newbieoftwo Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 My son has difficulty with fine motor skills (possibly dyslexic/ADHD, but still waiting on diagnosis). It was recommended to start cursive with him this year instead of hitting a wall with print (he wants to start every letter at the bottom), but he will be attending public school next year for kindergarten. Do you think this would cause a problem in school next year? Have you had any experience with teachers allowing exceptions in print vs cursive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aly9712 Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 I would suggest seeing if it could be listed as an accommodation on his IEP. It would be helpful for the teacher if you taught him at home and sent in additional practice sheets during the whole class lessons. It would be difficult for a teacher to be teaching print to the whole class and cursive instruction to one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renmew Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Best to get it included on his IEP. I have found, though, and I am sure there is research out there to support it, that kids with great difficulty printing often do very well with cursive. It's worth a try for sure. Also, try using very small pencils. It forces a proper grip when the pencil is shorter than a finger length. As a teacher, I would be willing to try this IF it was going to be supported at home as well. Look into the Handwriting without Tears program and work on it daily at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Have you looked into Handwriting Without Tears? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandamom Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 I'm in the same boat. I just finished taking the O-G course and my instructor requested that some of our own kids come in and she could show us some lessons. Well, although my son is reading very well he managed to reverse just about every letter possible -- even a couple I didn't think were possible. :D He knew them last year but having the summer off apparently didn't help. I'm considering approaching the teacher if I can get his cursive going before school starts. Basically my thought is that if he is fluent and neat in cursive without the teacher needing to teach much I'm thinking it might be easier for the teacher to accept the cursive. Who knows though. I have to work on the cursive now with him if I'm taking that approach with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbieoftwo Posted August 11, 2012 Author Share Posted August 11, 2012 I tried Handwriting without Tears (the whole kit!), but he cried when the worksheets came out (I even cut the book and put them in dry erase sheets to start) and would sing how to form a letter while he was starting at the bottom :glare: Handwriting has become the biggest battle if I make him start at the top, but he is happy if I leave him to write everything from the bottom and backwards :lol: When I showed him some cursive sandpaper letters he actually got excited about learning it. He even said, "I like this because it all starts at the bottom." We have a whole year to work on cursive so I am going to take the plunge and hope its at least legible and his kindergarten teacher is willing to let him continue writing in it as long as I continue teaching it at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Try the Handwriting Without Tears, 3rd grade. (Cursive) Get the Teacher's and the Students, and order some paper, too :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 I tried Handwriting without Tears (the whole kit!), but he cried when the worksheets came out (I even cut the book and put them in dry erase sheets to start) and would sing how to form a letter while he was starting at the bottom :glare: Handwriting has become the biggest battle if I make him start at the top, but he is happy if I leave him to write everything from the bottom and backwards :lol: When I showed him some cursive sandpaper letters he actually got excited about learning it. He even said, "I like this because it all starts at the bottom." We have a whole year to work on cursive so I am going to take the plunge and hope its at least legible and his kindergarten teacher is willing to let him continue writing in it as long as I continue teaching it at home. Ugh. How frustrating! Here's another idea... What about attacking "handwriting muscles" with other activities like play dough, clay, stringing beads, playing with shaving cream, etc. You could even have "eat with your hands night" some night this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The girl next door Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 Montessori-style learning might be a good fit.... they use sandpaper letters and chalk before moving on to pencil which is less "forgiving"..... they also have lots of those readiness activities (that focus on the pincer grasp) and teaching cursive instead of print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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