S/O handwriting issues

[Tenaj]

I've been following the other thread with interest but decided to post a spin-off.  My 13yods has always had strange handwriting but once he learned cursive, the issue really went away.  His cursive won't win any awards, but it's easily legible so he just writes everything in cursive because his print is atrocious.

 

The issue I'm having is in math.  His printing is so awful and that has carried over into writing numbers.  It's beginning to affect his math abilities (which is probably his favorite subject) because as he heads into algebra, more writing is required.  Sometimes he can't even read his own writing, let alone me when I'm grading his work.  He has always done a lot of math calculations in his head which is wonderful but that doesn't really work very well as he's starting to solve more complicated equations which require a written solution.

 

Any suggestions of drills or something we could do to help this issue.  We're both frustrated!  

[displace]

Mod math app. I mentioned a little in the other thread:)

[freelylearned]

We use graph paper. I tell my son to put one number or symbol per square. The biggest sized grid I could find was 4 squares per inch, and that is working fine for him.

 

It took a little while to get the hang of it, but once he did, it helped a lot. It actually worked so well that I'm thinking of switching all of his other writing over to graph paper. I may even copy his workbook pages onto graph paper, which is saying a lot because I hate making copies!

 

PS I'm going to have to check out the Mod Math app more in depth. It looks very useful!

 

[displace]

You can also print out your own graph paper if what you find is too small.

 

Mod math is amazing for dysgraphics but it does take practice for it to be fast and natural. So practice daily for a week or two to decide if it will work.

[OneStepAtATime]

Have you had an OT evaluation?  It sounds like dysgraphia.  

 

Can he type?  Cursive is great but typing will open up a lot more options and if he has dysgraphia it may take time to get fluent with typing.  If he hasn't really learned to type I would start now, with daily lessons, maybe using something like Typing Pal or Touch Type Read and Spell.  Nothing that heavily emphasizes or penalizes speed, though.  Accuracy is more important and speed will come once accuracy and muscle memory/procedural memory are established.  

 

Also, there are several programs that allow you type out math problems.  That would help.  But only if he is already comfortable with a keyboard.

 

I agree, graph paper may help.  You may have to practice with him on actually using the lines to line things up.  And Mod math.

 

You might also look into on-line math programs where there is less writing.  CTC math, available usually through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op, might be a good supplemental math program that would not require nearly as much writing.  Most of it is done on computer.

[Tenaj]

 

 

Can he type?  Cursive is great but typing will open up a lot more options and if he has dysgraphia it may take time to get fluent with typing.  If he hasn't really learned to type I would start now, with daily lessons, maybe using something like Typing Pal or Touch Type Read and Spell.  Nothing that heavily emphasizes or penalizes speed, though.  Accuracy is more important and speed will come once accuracy and muscle memory/procedural memory are established.  

 

 

 

Yes, he's been working on www.typing.com this year and is almost finished with the first level so it's going well.  

 

I really don't think it's dysgraphia . . .I'm guessing it's more my fault in that he just picked up some really bad habits when he was younger and I didn't catch it.  Part of it is that he's always done so much math in his head that he was only writing answers down and now that he has to document his work, it's becoming more obvious.

 

One thing I've started doing this week is requiring him to write a row of numbers everyday before he begins his math lesson and requiring them to be properly formed and spaced on the line.  That seems to help him visual how his writing should look as he's doing his lesson.  I may try the graph paper next week.