handwriting is worse

[happycc]

My daughter 7yrs old handwriting (printing) is worse since we started homeschooling in August. What is going on? I can't read it and I don't think she can read it. She doesn;t write on the lines and it is sloppy sloppy work.

We have been using Handwriting without Tears and she tries to write quickly. We do copywork, dictations etc. What is up?

[lea1]

We are using HWT in K. I have to sit next to my two sons and watch how they form their letters and correct them immediately if they make a mistake. So far, their handwriting has been gradually improving.

 

Another friend of mine is using Abeka and one of her daughters had very messy handwriting and would rush through the lesson. She started sitting beside her and, within a week, it had improved dramatically (they are doing cursive in 1st grade).

 

Not sure if you are already doing that or if that would help your daughter or not but thought I would throw it out there, just in case.

[BetterthanIdeserve]

Hmmmmm...I haven't had an experience like that, just some ideas to try. Have you tried do handwriting at a different time of day? After some trial and error, I learned to not plan handwriting after anything requiring pencil work - she'd just start to whine, moan, and even cry if she did handwriting after anything else that involved writing. Now, we normally do handwriting after reading or a break. What about giving her some reward for neat effort (stickers, treats)? My DD6 started to get more sloppy and I had her repeat the day's work one time. When she started to get sloppy the next week, I told her that she would need to repeat it if she didn't try harder. I haven't felt the need to make her repeat her handwriting again, but I have felt the need about once every two weeks to give a reminder of what the consequences will be for sloppy work. Giving her opportunities to send a card to someone of her choosing also brings out my DD's best efforts.

 

I hope you're able to figure out what will work for your child soon.

[boscopup]

If you can't read it, have her redo it. You know she is capable of writing legibly, so it sounds like she needs to pay attention to what she is doing. Redoing her work may help encourage her to write legibly the first time. ;) (I would warn her before the first assignment that if you can't read it, she'll have to redo it)

[mhg]

Is her vision normal? (just a thought).

[happycc]

she was in ps and did a lot of writing. I am usually sitting right next to her all the time anyways and she just is sloppy when I am there.

When she writes out her spelling words. Again sloppy.

She says she is just trying to write fast.

 

I think maybe I should cut down on her writing in general and make her do good writing. And take everyone's suggestion that if it is sloppy, she will have to recopy it.

[IsabelC]

I've found that my 8yo reluctant writer can write reasonably legibly when he is copying, but his handwriting deteriorates if he has to decide what to write himself. The only thing that works for us is maintaining the copywork so he can practise writing separately from any other skills. Generally I will accept writing if I can figure out what it's meant to say, but for copywork I will ask him to redo it if it doesn't look like his best effort.

 

If her difficulties are due to some physical limitatation (with strength, fine motor, eyestrain etc) as opposed to lack of trying, you could experiment with different sized pencils and smaller or larger lines for her to write on. Most handwriting programs advocate thick pencils and big letters, but my son actually did better with small pencils and small letters. We also limit the amount of writing he does, with the understanding that messy writing is indicating that he needs more practice.

 

Has she gone backwards in any other aspects of schooling or general behavior, or is it only writing?

[boscopup]

If her difficulties are due to some physical limitatation (with strength, fine motor, eyestrain etc) as opposed to lack of trying, you could experiment with different sized pencils and smaller or larger lines for her to write on.

 

This is a good point. My son can write neater with smaller lines. I had been providing him with 1st grade lines in 1st grade, and it turned out that he did better with 3rd grade lines. :tongue_smilie:

 

He also does better writing on his own than copying, but I think that's because he doesn't like copying. :glare:

[Aurelia]

If it's sloppy because she's trying to go fast, tell her to write more slowly, or have her rewrite it so it's legible, and let her know how much more time it takes to redo it than if she'd done it right the first time. I've done this a couple of times with Ariel and she's much better about writing neatly most of the time. Also, I've had Ariel read back her writing and if she can't read it, she has to redo it.

[Jay3fer]

I think maybe I should cut down on her writing in general and make her do good writing. And take everyone's suggestion that if it is sloppy, she will have to recopy it.

 

Yup, that's the HWT way... LESS writing, better quality.

 

My dd6.5 generally works on one page at a time, by herself, and I check it when she's done. Sometimes, however, if we're working on letter formation, I will watch her step by step.

 

When she's done it herself, I definitely ask her to rewrite a few letters that are most conspicuously sloppy (not so many that she gets frustrated).

 

But what I also do is look over the whole page and put a checkmark or happy face on my FAVOURITE word (ie the neatest). Even if the whole page is terrible, there's bound to be one word that's good. Zoom in on it.

 

I find that kind of positive reinforcement very helpful. My dd knows the drill by now and will often point out words where she tried especially hard and where she's pleased with the results. I sometimes pick her word, sometimes I pick a different one, but I always point out what I like about the word I choose ("the circle of the 'a' is very close to the stick; you stayed nicely between the lines," or whatever it was).

 

In every subject, always try to catch your kids succeeding - imho, it's the best way to break out of a cycle of "bad" behaviour / work.

[MeganW]

My kiddos have some fine motor delays, so we are repeating the HWOT preschool book for about the millionth time. In addition, we have a worksheet we do every day that has one line for each letter in the alphabet.

 

I expect them to write THREE perfect examples of each letter every day. They can do it in 3 tries, or in 400 tries. Handwriting is the last thing before break time, so if they rush through and do sloppy work, they can end up losing their break. They are finally learning it is better to take your time and do it right the first time rather than rushing.

 

One other thing that has helped - I always do a worksheet of letters at the same time I have them do one. I do one perfect letter, and then intentionally mess up the others. Either they are "jumping" (not on the bottom line) or "ate too many donuts" (fat) or "falling over" (leaning) or whatever. The kids LOVE to critique mine and let me know which ones are wrong and why. Then I ask them to check theirs and see if they have any with that error.

[PeterPan]

You might as well go ahead and get her eyes checked. I'd use a developmental optometrist, either with a regular exam and screening or a full exam, because they'll look at stuff a regular optometrist misses. Definitely the eyes could cause that. Impulsivity and rushing can be a symptom of ADHD. She can be covering for poor motor control or lack of hand strength. There can be different reasons, and you just have to start working through them. And while I ABSOLUTELY agree kids work better with supervision, I also don't buy into a laziness argument. At this age they want to please. If you sit with them and they pull it together for a few minutes by bleeding their heart out with effort, they still have the underlying problem.