Lovedtodeath Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Her copywork was this sentence: I had a dream in which I had a strange and wild lunch. (It is from OPG) She was to write it once in italic and once in cursive. Her hand and arm gave out before the end of the first sentence and she had to rest. She managed to do it again, but with complaining, resting, and pencil dropping. The only other pencil work she has is a few math problems. (I write some of those for her too.) I am thinking we may have a problem. Advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 My daughter couldn't do that, either. I write most of her math, and she now does fact practice on a Flashmaster instead of worksheets. We only do a few letters each day we do handwriting practice, it's very painful for her. When she writes on her own in uppercase, she can write for a fairly long time, but numbers or mixed case print or cursive is painful. It's very strange because she can draw for hours. I was going to wait a year or two to be worried! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 It's very strange because she can draw for hours. Same here!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samba2nite Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 To quote my son.... "I would rather have a root canal than write mom" and this is coming from the boy who has had two root canals. He is 8 years old and does every avoidance thing he can thing of to not write. When he does write it is barely legible. He has always struggled with fine motor issues and we have tried programs like writing without tears and such with no success. My son politely refuses to do the simplest art projects and will only pick up a crayon if threatened. He hates anything that requires him to write or use his hands. I'm not sure what to do at this point. You are not alone. dawn in sac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Don't worry everyone. Remember that drawing tends to use larger movements in the wrist and arm. Writing on the other hand really works their little fingers and hand in general. Try setting the books aside a few weeks and trying some short silly sentences you make up. The cat is fat. It may be under their mental level, but it will make those little fingers stronger. ve no idea how to maybe you can even make up some fun hand exercises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Don Potter recommends teaching beginning handwriting with large letters on a real chalkboard with real chalk. I wish he was on our way to California this summer, I'd get some handwriting lessons en route! He has years of experience teaching it, but it's hard to figure it out over e-mail. I'm trying to convince him to make a DVD. I told him I'd buy one, and that he'd have a few other customers here! He said he may make a YouTube movie or two, but he's got a lot of other projects so it may be a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 Don Potter recommends teaching beginning handwriting with large letters on a real chalkboard with real chalk. We did that!! For two years. It is great, but we should be beyond that by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I would certainly research ways to increase fine motor skills. Have her pick up toothpicks, little beads etc. to make an art project. While this can be very normal for a child at this age; I would encourage those skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandamom Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Since you now know that she can write a sentence that long (with a little complaining :) in my house I would require that much two times per day (morning and later afternoon) and then over time slowly increase it so she's making progress toward writing more each time. As her wrist/hand/fingers and arm get use to it she should start getting use to it. I had a problem with one child who complained a lot and then I eased up on the requirements and so even as he got older he complained more and more. It wasn't a good situation. That being said, I've been working with a homeschooled 8 year old who couldn't physically write more than 1 or two words at a time a month ago and I started requiring a bit more each session and last week wrote his first 6 sentence paragraph in under ten minutes using an outline from IEW. He and his parents were thrilled. He's advanced in reading and content subjects but he was behind in writing -- not any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy in ME Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 For us it is just copywork and dictation from Phonics Pathways. This seems to be just the right amount for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Is your dc gripping the pencil super-tight? I made a huge fuss about holding it loosely (in a light-hearted manner), and that has helped my ds. My ds was pushing/squeezing SO hard he would break the lead off all the time. The *more* he writes (and the less pressure I put on perfection....:blush:), the more comfy he is with writing and the more loosely he holds the pencil. The more loosely he hold the pencil, the less work it puts on his hands to write. The less work it puts on his hands, the more he wants to write....... jme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Maybe she could write it once in italic, move on to non-pencil work, then come back to write it in cursive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 I think the problem is that she hooks her hand, and tries to use only thumb and forefinger, not resting on her middle. I got her a grip that helps, but I can't get her to straighten out her arm, wrist and hand. She needs to do the italic directly before cursive... but I could make the sentences shorter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I think the problem is that she hooks her hand, and tries to use only thumb and forefinger, not resting on her middle. I got her a grip that helps, but I can't get her to straighten out her arm, wrist and hand. She needs to do the italic directly before cursive... but I could make the sentences shorter. You have to fix the grip first. That's the problem, not the amount of writing. Try writing with broken nubs of crayon/pencil - like an inch long. The ONLY way to grasp that is with a tripod grasp - it will take a lot of time to break a bad grasp. Remove regular sized pencils/crayons from her available stash. Also try having her write on a table easel. You can work the cursive by doing gross motor stuff too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 You have to fix the grip first. That's the problem, not the amount of writing. Try writing with broken nubs of crayon/pencil - like an inch long. The ONLY way to grasp that is with a tripod grasp - it will take a lot of time to break a bad grasp. Remove regular sized pencils/crayons from her available stash. Also try having her write on a table easel. You can work the cursive by doing gross motor stuff too. An easel is a good idea. I will try to get mine higher off of the floor so that it will work. I think I will also have to make her copywork much shorter and resort to threats and bribes. I am not worried about her learning cursive. Italic is so similar that all she had to do was connect the letters, and she wanted to learn cursive. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieF Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 If there is something ds doesn't like I schedule it before break time or meal/snack time. Gets done a lot quicker then! He knows he has to finish it before he gets to play! Stephanie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Since you now know that she can write a sentence that long (with a little complaining :) in my house I would require that much two times per day (morning and later afternoon) and then over time slowly increase it so she's making progress toward writing more each time. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 What if you dropped the cursive bit? But, I think the way she's writing, hooking the arm and all, are going to make it tough no matter what. That'd be my first priority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaik76 Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 I agree with working on fixing the grip...this is going to sound like so much hard work...but I would fix her grip (even if she tantrums) every single time she writes). This might mean not having her copy whole sentences for a time, but just a few letters or words (each letter will take a while if you are correcting grip every single time). Correcting grip while young is really important (spoken by someone with an incorrect grip, a job that required much writing...who got hand and arm problems from it!). I wouldn't move back to doing full sentences until her grip is correct. We corrected I.'s grip earlier this year and he is now able to write much longer than previously without fatigue. In general, we do much less copywork than you... but a lot penmanship practice. In second grade we will move to doing about the amount of copywork that you are doing now. (This has to do with I.'s maturity level...he is just getting to the point where he is ready for this.) Good luck whatever you decide! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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