Dolphin Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Hi, I have looked around at all the different handwriting curriculums and I have settled on Handwriting without tears. I am not looking to change ideas on curriculum. :D So dd is left handed. No one in our family is, so I am flying a little blind here. Other than the slant of her paper, what else do I need to watch out for? Also, are there any good you tube videos or any videos that show how a right handed person should show a left handed person how to hold their pencil. Also, what should I get from HWT to start with? Should I get the clay thing and the wooden pieces? There is just so much on HWT that I am not sure what I should get. I don't want to buy everything just to have it, but I also don't need to skimp and do it as cheap as possible. (Partially as it looks like HWT has good and fast resale rates:001_smile:) Help! DD is pushing hard to start handwriting. I just have her writing c's and i's right now. I don't want to have to unteach things. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 The HWOT instruction manual will discuss the left-handed issue. The paper slant is really the primary difference. The other issue I've noticed is that a "righty" can write the word by dragging the pencil along the left to right progression. This aids in the smoothness of the writing as well as self-checking- the writer can see each letter formed as they move across the page. For a lefty, the pencil is being pushed from left to write and their hand sometimes covers the previously written letters. I like having the TM, I would purchase two levels of workbooks just to save on shipping, and probably get either the mat or the wooden letter shapes. If you don't want to shop for a chalkboard and chalk elsewhere, go ahead and get the HWOT one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 thank you! I will look at those. Also, I did mean left handed, not left hander. Why oh why can't you edit titles:svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black_midori Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I wouldn't worry about it very much, honestly, unless you actually end up having problems. I was concerned with my 2nd ds (now 6yo) because he has been obviously left-handed for a very long time & I wasn't sure how that would affect us... but it basically didn't affect us at all. I bought a few different books on left-handed writing & cursive, but didn't end up even reading them - he really just went right along on his own learning from how I taught his right-handed brother. The only thing I make sure of is that I have him write either on loose leaf paper or in a notebook with spiral on top so that he doesn't have to rest his arm on it. We must beat the statistics, because I have 2 people in my direct family LH & my dh has 2 in his direct family LH. :D FWIW, most of them use regular RH scissors & notebooks so I don't really worry much about that stuff. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raceNzanesmom Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 The HWOT instruction manual will discuss the left-handed issue. The paper slant is really the primary difference. The other issue I've noticed is that a "righty" can write the word by dragging the pencil along the left to right progression. This aids in the smoothness of the writing as well as self-checking- the writer can see each letter formed as they move across the page. For a lefty, the pencil is being pushed from left to write and their hand sometimes covers the previously written letters. I like having the TM, I would purchase two levels of workbooks just to save on shipping, and probably get either the mat or the wooden letter shapes. If you don't want to shop for a chalkboard and chalk elsewhere, go ahead and get the HWOT one. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Thank you. I stopped at my local homeschool store and the had the kindergarten teacher manual (not much else). I am going to read through that and plan my order. Any other advice is always welcome:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickerplum Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Our oldest is a lefty and did HWOT for preschool. I just make sure to sit on her right side when I'm demonstrating (I'm a righty), otherwise she can't see the strokes I'm making. We didn't buy the wooden pieces, but used the copy of the shapes in the book to make our own set out of cardstock and then had them laminated in a heavy plastic. She found them really helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiraejb Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 We've done HWOT for two years now (preK and Kindy) with only the manual and workbook. I bought the slate and dough letter thing also. The dough it came with dried out too fast and we rarely use the slate. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
placeofgrace Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I wouldn't worry about it very much, honestly, unless you actually end up having problems. I was concerned with my 2nd ds (now 6yo) because he has been obviously left-handed for a very long time & I wasn't sure how that would affect us... but it basically didn't affect us at all. I bought a few different books on left-handed writing & cursive, but didn't end up even reading them - he really just went right along on his own learning from how I taught his right-handed brother. The only thing I make sure of is that I have him write either on loose leaf paper or in a notebook with spiral on top so that he doesn't have to rest his arm on it. We must beat the statistics, because I have 2 people in my direct family LH & my dh has 2 in his direct family LH. :D FWIW, most of them use regular RH scissors & notebooks so I don't really worry much about that stuff. :) I agree with this. I