strange_girl Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 So my DS burst into tears this morning and cried, really cried, for about 10 minutes... ...because I told him it was Friday and he didn't have handwriting today. :huh: Then he layed his little blond head on the table and moaned, "I just wanna do my Happy Handwriting!" Le sigh :laugh: Aren't little boys supposed to loathe handwriting? Seriously, this child would do the whole book at once if I would let him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Not all little boys loathe handwriting. Mine wanted to learn how to write before they could read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strange_girl Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Not all little boys loathe handwriting. Mine wanted to learn how to write before they could read. Good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmerRex Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I do not understand, why can't he do extra/more handwriting each day? It is a subject that he likes....Why are you rationing it. He will not one day run out of things to write, will he? Handwriting is literally a rote skill...The only point of a writing practice is you are training the muscles and hand/eye coordination it will take to write fluently and without thought. The sooner he has that coordination and muscle memory, the better, right? Finishing the writing curriculum "early" isn't a problem either, you can just copy worthwhile passages using the handwriting skills. Write papers, math works, etc... ETA: Posted too soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I don't have the slightest understanding of why you don't let him write up his handwriting book if he wants to. :) Then he can go on to copying wonderful things until he's able to make his own compositions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strange_girl Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 Because I don't want to burn him out. Aren't we supposed to 'stop while they're still having fun'? I've never experienced a kid crying because they couldn't do something in school, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Because I don't want to burn him out. Aren't we supposed to 'stop while they're still having fun'? I've never experienced a kid crying because they couldn't do something in school, that's all. Crying is not having fun. There's a happy medium between putting it away while he still likes it and depriving him of something wholesome to the point of his crying! You could let him do a few more lessons each day or keep going for a longer amount of time; or if he'd like you can set him up with a boxful of writing materials -- pretty papers and pens, sayings and words that you've clipped or written out for him to copy -- and let him write in his spare time using his Writing Box instead of his school curriculum. Does he have access to arts and crafts materials, things he can get on his own to play with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Because I don't want to burn him out. Aren't we supposed to 'stop while they're still having fun'? I've never experienced a kid crying because they couldn't do something in school, that's all. I am not sure why you are being criticized about not letting your ds do his handwriting curriculum. If you as the parent want to do the handwriting curriculum at a certain pace, that is up to you to decide. I think the real point of your post is that it's always sweet when a dc LOVES doing "school" work :) !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space station Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I don't understand the criticism either. As the OP said, her ds's reaction caught her by surprise. She didn't get up this morning and decide to deprive him of his favorite subject. We all make plans about our school days and how to cover the myriad of subjects we want our kids to learn. Sometimes things just don't go as planned. OP, congrats on finding such a good curriculum match for your son! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 That is one of the fun things about homeschooling. Kids have a fabulous way of breaking us of our preconceptions, don't they? My boys love to write. Little boys are not supposed to love writing. All kids love read aloud stories and one should make copious amounts of time available to read to them. Not my boys. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Well stop abusing the boy and let him do it! I'm going to go Google Happy Handwriting now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 It's not criticism to say I don't understand the thinking, I'd let him write, and here are some other ways to let him write more if you don't want him to work ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ad astra Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Not all little boys loathe handwriting. Mine wanted to learn how to write before they could read. My DS was the same way. I started to teach him phonics when he kept writing simple words down on his own and asking me to correct them. He loves handwriting and has a nice penmanship. He had flown through the most Kumon and HWOT workbooks. Now his favorite school book is WWE1. At preschool, he writes me a letter when other kids draws or paints on the paper. So I understand OP's feeling. It was a good surprise to me, too. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 My son asked to learn cursive. I think he now deeply regrets that. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Then he layed his little blond head on the table and moaned, "I just wanna do my Happy Handwriting!" :lol: :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Well stop abusing the boy and let him do it! I'm going to go Google Happy Handwriting now.Seriously! Grab the opportunity now. Poor little guy. His Mom won't let him do handwriting! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I think boys are expected not to like writing - so they learn not to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 What a little sweetie he is! And I do understand. Sometimes things are going fine and I think we are on track, and then DD gets so emotional all at once, and I sit there thinking, "What just happened?" I'm googling "Happy Handwriting", too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Very sweet! Everyone in this house hates handwriting (not sure where I went wrong there) so I'd love it if they reacted like your ds. I did google Happy handwriting and was bummed it wasn't secular. Cute workbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Mine begs to do grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaOz Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I agree. They can be surprising :) My ds10 is loving his plain ol' black & white science workbook about the human body. He tells me he really enjoys it and he gets it out voluntarily to work on it. Who would have thought? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmerRex Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 OP, I apologize if my 1st comment wasn't helpful to you. I only meant it as a "I'm just wondering..." and I tried to explain my question so that it would not be offensive. Instead it came across to some as an attack. It is great when you find what works for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 My five year old asks to do his handwriting practice, enthusiastically works on it for a minute or two, then contentedly puts it away again. :tongue_smilie: My oldest, at three, would make letters out of anything. He'd yell, "Look Mom! A letter D!" and run around the living room carpet in the shape of a D. He did his first illustrated rewrite at four—he wasn't even reading until five but he could use the phonics he did know to encode well enough to make sense. He asked to learn cursive at five, after he was reading well. And you know what? That child still disliked putting pencil to paper in school. He still happily wrote on his own time. If it was his idea: :thumbup1: — if it was Mom's idea: :thumbdown:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Tell him "Fridays are for Calligraphy!!" Woot-woot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovekids83 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 My son is also doing Happy Handwriting and loving it as well! My children have also enjoyed the Cheerful Cursive, and get excited with each new 'person' they get introduced to. I have allowed my son two days on occassion, but have also wanted to take our time through the book as each day they review all of the previous letters. I hope he continues to enjoy handwriting. :laugh: We all need days when we know we picked the right curriculum for our kids, as it is encouraging to know we are getting some things right. :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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