His handwriting does not appear to be any better now than it was at the beginning of first grade! (I am tempted to eat the words, "practice makes perfect" here!) It's not terrible. And it's legible. But it is a far cry from what I expected to see by now. He can draw beautifully, in fact, he could spend entire days with only pencil and paper - happily churning out artwork. Can you give me any tips for helping him? Would changing to cursive be helpful? What about switching to paper with smaller spaces between lines? I have tried to be patient, thinking that it will come with time... he's a boy... he's a leftie... But I am starting to wonder. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I found this, hopefully this will give a few few ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Thank you - that is helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Check this out as well. This recommends the D’Nealian Handwriting Method for left handed kiddos :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 That is very interesting! I'd never heard that D'Nealian might be better for lefties, but that makes sense. Anything is worth a shot right now. He fought long and hard about the angling of the paper - but we finally have that down, and it is second nature. I *think* his grip is okay, but I didn't know to have him try holding the pencil farther up. This is good. Thanks for any and all ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 Posting again just to say that I showed my munchkin the D'Nealian font and he is super excited about it! Wow! And even more excited about the cursive. I have *never* seen him get excited about learning a font. Crossing fingers that this will be a great beginning. Thanks for the idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Posting again just to say that I showed my munchkin the D'Nealian font and he is super excited about it! Wow! And even more excited about the cursive. I have *never* seen him get excited about learning a font. Crossing fingers that this will be a great beginning. Thanks for the idea! Good!!!!!! Isn't it exciting to see them get excited about something they struggled with?! You will have to check back and let us know how it goes!!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted March 12, 2011 Author Share Posted March 12, 2011 I will check back in, and thank you so much for pointing me in that direction. My heart is going pitter patter just hearing his excitement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 Smaller lines may help. My first grader is at the point where smaller lines is actually easier. For our drawing with copywork this week, I printed story paper with slightly smaller lines, and he said he liked that better. I was glad because I do art with him, and the first grade lines were hard for me to write on. My son's handwriting has been not quite as focused and neat lately either. I need to go back to sitting with him and going over the best letters again. I've been a but of a slacker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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