writing for a little one :)

[arcara]

My ds (3rd child) is 3.5-years-old. Watching his sisters, he started teaching himself how to write. He taught himself how to write his name. I would NEVER think of starting writing instruction so early, but he's really interested, and I'm a little worried that he's developing bad letter formation habits.

 

Any recommendations?

[Ann@thebeach]

Handwriting without Tears has a preschool book that you could start with then move on to the others when he/she is ready. The preschool book mainly works on control of the hand working towards more fine motor skills.

Sounds like a good place to start.

 

My guy is the same age and doing the same thing. I often find that he's copied letters onto his coloring sheets while the others are working. I'm starting him on some of the Kumon workbooks this summer and thought I'd start the HWT this fall with him if he's interested/ready-he'll be 4 then.

[arcara]

I was actually looking at HWT. I've heard of it, but that's all. They have lots of manipulative-type things...wooden blocks, chalk boards, sponges, etc. Do you really need all of that for the program? I don't want to spend a bunch of money.

[Tess in the Burbs]

we got the letter pieces....used a few times and then done with them

 

the magnetic board....well the magnetic pieces were useless IMO to make letters but if you get a travel size magnetic board you can do the same thing....just draw the letter instead of stamping with the magnetic shape. makes more sense anyway!

 

I have seen the dough...and some kids might enjoy that....

 

but honestly, get the K book and go for it! both my kids were doing that book right at 4. My youngest did the preK book but said it was "baby" work. But yes, we allowed them to start in the book b/c I didn't want bad habits. just go slow if the child isn't getting it right quickly. they made need to strengthen the hand ...but you will quickly know if they are ready or not. for both my kids it was wobbly at first, but then suddenly they could do it after a week or two no problem.

 

have fuN!

[TracyR]

My 3rd daughter has done the same . Right now I am using the Kumon workbooks with her and then go on to a different handwriting program . I do like the method of HWT , but I don't like the looks of it . I've had to use it with my oldest daughter and it helped her alot . She's now past the whole struggling with handwriting thing so I want her to learn a more "prettier " handwriting .

[Ann@thebeach]

No, I don't think you need all the extras. The wood pieces are nice but certainly not essential-I got mine cheaper on e-bay.

 

I think the book is enough. You can use any chalk board and put a sticker in the corner but their's is cheap at about $5.

 

I only used the wood pieces rarely, the book has been plenty for us.

[H0MEFree]

Seems like Abeka has a good and really simple workbooky thing with lots of cute and fun art in it for K4. It has been a while since I was in the market for material like this, but I had success with it.

https://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=60097

 

They also have a 3 year old one:

https://www.abeka.com/ABekaOnline/BookDescription.aspx?sbn=45268

 

I like the "idea" behind HWT, but I am not a fan of the appearance of the letters the child ends up making as a result of the program. Kind of awkward writing, in my opinion. Many people have great success with it though- so that is GREAT!

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I believe you'd be wise to start teaching him to write correctly. My dd taught herself to write all her letters at 3 1/2. By the time she was 5, it was difficult to convince her to change her incorrect habits. She didn't see any reason to do it my way, when her way had already suited her fine for a year and a half. I used HWT successfully with her, but it took some coaxing. I finally convinced her that she would be able to write more without getting tired if she did things "my way".

 

Anyway, you don't need all the extras, but some of them are essential to the program, especially at an early age.

 

You don't need to buy the wooden pieces. You can make your own. Just cut them out of foam board, or any rigid material. There used to be a pattern in the HWT Teacher's Manual, but I don't know if that book is available anymore. There were fun full-body games that went along with the shapes. My dd really enjoyed those. Try to find out if there is a pattern in the Printing Teacher's Guide. If not, make your own patterns by looking at the website. There were, I believe, two of each shape: long straights, short straights, big semi-circles, and small semi-circles.

 

The slate is important, and the size they sell is perfect for little hands. It's important to get a real slate, not a painted one, or a plastic one. The Wet-Dry-Try method they teach is very helpful for little ones to learn proper formation (order and direction of the strokes), and it works best on real slate. Their slate is very inexpensive ($3.75). The little sponges you can cut for yourself out of a kitchen sponge.

 

I've not seen the Pre-K books. They weren't available when my kids were beginning. I don't know how good they are. My dd would have been ready for the K book (Letters and Numbers for Me) at age 3 1/2, when she was teaching herself the alphabet. My ds, on the other hand, wasn't even ready at age 5). It depends on the child, and his fine motor skills.

[clwcain]

Starting around his 4th birthday, our oldest begged to learn to read and write. Around Christmas we started with Phonics, but found his fine motor skills were still a bit undeveloped for hand writing.

 

So we encouraged his drawing and the proper formation of block capitals. A few weeks ago, as we've watched his motor skills improve through lots of drawing, we started him on an Italic program and he's taking to that with verve.

 

If your child really wants to learn to write, help him.

[Annie Laurie]

My kids taught themselves how to write also. My 7 yr old's handwriting was a bit sloppy so I had him go through HWT and it looks very nice now. It wasn't a big deal. My youngest has HWT K and likes to get it out and do it, but I wouldn't require it, I'd let them continue having fun with it.

[KForce]

Thanks for posting this question. I'm interested in the responses as well. My 3.5 yo daughter is fascinated with writing her letters, too, and I'm worried that she'll develop bad habits. My mom's a K4 teacher and I talked to her about starting HWT. I decided to let her explore with writing till she's 4 and then try some formal instruction.

[Ellyndria]

I may not be the best person to answer this, as we are just starting on our journey, but since my DS is 3 I thought I'd answer anyway. I'm sure, as other people have said, that you don't need all the extras that HWT offers... but I did end up buying the HWT Pre-K program with all the bells and whistles...the slate, the wood pieces, the mat, the dough, the magnetic screen, the CD and a couple other things. My DS has loved to trace things since he was 2, and when he turned 3 he wanted to start tracing numbers and letters, but I wanted to make sure he was forming them correctly, so I placed my order. The extras looked like fun so I went ahead and got them. We started doing the program in mid-April, and we end up doing it 5-6 days a week, simply because it's usually the first thing he asks to do in the morning after getting up! The other day I found him singing the Mat Man song to himself while drawing Mat Man, and he is always asking to do more when I put it away every day, so he is obviously enjoying it. I am following the schedule in the back of the Teacher's Guide, as it makes it easier for *me*, although we are going slightly faster since he asks to do it so much. DS is 3 years and 3 months, btw.