How nice is your rising 2nd grader's handwriting?

[Mommy22alyns]

Sylvia's still needs some refining.

[Gentlemommy]

Oh, dd's does as well. When she really slows down, it is quite good. However, she is working on reversals still, so I make sure I am right.there.any time she is writing so I can correct even before she starts marking the paper. ;)

[melmichigan]

My son is finishing HWT grade 2 so he still needs lots of practice. Early On taught him his letters using HWT as part of his speech therapy, but without the teacher paying much attention to how he formed the letters. I think we will be remediating for a while. :001_huh:

[Mommy22alyns]

Yeah, Sylvia's pencil grip is awful and I just now bought her some grips to fix that. Whoops.

[jar7709]

Terrible. But his dad also has awful handwriting and mine is only marginal, so he comes by it honestly and I think that's the way it is just going to be. We're still working on getting all the letters pointed the right way, but he gets so frustrated by his brain going so fast and his hand so slow and imperfect, that I need to be really gentle about it. It'll come. And eventually he'll learn to type and all our problems will be solved. ;)

[Rivka]

I would describe it as middling, but in this case I think a picture is worth a thousand words. I've attached a picture of her spelling dictation notebook.

[Wabi Sabi]

It was terrible at the beginning of the year and we devoted quite a bit of time to working on it the entire first semester. I realized that in school he hadn't ever been taught proper letter formation and instead he was just drawing each letter. So, we went all the way back to the beginning: I showed him a website with examples of different style writing and let him chose the once that HE liked best (happened to be D'Nealian, he likes all the curves.) Then, we worked on one new letter a day. No worksheets or workbooks, just him practicing letters over and over in a composition book. I also didn't start any regular copywork until after Christmas, I wanted to wait until he got the fundamental handwriting skills solidified and built up his writing speed/stamina.

 

I'm really pleased with the results. All that time we spent really paid off and his handwriting is excellent now, certainly better than many adults' writing!

Edited May 15, 2012 by Wabi Sabi

[Mommy22alyns]

I would describe it as middling, but in this case I think a picture is worth a thousand words. I've attached a picture of her spelling dictation notebook.

 

 

That looks really good! Sylvia's is close to that.

[dharmacat]

Terrible. But his dad also has awful handwriting and mine is only marginal, so he comes by it honestly and I think that's the way it is just going to be. We're still working on getting all the letters pointed the right way, but he gets so frustrated by his brain going so fast and his hand so slow and imperfect, that I need to be really gentle about it. It'll come. And eventually he'll learn to type and all our problems will be solved. ;)

 

This is where DS8 is. But my question is *how* important is it that his writing look nice? Right now I'd be happy with legibility the majority of the time. I personally never mastered neat handwriting--so if I want to be read I have to write very slowly--and it is so hard to watch him get frustrated just like I did.

[FairProspects]

Wow. Looking at these samples it is really obvious that ds is dysgraphic. I didn't realize how much writing a lot of your rising 2nd graders are doing.

[crazyforlatin]

I think, terrible, and I have a girl. Aren't girls suppose to have beautiful handwriting? Her manuscript was bad, so I thought moving to cursive last year would be better, but maybe it's a matter of practice.

[Embassy]

My son is a rising 3rd grader and a year ago his handwriting was pretty bad with reversals, incorrect letter formation, and an incorrect grip. Now a year later his handwriting is close to what it should be. We practiced every school day. I reminded him of his grip whenever I saw him use an incorrect one and I had him write specific letters that were formed improperly over and over and over until it became natural to write it that way. We still have a few occasional reversals, but those are almost gone too.

[MiztrezzLyn]

I don't know if this picture will work but anyway, here is my 6 year old (almost 7, going into 2nd grade) boy's handwriting. This is his best handwriting, for copywork

 

He used to write so messy and has improved a LOT in the last 6 months. He switched to using full time cursive about that time.

[Targhee]

DS does well when he wants to, and can. If the task (spelling, dictation, synthesizing ideas to produce a written product, etc) starts taking too much of his focus the quality goes down. He doesn't enjoy writing. Yet. Getting him to write four sentences is still a struggle. So keep in mind there are many factors that can effect the quality of your dc's handwriting.

[jar7709]

This is where DS8 is. But my question is *how* important is it that his writing look nice? Right now I'd be happy with legibility the majority of the time. I personally never mastered neat handwriting--so if I want to be read I have to write very slowly--and it is so hard to watch him get frustrated just like I did.

 

Good question. I have wondered the same myself. My son had a bad PS experience where he was routinely forced to write more than he was developmentally ready for, and we are still working our way out of that. So I have been doing a lot of his physical writing for him, under the theory that most of the time, at this stage the ideas are as important as the skill, and that the skill will come along. I can't ask him to write as much as some of you have shown because he will shut. down. Full stop. It is improving, slowly, or I would be more worried than I am.

 

Here's something he wrote today. It is pretty good, for him. You can see where I helped.

Edited May 15, 2012 by jar7709

[nov05mama]

Depends on the day :tongue_smilie:

 

Here is one from today when he rushed it (the Egyptians) and another day when he didn't (the Ojibway). Both were copywork exercises.