wouldn't worry or think too much about it. My ds is the only lefty in the family and he does just fine. I didn't do anything special to teach him to hold a pencil or how to position his paper. It just came naturally. I would only intervene or worry if you notice a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecclecticmum Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 If you can work out a way for the child to not "Crutch" with the side of their hand, in many years time, I am sure they would thank you for it (I know I would) I'm left handed, and my writing can get terrible, not the words themselves, but the fact that the side of my hand will "drag" along across the just written letters, thus leaving a stain on my hand and smudging my writing......alas, its horrible. :lol: Because I did not concentrate enough on not using my hand as a crutch when I was younger, its making it practically impossible to do so now without a major drop in my handwriting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gevs4him Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 In our experience proper pencil grip was the key for our lefties and HWT will help your child to develop this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Our oldest is a lefty and did HWOT for preschool. I just make sure to sit on her right side when I'm demonstrating (I'm a righty), otherwise she can't see the strokes I'm making. We didn't buy the wooden pieces, but used the copy of the shapes in the book to make our own set out of cardstock and then had them laminated in a heavy plastic. She found them really helpful. Thank you, I hadn't thought about sitting on the other side of her. I am always having her move her hand to see what she had done. If you can work out a way for the child to not "Crutch" with the side of their hand, in many years time, I am sure they would thank you for it (I know I would) I'm left handed, and my writing can get terrible, not the words themselves, but the fact that the side of my hand will "drag" along across the just written letters, thus leaving a stain on my hand and smudging my writing......alas, its horrible. :lol: Because I did not concentrate enough on not using my hand as a crutch when I was younger, its making it practically impossible to do so now without a major drop in my handwriting. Could you explain this more. Do you mean dragging it across was a "crutch" should I work on having her hand raised off the paper. I have read the teacher manual, I know what I am ordering now. If anyone knows of good you tube videos, please link. I do so much better seeing what I should be doing rather than reading off the page. Thank you all for your advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 HWOT is great for lefties, my dd4 is a leftie too. When it comes to HWOT and deciding what to get it really comes down to your goal with the program. For me I wanted to follow the schedule in the back of the TM,. and use the full multisensory approach so I have all the peices to it and use them all. I even took the training for it. For others they are content to just use it as a workbook program and just get the student book. What you get from it is really up to you. I highly recommend the wooden pieces with mat and letter cards and the cd if you can get them. We do at least 1 song a day from the cd and it teaches all sorts of things with the program from direction, to big line/small line, silliness, left vs right, and the list goes on. We have the get ready preK cd and the rock tap and roll cd and both are hits here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thank you, I hadn't thought about sitting on the other side of her. I am always having her move her hand to see what she had done. Could you explain this more. Do you mean dragging it across was a "crutch" should I work on having her hand raised off the paper. I have read the teacher manual, I know what I am ordering now. If anyone knows of good you tube videos, please link. I do so much better seeing what I should be doing rather than reading off the page. Thank you all for your advice On the HWOT webpage they have videos on there that teach how to use various aspects of the program and they may have one that addresses lefties. Though it has been a long time since I looked at their videos so I am not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 HWOT is great for lefties, my dd4 is a leftie too. When it comes to HWOT and deciding what to get it really comes down to your goal with the program. For me I wanted to follow the schedule in the back of the TM,. and use the full multisensory approach so I have all the peices to it and use them all. I even took the training for it. For others they are content to just use it as a workbook program and just get the student book. What you get from it is really up to you. I highly recommend the wooden pieces with mat and letter cards and the cd if you can get them. We do at least 1 song a day from the cd and it teaches all sorts of things with the program from direction, to big line/small line, silliness, left vs right, and the list goes on. We have the get ready preK cd and the rock tap and roll cd and both are hits here. Thanks. In your opinion would it be smart for me to start with prek? or should I dive into K? My son has such bad handwriting (he started in school) and I have been trying to fix it ever since. I want to get it right with dd at the beginning so I don't have to go back and remediate. On the HWOT webpage they have videos on there that teach how to use various aspects of the program and they may have one that addresses lefties. Though it has been a long time since I looked at their videos so I am not sure. I will look again, I didn't see one the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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