Poor handwriting skills in a 5 yo - intervention??

[BikeBookBread]

Hello-

 

My 5 yo DD is currently in private Christian Pre-K (long story...) but will be homeschooled exclusively in the fall for Kinder. (We made a financial commitment to the small Christian school where she attends. It would not be honorable to pull her out early, especially when the economy is so tough right now and they are struggling as it is.)

 

She is doing really well in all subjects except writing. She really, really struggles. Part of the problem is she needed glasses, and this was not diagnosed until 1 month ago. (It was a big hairball trying to get a referral out of TriCare for an eye exam, even though we have known she needed vision correction for quite a while now.)

 

She is finally recognizing her letters, but just has no hand-eye coordination for writing. Curiously, she has been very strong since she was 3 in coloring within lines of quite advanced coloring books (such as Dover).

 

I am going to have to start at ground-zero in writing with her. Any curriculum suggestions for correcting her problem?

 

BTW, we are working on phonetic reading in earnest at home (TYCTR in 100 EZ), so she is finally recognizing letters/sounds.

 

Thanks!

[Alice]

Handwriting Without Tears is a good curriculum and often recommnended for those struggling with writing. They have lots of manipulatives that might help, I haven't personally used them.

 

You could also do things like have her write the letters in rice or shaving cream. When ds started writing he loved doing that and I think it gave him some practice in making the letters without the fine motor control.

[Ellie]

"Intervention" is a big word for a child who's only 5. :-)

 

You might consider the Spalding Method (the Writing Road to Reading is the manual) for next year, which would be your whole resource for teaching reading, spelling, writing, penmanship, and punctuation/capitalization. Letter formation is an integral part of Spalding.

[yslek]

Handwriting Without Tears is a good curriculum and often recommnended for those struggling with writing. They have lots of manipulatives that might help, I haven't personally used them.

 

You could also do things like have her write the letters in rice or shaving cream. When ds started writing he loved doing that and I think it gave him some practice in making the letters without the fine motor control.

 

:iagree:

 

I was going to suggest HWOT as well.

[newlifemom]

Hello-

 

My 5 yo DD is currently in private Christian Pre-K

 

 

I would like you to take a deep breath and repeat over and over again. "She is only 5, she is only 5, she is only 5"

 

 

You could have been me 2 years ago when my then 5 yr old boy was told that he would flunk kindergarten(flunk!) because he could not write his name. He could, but he wrote a two letter abbrev. that we always call him, his name. That was not good enough. Granted he did have some OT issues, but you have to remember, she's only 5. 8 months after I was told my son would do so poorly in K, he was tested as an average K student. The fine motor skills needed to write are some of the last basic skill to arrive for a child and if one is even a little on the late end of normal, well he/she is considered in need of intervention. Once again, she is only 5. Trust me this too shall pass. My son used HWOT with an OT his handwriting in 1st grade is acceptable. I have found that the transistion to better handwriting comes around third grade. FWIW, my dd's handwriting in K was atrocious! Her best friend could make an 'e' that would make me weep b/c dd could not. However, dd was reading and her friend needed remedial help. Personally, I would rather have my kid read. Of course now in 5th grade it has all come out in the wash. They are on par with each other. Kindergarten is just too young to worry IMO.

Have fun, make letters in sand. I created little sand boxes for my kids that they would practice, have her write in beans, make letters out of clay play with her and the letters, but don't worry. Now if it is a problem at the end of 2nd grade that is another story.;)

[Aloha2U]

Elizabeth Fitzgerald, the author of Cursive First recommends ReadyWriter for practicing stylus skills as well as Developing the Early Learner series... I highly recommend all of the above! I'd give you more details, but we're heading out the door right now.

[BikeBookBread]

"Intervention" is a big word for a child who's only 5. :-)

 

You might consider the Spalding Method (the Writing Road to Reading is the manual) for next year, which would be your whole resource for teaching reading, spelling, writing, penmanship, and punctuation/capitalization. Letter formation is an integral part of Spalding.

 

 

You are right -- intervention is a pretty big word, huh?! :tongue_smilie: I'm just a Type A Drama Queen!

 

Thanks for the link... their integrated method looks interesting!

 

Ingrid is a very bright girl, but is easily frustrated and quite the perfectionist. (PRAY FOR US!!!) I just hate to see her so frustrated at school over this handwriting thing. She doesn't even want to practice it anymore. She used to love to do Kumon workbooks and doesn't want to touch the writing ones at all anymore.

[BikeBookBread]

Hello-

 

My 5 yo DD is currently in private Christian Pre-K

 

 

I would like you to take a deep breath and repeat over and over again. "She is only 5, she is only 5, she is only 5"

 

 

You could have been me 2 years ago when my then 5 yr old boy was told that he would flunk kindergarten(flunk!) because he could not write his name.

 

GREAT kick in the rear... Thanks for the perspective. You are right. And you sound suspiciously like my husband :lol: . When they're little, we compare their ability to sleep through the night. When they're toddlers it's their capacity to sit quietly. When they get older, we moms seem to pick other stuff to compare, huh? :tongue_smilie:

[Colleen in SEVA]

If you are using 100EZ Lessons, there are free handwriting sheets that line up with the lessons (but won't be the same as what the school will want her to do):

http://www.donnayoung.org/penmanship/manuscript-practice.htm

 

We have used HWT.... MANY of their books.... and my oldest still has "issues" with handwriting. People kept saying "he's only 5, it will work out" but it hasn't. When he turned 6, I had someone with the HWT Certification evaluate him and my instinct was right, he had issues. It has been a year and a half since then, and he still has the same issues. In hindsight, I wish I would have had him work on it more when he was 4/5.

 

LOL about comparing... he ddin't sleep through the night until over a year, and still can't sit quietly... but he can kick most 7 year olds' behinds in math! *grin*

Edited March 6, 2009 by Colleen in SEVA

[BikeBookBread]

If you are using 100EZ Lessons, there are free handwriting sheets that line up with the lessons (but won't be the same as what the school will want her to do):

http://www.donnayoung.org/penmanship/manuscript-practice.htm

 

Thanks for the link above! Very helpful. I've already printed lessons 1 - 8.

[FO4UR]

I am going to ditto SWR and Cursive First.

 

My ds was sent to an OT at 4yo b/c of his lack of skill with a pencil/crayon. We have been doing Cursive First - mainly the gross motor movement for learning the letter strokes while he builds up his fm skill with fun things like play-doh, monkey bars, scissors, etc... His handwriting has really come a LONG way in the last year or so.

 

I agonized over HWOT or CF - I chose CF, and the funny thing is he learned to print all on his own. HWOT was written by an OT, if I remember correctly - so give it a good look. CF has been wonderful in our home.

 

ETA: I would talk with her teacher, and let her know there is no need to push any writing at school.

Edited March 6, 2009 by 3blessingmom

[Amber in AUS]

My DD also wears glasses but her handwriting is now on track. Is she long or short sighted? Some other problem?

 

I know for my DD she has depth perception issues and hand eye co-ordination will never be her strong point because of that. I would focus on letter formation rather than neat writing on a line. Give her paper with no lines. Let her concentrate on 1 concept at a time, form the letter correctly and work on getting it on a line later. It is a lot for a small person to do especially when there are vision issues. In the mean time you can work on OT type things that will help strengthen her pincer grip which will make writing easier also.

[Veritaserum]

Handwriting without Tears is great for this. My 4.5-year-old has much improved her motor skills as we've worked through the PreK book. :thumbup1:

[gardening momma]

We used some of Donna Young's pre-writing sheets for dd5, and will for dd3 when she gets to that point. http://www.donnayoung.org/penmanship/redines.htm

[Lovedtodeath]

Is she holding her pencil incorrectly or placing her arm and/or wrist incorrectly?

[sassenach]

Another vote for Handwriting without Tears. Personally, I would not combine handwriting with any other subject. Her reading/phonics progression should not hang on her ability to write, those are 2 different skills.

Edited March 7, 2009 by Shannon831
late night posting=making no sense

[BikeBookBread]

My DD also wears glasses but her handwriting is now on track. Is she long or short sighted? Some other problem?

 

I know for my DD she has depth perception issues and hand eye co-ordination will never be her strong point because of that. I would focus on letter formation rather than neat writing on a line. Give her paper with no lines. Let her concentrate on 1 concept at a time, form the letter correctly and work on getting it on a line later. It is a lot for a small person to do especially when there are vision issues. In the mean time you can work on OT type things that will help strengthen her pincer grip which will make writing easier also.

 

Near sighted and a serious astygmatism -- Ophthalmologist thought she was probably seeing either double or straight lines as curved in one eye. Her pencil grip is quite good.

[BikeBookBread]

Another vote for Handwriting without Tears. Personally, I would not combine handwriting with any other subject. Her reading/phonics progression should not hang on her ability to write, those are 2 different skills.

 

I am definitely of the mind to separate the two. She is progressing well with the phonics lessons, and it is only at the end of each 100 EZ lesson when I pull out the writing paper that she gets soooooo upset.

[BikeBookBread]

Is she holding her pencil incorrectly or placing her arm and/or wrist incorrectly?

 

Seems to hold pencil well, but I need to watch her closely to further examine the grip. I have noticed that she is still sticking her face close to the paper, out of habit. I remind her that she doesn't need to do that anymore and she quickly corrects herself.

[Stacia]

You might also want to try having her work on some handwriting readiness worksheets.

 

You can google & find plenty to print out. Here are a few sites I quickly found:

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/handwriting_readiness.htm

http://www.kidzone.ws/prek_wrksht/dynamic.htm

 

And, if she likes tracing, you may want to get her tracing paper & let her use it to trace things she likes out of books, coloring books, etc....

 

Some of the activities may seem simplistic, but I think all of these things help contribute to the skills needed for handwriting.

[BikeBookBread]

Any experiences (positive or negative) with Getty & Dubay Italic?

[Laura Corin]

I would recommend Handwriting Without Tears. Calvin was having remedial classes in handwriting at school, and I was told that he would never write adequately. Five years later, using HWT, he has fairly neat and perfectly legible handwriting.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Amber in AUS]

So, she is wearing glasses now right? Shouldn't that correct the curved line thing?

 

My DD is long sighted so it makes everything look tiny and miles away and blurry, great combination hey! Even with glasses her sight is very poor.

 

We used 100EZ with great success but we never did the handwriting portion. I completely separated the writing and reading. I used Kumon alphabet workbooks to get the formation correct and then we moved on to plain paper, now a year later we are writing on lines and her writing is legible with correct formation and pencil grip. She isn't a lefty is she? My DD is and that is because of her eyes.

 

Maybe time will help too. If she is new to glasses there certainly is an adjustment period, it was about 6m in our house and we had to re-learn alot too because she had never seen the real thing before.

[Lovedtodeath]

Any experiences (positive or negative) with Getty & Dubay Italic?

If she is used to the ball and stick method that is predominately used in schools, then Getty-Dubay italic (or any italic) will be very frustrating, as it is completely different. We use it and DD is starting to write cursive because she realized that all you have to do to make Getty-Dubay into cursive is to not pick up your pencil from one letter to the next. Cursive helps if a child gets b and d mixed up, but I wouldn't recommend italic if a child has already been taught the usual method.

 

I agree that HWT is a very good program for those with writing trouble.

[Misty]

My 5yo daughter has a fine motor delay that stems from her Asperger's. She goes to occupational therapy every week and they use HWOT there with her. I started using it at home with her about a month ago at the OT's request (though I had my eye on it already). I wish I had used it with my oldest daughter who also had a fine motor deficit. Her handwriting is horrible still at age 11.

 

Good luck!

[Misty]

Forgot to ask.. Which Tricare plan are you enrolled in? We're in Tricare Prime and you don't have to get a referral for vision screens. We're allowed one screening every two years for each child. Not sure what Tricare Standard's benefits are, but I'm surprised you had so much trouble.

[BikeBookBread]

Forgot to ask.. Which Tricare plan are you enrolled in? We're in Tricare Prime and you don't have to get a referral for vision screens. We're allowed one screening every two years for each child. Not sure what Tricare Standard's benefits are, but I'm surprised you had so much trouble.

 

Oh, yes, we're Prime...

 

We were told by the appointment line 6 months before Ingy's 5th birthday that she had to be five for an eye test, and that we had to get a referral. We believed it. I even put a tickler in my calendar to call!

 

So when I did call, the appointment line rep THAT time said I was told wrongly, that I DIDN"T have to get a referral. So we found a list of pediatric opthalmologists here in town, as the optometrists and opthalmologists we checked with wouldn't see children under 7. Called the pediatric Dr. to make an appointment and THEY said WE DID need a referral. :confused: So confused as this point.

 

My DH decided it was time for some intervention on his part. He got it straightened out. The clinic did need to give a referral for the pediatric opthalmologist at the Univ. hospital. I'm glad we held out for the opthalmologist rather than a standard optometrist, because she was willing to dilate Ingrid's eyes and do a very thorough exam.

 

We have had problems with the appointment line here at this Base. There is one rep in particular who doesn't know what the heck she is doing. She has told me flat out that "she wouldn't make an appointment" with the doctor I was told I needed to follow-up with. So I called the clinic panel desk directly and had no trouble. I hate going around the rules, but.....

 

Sorry for all of the detail!!!! Sometimes it's good to vent.

[Andie]

http://www.providenceproject.com/intro/view_rw.htm

 

My older son loved these "drills". Kumon makes similar books, they progress from tracing to mazes, etc.

 

http://www.kumonbooks.com/catalog/catalog_workbooks-crafts.aspx

 

I'd not worry too much. 5 is so young. I have a 5yo ds that can barely write legibly, but can read and is advanced in math. Over just the past two? or so weeks, his handwriting is improving by leaps and bounds with no special effort other than slow and steady practice.

 

(I say that now; he's my fourth. If he'd been my first I'd probably have consulted a specialist of some sort. ;) I've relaxed a bit.)

[Misty]

What a pain!! (about the run around with Tricare). Glad you got it sorted out though. We have appts. next week for vision screenings with an optomestrist. I think my oldest needs glasses after years of reading too much!

[DeeDeeMarie0]

I would suggest HWOT as well. Also, they hold seminars all around the country and I attended one and it was so helpful. They teach you how to teach your child.

 

Three of my four had very poor fine motor skills. When the oldest was in PS (K) they suggested that I have him work with an OT. It was expensive and not worth it IMO. I have found that working with HWOT and using Ready Writer and Callerobics as supplemental work has been as effective as the OT.

 

Also, 5 is very young. Only one of my four ds' could print well at age 5. My youngest is 8 and he is just now capable of doing good neat printing.

[Penelope]

I may have missed someone saying this, but is the school doing lots of other things to work on fine motor with her?

 

You can try to work with playdoh and clay with her at home, string small beads, and there are lots of lists I found online of activities an OT would work on. I wish I still had the links for them but it has been a while; I was also concerned about my oldest when he was 5. I knew I'd be homeschooling so I didn't worry as much. He still doesn't have the best handwriting at almost 7 but it improves bit by bit. We used HWT for K and the early part of first. I still have to stop him and remind him to form certain letters with only one stroke, but I do think the program helped--or maybe it was just time.