[CatholicMom]

This is really enlightening. I noticed some of your kids are doing the loopy d and p thing that my boys do. It drives me crazy and I've been trying to get them to cut it out for a while now. And here I thought they were misfits. :lol:

 

I'm trying to get them (ages 7 and 8) to make the stick and the ball rather than one swoop-loop (starting from the bottom! Rah!) for a p.

 

Are you guys not concerned about this? Just curious. I've felt like such a failure as a handwriting teacher because of this, so I need to know. LOL

[chepyl]

Wonderful....when he takes his time and is motivated by less writing the neater he is....horrible if he rushes! He has always had amazing penmanship, but he HATES to write at thos stahe in his life. He loved it from 18 months- 4 or 5....at 6, I struggle to get him to wrote a single sentence, bit of I promise just one dictation sentence, he gives me his best.

[nov05mama]

Are you guys not concerned about this? Just curious. I've felt like such a failure as a handwriting teacher because of this, so I need to know. LOL

 

I haven't really addressed it much b/c I am just happy he's writing :tongue_smilie: This coming year, we will address it and hopefully correct it. I spent this year just being happy he was writing willingly that I am just hoping I didn't go and totally mess things up by not correcting sooner. :tongue_smilie: Overall, though, it doesn't bother me *that* much...it's legible, and that's what's most important right now. :D

[Marie131]

I'll be honest. It's terrible. We are working on reversals, we are working at writing letters on the line and not floating. He hates our handwriting program and it shows. I've pretty much given up for the year in hopes that our next years program works better (we are starting 2nd in the summer). Ftr, his spelling is awful too.

[birchbark]

Y'all might be interested in what the creator of SmithHand handwriting has to say.

[Iucounu]

It's really pretty decent now, much better than at the beginning of the year. I can't remember the last time I saw a reversal-- for a while he'd occasionally make them but catch them every time, leaving behind erasure marks. When he concentrates he can print as neatly as me, at least, though I'm not perfect either. :D

[mom24cuties]

My daughters handwriting is actually pretty good. She loves to write and doodle all the time so I am always telling her to write neatly and so over time her writing has become neat and pretty(for the most part).

[Loudwater School]

My little one will be seven in October. His handwriting is actually kind of great, in that anyone can easily read it.

[Rivka]

Wow. Looking at these samples it is really obvious that ds is dysgraphic. I didn't realize how much writing a lot of your rising 2nd graders are doing.

 

My sample, at least, is more than one day's assignment. She does her spelling dictation in a composition book and just picks up where she left off for each day's lesson. She typically does 3-4 sentences of spelling dictation and a WWE copywork or dictation sentence every day.

 

BTW, here's a sample of her independent writing. It's pretty different.

[Farrar]

I have young second graders. Their writing is shockingly messy when they write for pleasure, slightly better when they write their own thoughts for school and really decent if they do copywork. We still have issues with a few letters that are always capitalized. And with letters that don't hang low or rise high that should. I think it's just about the level of other stuff going on in their heads.

[Wabi Sabi]

Wow. Looking at these samples it is really obvious that ds is dysgraphic. I didn't realize how much writing a lot of your rising 2nd graders are doing.

 

My sample, at least, is more than one day's assignment. She does her spelling dictation in a composition book and just picks up where she left off for each day's lesson. She typically does 3-4 sentences of spelling dictation and a WWE copywork or dictation sentence every day.

 

BTW, here's a sample of her independent writing. It's pretty different.

 

Yes, same here. The sample I posted above actually took him four days. Each day he'd work on the drawing for a while and copy one sentence. Those drawings really take a good bit of time on his part, he can't just whip them out quickly.

 

Most days he just does 2-4 sentences of copywork in a composition book plus whatever writing is required for his spelling and grammar. It's actually pretty minimal, IMO, and very light compared to what his public schooled best friend is expected to write. I try not to compare, but it does sometimes make me worry just a little that the PS kids write so much more but I just try to keep faith that we'll slowly get there, we're just taking a different approach.

[FairProspects]

My sample, at least, is more than one day's assignment. She does her spelling dictation in a composition book and just picks up where she left off for each day's lesson. She typically does 3-4 sentences of spelling dictation and a WWE copywork or dictation sentence every day.

 

BTW, here's a sample of her independent writing. It's pretty different.

 

Most days he just does 2-4 sentences of copywork in a composition book plus whatever writing is required for his spelling and grammar. It's actually pretty minimal, IMO, and very light compared to what his public schooled best friend is expected to write. I try not to compare, but it does sometimes make me worry just a little that the PS kids write so much more but I just try to keep faith that we'll slowly get there, we're just taking a different approach.

 

Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but the comparison is still obvious. The sheer amount of writing even in free write is more than I have ever seen ds produce. Even a sentence can take an hour with him because each letter stroke has to be considered. He cannot just write and let it come out, because it won't.

 

It's alright. I've accepted that he is dysgraphic and we are moving almost exclusively to typing this fall. It is still good to see what is neurotypical so I know what to expect for ds 2.

[Julie Smith]

What is a rising second grader?

