Building handwriting stamina

[mamakelly]

My upcoming 5th grader needs to build up his handwriting stamina. He plays with legos, does crafts etc... He just needs more actual writing practice. We don’t start school until September 4. I just want to give them something to do to practice writing between now and then. I was thinking of having him copy short passages from a book or something. Any other ideas?

[SoCal_Bear]

Does he like maze puzzle books? Not exactly handwriting, but you still have to use a pencil.

 

[HomeAgain]

Monkey bars and jump roping.  Develop the arm from the shoulder down, not just the fingers/wrist.

Aside from that, if you want to do straight copywork, I'd pick things like Shel Silverstein poems or riddles.  Write it out for him and have him copy it.

[Rachel]

I’ve been having my kids send postcards to their cousins and letters to their grandparents and great-grandparents. They tend to include lots of drawings but it does take some of the drudgery out of plain old handwriting practice. 

For fun copy work my son really likes copying jokes. You can buy an inexpensive workbook on amazon or just google kid friendly jokes for some ideas. 

[mamakelly]

These are great ideas!! Thank you. 

[Ellie]

copywork is good. When y'all start doing Official School Stuff, you could require him to do everything in cursive (I'm assuming you're talking about cursive; if not, then...manuscript). The more children write, the more stamina they have.

[4KookieKids]

On 8/23/2018 at 3:19 PM, Ellie said:

copywork is good. When y'all start doing Official School Stuff, you could require him to do everything in cursive (I'm assuming you're talking about cursive; if not, then...manuscript). The more children write, the more stamina they have.

 

Yes, my ds9 who resists writing prefers cursive. Granted, it's just as messy as his manuscript (with the exception of it being more clear when one word ends and another begins)... But it's easier for him to write and he complains about it less. He has been doing much better since we switched to a fountain pen and cursive and can now write three sentences without too many tears... lol. I tell myself it's baby steps... ?

[Targhee]

Would he do 10 min free-writing sessions? You can offer prompts, and set a countdown timer, and let him write about whatever (prompt or other). No grading, no sharing unless he wants, no worry about exactness. DS and I have been doing this for 3 weeks and his stamina is improving! He’s always had pencil aversion

[SilverMoon]

I like to start the school year with a large copywork piece at any age. My current 5th grader is working on the Declaration of Independence. It seemed huge and daunting when she started. In small daily bites it's manageable and the further she gets the prouder she is. ❤ When it's finished the handful of paragraphs in her composition book won't look so big. ?

Edited September 6, 2018 by SilverMoon