How perfect?

[librarymama]

I am not a perfectionist, but I want DS 5 to learn to write correctly now so that he won't develop bad habits that are hard to break later.

 

That said, how often should I be correcting him when he is writing and makes mistakes in form? For example, he often writes his numbers backwards. Or he will write his letters in odd ways, such as the for 'b' He will make the 'o' part clock-wise and then draw the 'l' from the bottom up.

 

Each time he makes a mistake should I have him erase and redo? He loves worksheets and writing, but he does take forever to write down an answer as it is. He likes to shake his pencil around and stuff.

[lindsrae]

You should certainly correct his formation--if he is writing a "b" in the way you describe, that will certainly cause problems later. When my eldest DD began with writing, I had to sit next to her to make sure her formation was correct.

 

If he is just starting, remember that less is more. Practice DOES NOT make perfect IF you are forcing him to complete an entire page. Practice makes automatic. You want the writing of letter to be easy and automatic. I would not make him erase if the letter isn't perfect, but point out the ones that he does the best. A short practice of nicely formed letters is highly preferable to a page full of messy letters because he wants to get done.

[HomeschoolingHearts&Minds]

Are you modeling correct formation for him, or is the workbook giving him direction? What you are describing is "drawing" letters---in other words, he's copying the "picture" he sees the best he knows how. And that's not atypical at this age. My 6-year-old has this tendency and the best way I've found to counteract it is to model for him, having him watch carefully, and then he imitates the formation. Makes a huge difference for him. I also minimize the amount of writing he is required to do.

 

Remember that it takes a tremendous amount of mental energy for a beginning writer to write out answers: he has to consciously think about how to form the letters or numbers and he has to figure out what he wants to say, and yes, that will be slow. :)

 

You can help him with that by doing some of it orally, and cutting down on the amount of actual writing will give you the opportunity to focus more on correct formation when he is writing. Give him a model, and have him copy. Ask him to pick out his best effort. Praise his hard work.

[Tanikit]

With my DD I watch every single letter she makes and if I suspect the letter formation will be a problem then I say the rhyme/words to her about how it is formed before she rights it - she knows how to make an "a" correctly so every single time she is about to start a "d" I say: "Make an "a" first and then go up high to make the "d" It is the only way to get her to form it correctly. When she has practised enough it will become automatic, but for now formation needs to be perfect.

 

However, while formation needs to be perfect, I am less specific about letter height (I did not use lines with her at all at first) Once she had the letter formation better I started her with just a bottom line and expected her to put the letters on that line but that was only taught after almost all her letters are being formed correctly.

 

The other thing I think helps with letter formation is to get the child to draw the letter very large in the air - you stand behind them and direct so they form it correctly (do not stand in front else you have to show them letters backwards!)

 

If at all possible try to get him not to make any mistakes that need correcting - if he has to redo to correct then he is also reinforcing the wrong formation as he has done it incerrectly once. Rather just keep telling him how to form them as he writes until you are sure he knows.

[reign]

When working on school I stay next to the kid and correct her as soon as she deviates from the correct formation. I also give verbal hints in thr beginning like "start at thr top" or "stick first" If it is not homework then I don't mention mistakes.

Edited June 27, 2012 by reign

[librarymama]

Thank you all for the responses.

 

I do sit with him but I allow myself to be distracted by my two younger ones sometimes when he is doing workbooks. He loves writing, so I'm not forcing him to do it, yet I want him to do it correctly.

 

Modeling sounds great. I will do that more, so he can see how he can do it better the next time as well as pointing out the best letters of a set.

[Heathermomster]

To practice letter formation with DS, I used to take shaving creme and spread it over a cookie sheet. He played in that, forming letters correctly (I modeled it) and then we moved on to the lined paper.