 

Someone who is currently in grade one, but rising into grade two in September?

 

Or someone who is in grade two, but rising into grade three in September?

 

Either way I have one of both.

 

The only writing they do is one sentence a day for history. Eldest sometimes does two. We answer the questions in SOTW and narrate the section we are studying. I then pick one sentence from it - then I usually have to simplify it. I write down this sentence in there book, and then they copy it underneath. With the exception of needing to look at the original for the sake of spelling - Eldest does not need me to write down the sentence.

 

Eldest is 7 but turns 8 this week, he is right now in grade two.

 

Youngest is 6 1/2, in our area he is considered grade one. He will turn 7 at the end of November.

 

Youngest prefers using the same type of paper as eldest. He doesn't mind writing his sentence, but would hate it if he had to still use the bigger lined paper.

 

Nevermind... you get no samples to look at. I can't even find the on button on the scanner. It's always left on. Oh well time for school.

[SilverMoon]

I would describe it as middling, but in this case I think a picture is worth a thousand words. I've attached a picture of her spelling dictation notebook.

 

This attachment is really similar to my rising second grader's writing. Nothing fabulous, but fairly neat and easily readable. Her handwriting is much better than any of her older siblings' at her age, so I'm thrilled anyway. :D

[SilverMoon]

What is a rising second grader?

 

Someone who is currently in grade one, but rising into grade two in September?

 

Or someone who is in grade two, but rising into grade three in September?

 

A rising second grader is one who will be a second grader in the fall. :001_smile:

[Kathryn]

Here is DS's spelling from last week (I resized it, it should be smaller soon, I promise!):

 

[mytwomonkeys]

my son turned 8 in late march & is currently in grade 2. i feel like his handwriting is below par for sure. he still writes big and a bit messy. i'm working with him, but it isn't improving much. my prayer is when we start cursive in grade 3 it will improve. we really don't focus a lot on writing at this age, so that is probably half the problem. as he is expected to write more starting next year it should get better. here's a sample of his current work & this is his best, taking his time, etc.. (sorry that it is sideways)

[MinivanMom]

Ds6's handwriting is pretty average for a rising 2nd grader. His printing had been pretty big and sloppy, but in the past few months he has begun writing much smaller and neater. He will start learning cursive in the fall.

[happypamama]

I would describe it as middling, but in this case I think a picture is worth a thousand words. I've attached a picture of her spelling dictation notebook.

 

It was terrible at the beginning of the year and we devoted quite a bit of time to working on it the entire first semester. I realized that in school he hadn't ever been taught proper letter formation and instead he was just drawing each letter. So, we went all the way back to the beginning: I showed him a website with examples of different style writing and let him chose the once that HE liked best (happened to be D'Nealian, he likes all the curves.) Then, we worked on one new letter a day. No worksheets or workbooks, just him practicing letters over and over in a composition book. I also didn't start any regular copywork until after Christmas, I wanted to wait until he got the fundamental handwriting skills solidified and built up his writing speed/stamina.

 

I'm really pleased with the results. All that time we spent really paid off and his handwriting is excellent now, certainly better than many adults' writing!

 

My rising second grader's writing is between these two posters' children's writing, with or without lines, I would say. The attached picture is from a few months ago, and it has improved since then; I think it is pretty good for a boy. (It is neater than his sister's was at the same age, but he's just kind of more meticulous in general than she is/was.)

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Both my second grader and my third grader have horrible handwriting- print and cursive. You can see some samples on my blog under the homeschooling labels. I worked on handwriting quite a bit with them up until this year, when I just gave up. :tongue_smilie:

[Cassy]

DS7's writing has always been mostly OK. After witnessing the problems DS11 had with writing after 4 years in PS, where he didn't seem to have received any instruction on forming letters, I supervised DS7's writing very closely from day one. Ever since he recently started to teach himself cursive DS7's writing has improved to such an extent that it's actually far better than DS11's, which has been very motivational for DS11 :D.

 

Cassy

[Mommy22alyns]

What is a rising second grader?

 

Someone who is currently in grade one, but rising into grade two in September?

 

Or someone who is in grade two, but rising into grade three in September?

 

Either way I have one of both.

 

The only writing they do is one sentence a day for history. Eldest sometimes does two. We answer the questions in SOTW and narrate the section we are studying. I then pick one sentence from it - then I usually have to simplify it. I write down this sentence in there book, and then they copy it underneath. With the exception of needing to look at the original for the sake of spelling - Eldest does not need me to write down the sentence.

 

Eldest is 7 but turns 8 this week, he is right now in grade two.

 

Youngest is 6 1/2, in our area he is considered grade one. He will turn 7 at the end of November.

 

Youngest prefers using the same type of paper as eldest. He doesn't mind writing his sentence, but would hate it if he had to still use the bigger lined paper.

 

Nevermind... you get no samples to look at. I can't even find the on button on the scanner. It's always left on. Oh well time for school.

 

The bolded is what I meant.

 

Sylvia doesn't have any reversals, but her major problem is writing numbers. 3/4 of the time her 6s look like 0s. :glare: