AyeshaTN Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 What kind of paper do you use for your first grader? Would love a link and especially if I can print it out, that would be awesome. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Well, I use the Zaner-Bloser freebie set at the first grade level. I love that I can type in (or paste) whatever I need to for my son's copywork, and the font is close enough to what he learned for handwriting that he's not confused. I use Ubuntu, and I've never had any trouble loading the page, so it's obviously a very friendly site. (I use NoScript, and the only domain I have to allow is zaner-bloser.com.) Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 You can make your own with the Startwrite demo. The program is fully functioning the first time you open it, then once you close it (and you can leave it open for weeks to really test it out), it reverts to a demo mode where not all the keys work, BUT you can still do blank lines in whatever size/font you want. ;) I started my son with 60pt lines in Startwrite, and now he's down to 48pt and probably could easily do 36pt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I bought a 1st grade paper tablet of 100 sheets from Staples. It was around $2.00 and is the standard 5/8" lines. I think that is cheaper than it would be for me to pay for printer toner & paper to print my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erika Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I also think a 1st grade tablet from Walmart, etc would be cheaper than printing out pages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertmum Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 donnayoung.org has tons of handwriting freebies including lined paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I downloaded some from the dollar days at scholastic. Alas they just ended but should return soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 we used HWT paper to start with, as that was our curriculum choice. however, we switch to "smart start" full length paper & half page with a picture box. that's my favorite for sure. my daughter has outgrown it, but my son is going into grade 2 and still uses it. his writing is lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 We use the grade 3 ruled newsprint from Lakeshore starting in K http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/seo/ca|productSubCat~~p|2534374302106303~~f|/Assortments/Lakeshore/ShopByCategory/language/writingskills.jsp. The K-1st sizes are just way too big. Starting with the 3rd grade paper kept it big enough that they could properly form letters but not so big that all of the hand movement required caused fatique. I bought a ream for about $6 2.5 years ago and have barely made a dent in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 We use HWT paper. He was using the wide double line paper. About mid-year he asked to move to narrower paper, so he now uses the regular double line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 We use HWT paper. He was using the wide double line paper. About mid-year he asked to move to narrower paper, so he now uses the regular double line. That's what we did too. I didn't need the wide paper for that long. The narrower paper is much easier now (at the end of first grade). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) I feel like we are always the outlier here, but we have been using the big paper for 2 years now, and ds is not ready to move smaller. He really struggles with spacing when I ask him to write smaller or on smaller paper. I think it just depends on the fine motor skills of the student, but I just wanted to let the OP know that while some people move to smaller lines early, not everyone does, so she shouldn't be afraid to order enough for 1st grade. :) (And I always feel behind everyone here since we are not accelerated and/or whipping through curriculum, but in reality ds scores excellently on standardized tests and I'm very pleased with where he is at. Slow and steady....more to remind myself rather than anyone else). Edited June 1, 2011 by FairProspects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I feel like we are always the outlier here, but we have been using the big paper for 2 years now, and ds is not ready to move smaller. He really struggles with spacing when I ask him to write smaller or on smaller paper. I think it just depends on the fine motor skills of the student, but I just wanted to let the OP know that while some people move to smaller lines early, not everyone does, so she shouldn't be afraid to order enough for 1st grade. :) Yes, it's going to depend entirely on the student. When I got the HWT paper, I got both the first grade and third grade paper. The packages are not that expensive. If you notice your child is having trouble writing neatly on larger lines, it might be time to move to smaller lines. I know I have a lot of trouble writing on large lines, and then it finally dawned on me why my son was struggling when he had previously been doing better. He needed smaller lines. He's not advanced in fine motor skills though... he's on the low end of average. Something just clicked recently with writing and it got easier for him. I think that's probably common for first grade, but it's not going to happen with *every* child. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satori Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I think that would depend on your child. We've used HWT paper, starting with wide, then medium, and now narrow in first grade. But to be honest, the smaller the lines the better my daughter does. I have bought journals with tiny line spaces since she was 5. We recently switched from HWT grade 4 to equivalent Getty-Dubay Italics grade 2 and the lines are so huge that it's actually hard for her. So I guess it depends, like some others have said, what your child is most comfortable with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAutumnOak Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I bought a pack of Zaner-Bloser from a teacher's supply store...It was about $6 for 500 sheets... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Yes, it's going to depend entirely on the student. When I got the HWT paper, I got both the first grade and third grade paper. The packages are not that expensive. If you notice your child is having trouble writing neatly on larger lines, it might be time to move to smaller lines. I know I have a lot of trouble writing on large lines, and then it finally dawned on me why my son was struggling when he had previously been doing better. He needed smaller lines. He's not advanced in fine motor skills though... he's on the low end of average. Something just clicked recently with writing and it got easier for him. I think that's probably common for first grade, but it's not going to happen with *every* child. ;) :iagree: My dc are also on the low end of average for fine motor skills and do better with smaller paper (three lined, not HWT). Spacing was an issue for my oldest until he started cursive last year. Huge difference immediately in neatness and spacing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeshaTN Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 we appreciate all of the reples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warneral Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Well, I use the Zaner-Bloser freebie set at the first grade level. I love that I can type in (or paste) whatever I need to for my son's copywork, and the font is close enough to what he learned for handwriting that he's not confused. I use Ubuntu, and I've never had any trouble loading the page, so it's obviously a very friendly site. (I use NoScript, and the only domain I have to allow is zaner-bloser.com.) Hope this helps! 'This is so cool! Thank you - the writing looks just like reason for writing :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JessieC Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 This site is awesome for all your paper needs. http://www.printablepaper.net/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 We use the grade 3 ruled newsprint from Lakeshore starting in K http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/seo/ca|productSubCat~~p|2534374302106303~~f|/Assortments/Lakeshore/ShopByCategory/language/writingskills.jsp. The K-1st sizes are just way too big. Starting with the 3rd grade paper kept it big enough that they could properly form letters but not so big that all of the hand movement required caused fatique. I bought a ream for about $6 2.5 years ago and have barely made a dent in it. I just bought some K and 1st paper from Lakeshore and it was very affordable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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