handwritting

[abcmom]

I have a 13 ds and 10 ds and they both have terrible handwritting. It seems to be getting worse. Neither one of them like to write in cursive. My older son's writting is so bad that a lot of time he can't even read it. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[Jumping In Puddles]

I suggest you try Handwriting Without Tears

Link.

 

I am starting to think my 5 year old has better handwriting than I do and he has only been using this for a couple of months.

 

Good Luck. :)

[newlifemom]

I really liked R&S penmanship. Dd spent lots of time learning to make little swirls and the tops of Ts. Her handwriting is very good now and I am planning on using same for other dc. They also really explain how to make the strokes.

[Rhondabee]

I did Ruth Beechik's rhythm method (that doesn't sound right, but the purpose is to write the letters to a rhythm). My boys are 13 and 11, btw. Her method works with any style of handwriting, which I thought was good because the purpose was to have legible handwriting, rather than specific strokes.

 

It is very teacher-intensive, and we didn't continue all the way through the alphabet. The little bit we did do really helped my older ds. I think really though, that simply having a timed "handwriting session" daily would have accomplished the same thing. IOW, it *wasn't* the method that helped, but simply directing them to practice certain letters and nonsense words for 10 minutes daily. (Unlike copywork, we focused on just a few letters each day.)

 

I should probably pick that back up, myself!

Rhonda

[Lakeside]

Just to throw another idea out there...we really like Getty-Dubay. I started using it with ds from the beginning. In addition to the books that I've linked to, they also have a book called Write Now: The Complete Program for Better Handwriting that I went through when my son was beginning handwriting. It has really helped me improve my handwriting.

 

I've also found that when I've called and asked questions they have been very helpful and friendly.

[athena1277]

As a child I had bad handwriting, until someone discovered that I held my pencil wrong. I used one of the contoured (not the triangle) pencil grips for a year or so and my handwriting improved a lot. I still regress to my old way on occasion, and the difference is noticable.

[Rhondabee]

As a child I had bad handwriting, until someone discovered that I held my pencil wrong. I used one of the contoured (not the triangle) pencil grips for a year or so and my handwriting improved a lot. I still regress to my old way on occasion, and the difference is noticable.

 

My younger ds is especially bad. He writes with his fingers almost on the lead, unless he's doing math, when he holds the pencil halfway between the lead and the eraser.

 

:glare:

 

*and* although he's a right-y, he hooks his hand like a left-y.

 

If I am on the ball, and in continual looking-over-his-shoulder mode, I've noticed that reminding him to turn slant his paper correctly helps him naturally correct his grip (and the hooking), and the handwriting improves immensely. But, I just can't always be there!

 

I have seen the triangle grips, but I don't remember seeing a different kind. Can you give me a bit more description? If it works even a little bit, I would be very grateful!

 

:001_smile:

Rhondabee