Logic of English Foundations Handwriting question

[Blessed with seven]

We are doing manuscript, just starting Foundations A.  I am struggling a bit with all the swing stroke, down stroke, circle stroke etc... then they combine those and say them to start forming letters?  I guess it is just different for me than just having them write them the way WTRT teaches, is this really helpful?  Anyone ditch the handwriting and do your own?  If so..what and how do you do it?

 

Kim

[Coco_Clark]

I found it useful to take it down into parts with my boys. It gave me language to tell them how to form the letters, and it gave them practice making marks that fit on the line.

 

From my memory there are only a half dozen "stroke" lessons before you get into letters. I wouldn't ditch a program over that few lessons. If it bugs you just skip them and start the handwriting portion when it begins letters.

[Blessed with seven]

^{Okay, thank you for your opinion.  We will keep going.  I guess it doesn't but me horribly, honestly, one thought....if you want them to have continuous stroke then would it make it "jerky" for them to think, like for a "a", curve, then swing, then straight line.  Just sort of thinking out loud here, not ready to ditch it all.  It is just different from what I have taught before so curious if people found it helpful or not.}

 

^Kim

[73349]

I picked HWOT instead of doing the LOE handwriting. I think some other people have also mentioned not using the handwriting in LOE. But since you've started it, you might keep at it a while before making up your mind.

[Above The Rowan]

^{Okay, thank you for your opinion. We will keep going. I guess it doesn't but me horribly, honestly, one thought....if you want them to have continuous stroke then would it make it "jerky" for them to think, like for a "a", curve, then swing, then straight line. Just sort of thinking out loud here, not ready to ditch it all. It is just different from what I have taught before so curious if people found it helpful or not.}

 

^Kim

My kids both were a little "jerky" at first but they got much smoother very quickly. We have loved the cursive lessons in LoE and the kids picked it up really quickly and have really developed beautiful penmanship. Now we are working on getting the same result in their printing. :)

[Coco_Clark]

My DS 7's jerkiness actually went away with LOE instruction.  He came from HWOT which teaches in a similar "stroke" style but with less fluidity, if that makes sense.  He may have been jerky with anything and it was maturity, not the change in program, that improved things, though.  I have nothing against HWOT, it was a great program.

 Either way there is no way at any age he could have seen a letter, like b for example, and then replicated it without very specific start here, make a down stroke, now make a circle stroke, ect instruction.  It was too complicated.  He is my kid that really needed those steps outlined for him bit by bit for well over a year before he was forming letters consistently correctly and neatly.  And he practiced down strokes and circles for months, because he literally did not have the fine motor control to make his fingers do that, let alone do several of them all in a row without stopping.  

My DS5 needed the lessons on strokes much less.  He may have been able to jump right into letter formation quite easily.  But like I said, also gave us the language to use when explaining how I want the letter formed.  "You start b with a down stroke", every time he starts it with the curve and tries to stroke upwards.  :)  And gave him practice making lines that fit inside the space given, which was an issue for a while.  

[Mamilinda]

We followed the LOE Foundations A curriculum and I did think those strokes were different but we trudged through them and we are so far past that in Foundations B. I think it is a perfect program for early readers because it doesn't stress writing all that much but does emphasize the correct way to write. We love it, despite feeling a bit odd about the swing stroke and the...I can't even remember the others, now. It is not an inexpensive program, either! I say stick it out. My biggest thing was struggling over whether or not to do spelling with a four year old. I wish I wouldn't have.

[Blessed with seven]

 

• Okay..here is what I am finding hard so maybe I am not doing it right.  as he is writing, saying the strokes, feels like it creates jerky...I don't know, maybe it is just different, I love the program thought!