FO4UR Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Background: I have been set on teaching cursive first. ds has fm delay, and doesn't even draw stick people. We've been having some success teaching the Cursive First curriculum style. Ds hasn't been writing on his own, but he has learned the strokes for all the letters and traces correctly with ease. Today, he spontaneously began writing several words in ALL CAPS. I have never taught caps:confused: Where did he learn this???? I was so proud/excited/thrilled that he was WRITING that I didn't care if it was caps/print/whatever LOL! So, now I'm questioning.....do I keep teaching cursive, or switch to something that starts with print caps, like HWOT???? HWOT is written by an OT and obviously there must be something about teaching CAPS first, atleast I'm a believer now:tongue_smilie:. HOWEVER, I still feel strongly about building a foundation with cursive first.....and b/c he is learning print spontaneously so it seems, maybe I should just keep on the cursive track and rejoice with his independant writing however it comes????? Thoughts? Advice? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 My oldest dd has fine motor problems. She is now 13. I can tell you that printing, for her, is much easier. Handwriting was a problem in school for her. When we began homeschooling in 5th, I actually bought HWOT cursive so she could improve. It really did make a difference and actually helped her printing. She still does not have stellar handwriting, but it is better. But she still prints. I know with my first child, and also with my first time homeschooling, I had huge expectations. I've learned that more often than not I need to let my expectations go and do what's best for my girl. I guess that's my way of saying that I'd put cursive on hold. HWOT is truly a great program for kids with fine motor problems and he is the perfect age for some of the fun stuff that comes with their first book. I'll admit that I don't know what building a strong foundation with cursive first means:tongue_smilie: But I do know all about the frustration that comes with trying to get handwriting going :001_smile: Good luck whichever way you decide! Angel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaik76 Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 We love HWOT. I was so frustrated before we started this program, and it's really, really helped (I'm not a fan of what the print looks like, but it works!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 My oldest dd has fine motor problems. She is now 13. I can tell you that printing, for her, is much easier. Handwriting was a problem in school for her. When we began homeschooling in 5th, I actually bought HWOT cursive so she could improve. It really did make a difference and actually helped her printing. She still does not have stellar handwriting, but it is better. But she still prints. I know with my first child, and also with my first time homeschooling, I had huge expectations. I've learned that more often than not I need to let my expectations go and do what's best for my girl. I guess that's my way of saying that I'd put cursive on hold. HWOT is truly a great program for kids with fine motor problems and he is the perfect age for some of the fun stuff that comes with their first book. I'll admit that I don't know what building a strong foundation with cursive first means:tongue_smilie: But I do know all about the frustration that comes with trying to get handwriting going :001_smile: Good luck whichever way you decide! Angel Thanks for your input:001_smile: By "strong foundation with cursive first" I mean that I believe that kids will be stronger writers with the method that they learned first. If I teach cursive first, ds will will be more likely to have a nice cursive pen. If I teach print first and then teach cursive in 2nd grade, ds will likey mesh the two as he grows older....like I did:tongue_smilie: fwiw - my dh still writes in all caps:confused: That is what he learned in K, and he is still writing that way....big caps are "Caps" and little caps are "lowercase" for him:confused::lol: My ds may be destined to be just like daddy (poor kid LOL), but my thinking was to teach for the long term...and hopefully not even be doing intensive penmanship in 2nd grade...which I'm sure will NOT be a favorite subject. Off I ramble...:blush5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neesek Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Have you taken a good look at the HWT website? I would encourage you to do that before making your decision. There is a lot of information there about why they teach letters in the order that they do. Everything that they do is carefully designed to prevent letter and number reversals. My ds's motor skills were very slow in forming at that age, but HWT was a fantastic program for him. I am using it again with my dd, and it has worked well for her too. My ds started HWT cursive last year in 2nd, and it was a very easy transition for him. Obviously I won't tell you not to do the cursive first. I know many support that plan. However, I truly believe for my ds that trying to do cursive first would have caused many "tears!" :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 That's interesting. I have never heard that before. I am one of those people who personally change their handwriting all the time. I find it fun. :001_smile: My dh neither prints nor does cursive well. Dd and I enjoy watching him write cause he forms his letters all kinds of goofy ways. He and I went to the same elementary school, go figure.:D With my older dd it is whatever is less tiring for her hand, and honestly, that really is fine with me. I am happy that she is actually getting thoughts on paper and that it is legible. And honestly, she doesn't have the need for much writing because the computer is available for her to type it out. We are waiting to see what younger dd will do. She wants to learn cursive this year, so we are going with that in 2nd grade. I liked HWOT so much that I'm using it for her, even though it's not very "pretty." What I've come to realize is how very much we morph into our own unique style of writing, no matter how we our taught. If you want cursive first, you could still look at HWOT and just start with their cursive book. Because the writer of HWOT is a OT, she has the book flow in a good way for kids with fine motor problems. Angel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted July 22, 2008 Author Share Posted July 22, 2008 I know HWOT is written by an OT...and that makes this decision all the more difficult:001_huh: Someone just tell me it's OK to start with print LOL!....and then convince my dh that I need to buy more curriculum today!:lol: I am so glad I found the WTM board....no one else understand what a huge dilema this is :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 It's ok to start with print.:D :lol: Tell dh it is in your son's best interest and it really is only $11-13 more for HWOT. Yes, we SO understand the dilemma.:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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