FairProspects Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I have no idea what it is, nor do I want to!! :cursing::banghead::banghead: That is all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 My son draws so well and can write pretty well, but he HATES having to do handwriting. He thinks he can't do it and it is like pulling teeth. Then when he is done, he is so proud of it. I got StartWrite and now I let him choose what is going to write. He actually makes good choices and now he will do his handwriting without throwing a complete fit (although he still doesn't like it)!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celia Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I hear you! We're right there too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Right there with you! My poor little just-turned-7 DS's writing is atrocious. He can't draw to save his life. But, I just keep plugging away with him. Generally, I'll pick the letter he does the worst with "e" and work on that for a while and not worry about anything else. THen I'll pick another letter. But, bless his heart, he does try, and then I feel guilty for getting frustrated. Oh, the vicious cycle of mother-guilt.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I chose to wait (heeding the advise of a local homeschool mom). My son was 6 and I decided it was "time" for him to write. He hated it, even if I tried to make it fun/rewarding. I stopped completely for a while, and then restarted very slowly. About a 1/4 sheet a day. Yesterday he finished his 1/2 sheet (Cursive First) and asked to do another one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I hear ya as well! We *are* getting better though. Very small amounts of copywork every single day has helped tons. Doing some of math orally helps too, saving the writing skills for "writing". And now we do AAS on the white board instead of with a pencil, so he's practicing writing, but it's not killing his arm. He can do way more on the white board than with a pencil and paper, but I'm seeing his pencil and paper stamina increase also. Oh, and do you have him up high enough at the table he's working at? I finally realized that my son was sitting in a regular (adult) kitchen chair at the kitchen table. His arm was having to angle up to write. I put two dictionaries under him (nice, thick ones!), and he wrote. He said his arm didn't hurt anymore! He had been complaining about it just minutes before. It's like magic! So he now has a chair that seats him properly and has a footrest (the Euro II Grow With Me chair from One Step Ahead), and he's able to write more... not as much as some of those pencil-happy girls, but more than he could before. ;) Anyway, between the chair height and just doing small amounts of writing very frequently, we are overcoming the writing issue. I'm just thankful that SWB has laid out such easy-to-use plans for teaching writing to this type of child! It is hard when their brain is ahead of their fine motor skills, and yes, you want to beat your head against the wall. It will get better though. At least, I'm pretty sure it will! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allyall Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 been there, felt that pain. HWT has been helpful now that he's older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Ohmygoodness. My 7yo flops over and groans if I ask him to do any writing in more than 2 subjects (math and PR). Really, even doing the minimal writing that I require can bring on the groaning. Edited April 22, 2011 by bonniebeth4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) We love HWOT! But if I hear myself saying "Start at the top!" or "Circles go the other way!" or "Put a space in there!" one more time today I'm going to scream! Oh, and apparently magic "C" now goes backwards, and there really is no difference between b & d, didn't you know (actual argument from ds this morning)? :glare: My problem is once older ds outgrows one issue, younger ds hits the exact same developmental stage and I start the process all over again!! AAHH!! Edited April 21, 2011 by FairProspects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryanne Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I feel your pain, too. Finally now in the 5th grade ds is really building fluency and legibility, but we resorted to copy work from a Sponge Bob joke book to minimize the whining. I'll duck now, since I know good classical educators would never resort to Sponge Bob to accomplish their goals.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I feel your pain, too. Finally now in the 5th grade ds is really building fluency and legibility, but we resorted to copy work from a Sponge Bob joke book to minimize the whining. I'll duck now, since I know good classical educators would never resort to Sponge Bob to accomplish their goals.;) :smilielol5: This thread is cracking me up and terrifying me at the same time. Off to make Schmooey play with lots and lots of playdough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 :lol: I sometimes find myself yelling "Dive down! Dive down!", but it's too late... He does a circle first for that 'p', and it becomes a 'q'. If he dives down first, it will be a 'p'. We're getting better, but we still have this one fairly often ('b' and 'd' seem to have sorted themselves out - hooray!). And then I just have to laugh when working with the 4 year old. He insists on copying my letters on the white board (which is fine - he seems to not have the fine motor issues DS1 had), and he'll draw his letters funny and make a story about them. So yesterday he was writing "AM", and there wasn't room for the 'M', so he drew it down below the 'A', at an angle, and said it was falling in a hole, and then he had to draw the hole. When we were doing "AR", he drew the 'R' with a little hook on the bottom of the straight line that goes top to bottom. He said it was dancing. :D I crack up every lesson. I have to be VERY patient and not be all "Let's hurry up and get this over with!" like I'd like to. He's learning and having fun, and he's only 4. I'm just glad he lets me get away with one 5-10 minute session per day. I don't think I could handle any