Third Grader (Boy) Writes Very Lightly--and Hates to Write

[umsami]

So it seems like since Kindergarten, my eldest son has hated writing. He has never held a pencil "correctly"--in spite of various grips and tricks we've tried. We've tried Handwriting Without Tears and GD--he dislikes them both. When he does write, it's like there's no pressure whatsoever. His writing is extremely light, to the point of being difficult to read. Using a mechanical pencil helps a little--but that's about it. We're about to begin cursive now, and I was wondering if anybody had any ideas as to what might help.

 

It's important to me that he can write legibly in cursive and print. I think it's a life skill one needs. But it's so frustrating for him.

 

Help!

[Critterfixer]

I'd try a pen. He won't have to press hard and you could get different colors to make it more interesting.

And I'd go ahead and start teaching him the keyboard. That might take some of the pressure off.

[Dmmetler]

Or maybe a super-fine tip marker (something like the ultrafine sharpie). I have motor skills issues, and prefer super-thin magic markers to ballpoints or pencils. If he NEEDS to use a pencil, a softer lead (you can find different grades at arts/crafts stores) might work better for him, too. Usually the only time you truly NEED a specific grade of pencil is on computer scored tests.

[wapiti]

Practice handwriting on a white board. Much less friction.

 

Also, consider some

prior to writing time each day.

 

Using an incorrect level of pencil pressure is, at its heart, a sensory processing issue. There may be more OT exercises to look into.

 

FWIW, I think cursive is absolutely the right way to go. Also, beginning typing.

[umsami]

Thanks. He does prefer writing with pen/marker, but I want to encourage him to at least use pencil when doing math. I'll have to check out some softer leads--I didn't think of that. :) Maybe I can find some 3B or 4B leads for his pencil.

[Alessandra]

BTDT!

 

slantboard

writing grips

soft lead

sit up straight, good chair & table proportions

have a footrest (like a stool) to make sure feet are anchored

OT exercises for fine motor, like putty, clay modeling, squeezing a tennis ball, playing w/ legos

AND don't forget to exercise *shoulder* muscles -- wheelbarrow walk, write/draw/paint on a vertical surface, such as an easel, play balloon volleyball

 

Also, I have found it helps to say that you want only a small amount of writing, but it has to be good -- you could start with just a few letters. And it helps if you can sit with dc and praise or gently correct every stroke, not just every letter, every stroke. IMO, that pays off in a reasonable time.

 

Pocket Full of Therapy has a lot of writing aids.

 

Here is a nice video of how handwriting is taught in France -- there are some wonderful ideas here.

 

http://www.teachfind.com/teachers-tv/france-teaching-handwriting

[umsami]

BTDT!

 

slantboard

writing grips

soft lead

sit up straight, good chair & table proportions

have a footrest (like a stool) to make sure feet are anchored

OT exercises for fine motor, like putty, clay modeling, squeezing a tennis ball, playing w/ legos

AND don't forget to exercise *shoulder* muscles -- wheelbarrow walk, write/draw/paint on a vertical surface, such as an easel, play balloon volleyball

 

Also, I have found it helps to say that you want only a small amount of writing, but it has to be good -- you could start with just a few letters. And it helps if you can sit with dc and praise or gently correct every stroke, not just every letter, every stroke. IMO, that pays off in a reasonable time.

 

Pocket Full of Therapy has a lot of writing aids.

 

Here is a nice video of how handwriting is taught in France -- there are some wonderful ideas here.

 

http://www.teachfind...ing-handwriting

 

 

Wow...lots of great ideas. Thanks :)

 

 

I really liked the video...some aspects reminded me of HWT... others of Waldorf form drawing. :)

[Alessandra]

 

 

Wow...lots of great ideas. Thanks :)

 

 

I really liked the video...some aspects reminded me of HWT... others of Waldorf form drawing. :)

 

I love the video too. I only wish U.S. schools spent a fraction of the time on handwriting that the French do. In my experience, dc were taught to print, then abandoned until cursive, after which most kids went back to printing.

 

Wanted to add -- as your ds is pretty young, it might work if he had a special stuffed animal, a near-sighted one who could only see darker writing. Sounds silly and depends on the kid, but that sort of silly thing has worked wonders for us!

[redsquirrel]

I am not sure about the marker or pens. They only encourage the light writing, because they glide and give little feedback to the writer. For a while my son was only using crayons (it requires more pressure and gives more feedback) and no markers at all. His writing got a lot better.

 

I guess it depends on your goals. If you want to strengthen his hands etc then you need to do things to make the muscles stronger. If you want to go with the light writing and make it easier for him, then I guess you can use white boards and markers.

 

You might want to look into those Montessori type exercises where the student moves things like little pom-poms with tweezers etc. It strengthens the pinch. If you did 5-10 mins a day of those type of exercises every day you will see some changes over time. Swimming lessons would be good because it strengthens the arms and the core. Lots of lego play and working with his hand and upper body.

 

And yes to getting him seated with his feel supported and his desk at a good angle. He shouldn't have to expend much energy at being in a good writing position. You need to keep him properly supported so he can focus on the writing. I love slant boards. I use a 2 or three inch binder as a slant board. If things slide off you can use that cushioning stuff that keeps rugs etc from sliding. Just cut it to fit the binder.

[Mimm]

You could get a drawing pencil with a softer lead.

 

It's interesting though. My 11 year old loves to write and presses very hard. I tell her there's no need to punish the paper. You can usually see what she wrote on the paper under the paper she wrote on. I told her a blind person could read her work if her handwriting wasn't so messy. :p

[serendipitous journey]

We've switched to pen for all non-maths work. Button adores Le Pen. It's helped enormously with his attitude toward writing.

 

The IEW writing program actually suggests to use pen for rough drafts, so the child doesn't spend forever erasing, and pencil for final drafts which ought to be neat. Our rule is that mistakes are stricken out with one neat, horizontal line and then Button just goes on.

 

RE the motor feedback, I wouldn't worry unless the child has other [motor-related] developmental challenges or a problem develops. Button's handwriting is a bit less neat with the pen, but it is much faster & he's much happier and we're working on the neatness a bit at a time: the total result is a good one from my perspective.