more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iona Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I have no idea what it is, nor do I want to!! :cursing::banghead::banghead: That is all. peeing on, around, above, through, beside, under and at the toilet but not IN the toilet. at least poor penmanship doesn't smell. btw I hear you on the fine motor issues....hmm, maybe those are connected. though the toilet problem seems more like GROSS motor issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HejKatt Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 :lol:about them. So yesterday he was writing "AM", and there wasn't room for the 'M', so he drew it down below the 'A', at an angle, and said it was falling in a hole, and then he had to draw the hole. When we were doing "AR", he drew the 'R' with a little hook on the bottom of the straight line that goes top to bottom. He said it was dancing. :D I crack up every lesson. I have to be VERY patient ! That is precious. :lol: I needed to hear this, because I get impatient when DS's lowercase a/c transforms into an 'o' while I'm watching him practice. I've started putting little smileys on well-formed letters when he finishes writing a line, but handwriting is something we're working on. :bigear: for other users' experiences.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 LMAO I'm not above using Spongebob. Thanks for the idea!:iagree:Though I may use Star Wars, Harry Potter or Megamind. Great idea. DS9 is a lefty and I am just now starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. He whines less and his penmanship is getting a tad neater. But it has been a long, long journey. I think I have tried every penmanship program available at least twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 That is precious. :lol: I needed to hear this, because I get impatient when DS's lowercase a/c transforms into an 'o' while I'm watching him practice. I've started putting little smileys on well-formed letters when he finishes writing a line, but handwriting is something we're working on. :bigear: for other users' experiences.. The sad thing is that I'm not even trying to work on writing! We're working on reading! It's just a reading lesson! :lol: I write the syllables or sentence, and then have to wait and wait and wait and wait for him to copy them, all the while thinking "Just read it!" He's awfully cute though, so I let it go. Handwriting will be interesting. He has trouble doing a 'V' shape without curving it, so we will probably need to wait a little while to really learn those letters. I tried having him zig-zag one day to work on that shape, and they were all rounded. I finally gave up. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted April 21, 2011 Author Share Posted April 21, 2011 peeing on, around, above, through, beside, under and at the toilet but not IN the toilet. at least poor penmanship doesn't smell. btw I hear you on the fine motor issues....hmm, maybe those are connected. though the toilet problem seems more like GROSS motor issues. :lol:Oh, wait! Mine do this too! Except they just like to go next to the toilet between the actual toilet and the shower in their own special spot that I get to find whenever I clean the bathroom. We actually had to get rid of a wardrobe in the boy's bedroom because ds 1 thought it looked WAY too much like a toilet stall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Both of my sons have what I like to call (from the movie Steel Magnolias) the handwriting of serial killers. :D (Yes, I have a dark sense of humor.:tongue_smilie:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoundAbout Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Oh, and do you have him up high enough at the table he's working at? I finally realized that my son was sitting in a regular (adult) kitchen chair at the kitchen table. His arm was having to angle up to write. I put two dictionaries under him (nice, thick ones!), and he wrote. He said his arm didn't hurt anymore! He had been complaining about it just minutes before. It's like magic! So he now has a chair that seats him properly and has a footrest (the Euro II Grow With Me chair from One Step Ahead), and he's able to write more... not as much as some of those pencil-happy girls, but more than he could before. ;) :iagree: We just got a Stokke and love it. My son is young so we're not doing writing yet, but his coloring skills and motivation to sit and do it has improved 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloquacious Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Ahem, yes. Amen. My son is barely 3 and is beginning to read, but can't even hold a pencil or crayon properly - so forget about writing for a LONG time. All the other children in his preschool co-op (which meets once a week) have done that for over a year. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 :iagree: We just got a Stokke and love it. My son is young so we're not doing writing yet, but his coloring skills and motivation to sit and do it has improved 100%. DITTO! We had SO MUCH handwriting frustration around here, and I bought each kid a Stokke Tripp Trapp and the difference was truly amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Not to completely dishearten all of you, but still working on penmanship here at 11 years old! Ds, six, writes better. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Well, for me, it is Zipping of Lips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 peeing on, around, above, through, beside, under and at the toilet but not IN the toilet. at least poor penmanship doesn't smell. btw I hear you on the fine motor issues....hmm, maybe those are connected. though the toilet problem seems more like GROSS motor issues. :iagree: though I was going to say generic "potty-related issues" :eek: :lol: on the GROSS motor issues. :scared: I am so glad I still have so much time before "school" and "ds" are in the same sentence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeschooltoone Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I hear you, and I feel your pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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