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Can (should?) poor handwriting habits be unlearned?
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My 8 yo daughter finished 2nd grade in public school and will begin 3rd grade in homeschool this fall. She does well in all skills except handwriting – she has developed atrocious printing habits ranging from improper grip (four-fingered), clock-wise O shapes and bottom-to-top stems. Her writing is messy and hard to read. Her 2nd grade teacher seemed to think these types of habits are quite difficult to unlearn. Do I attempt it? Am I setting myself, and her, up for failure if we try? Has anyone had a similar experience – I’d love to hear your thoughts.
I’d correct the grip using a pencil grip thingy (I’m pretty sure they have an actual name, but that’s what I call ours! LOL) It’s rubbery and it’s grooved for the proper grip. It will feel weird to her at first, but it shouldn’t be long before writing feels more comfortable. If she’s got an awkward grip now, her hand probably becomes cramped quite quickly, making writing tough. If she’s open to relearning manuscript, you could try it. If not, I’d jump right in to teaching her cursive instead. Only have her do a small bit each day until she gets the hang of the correct grip and then move up from there.
I agree with the pencil grips and I add the suggestion of Tri-Conderoga black pencils. They are slightly larger than regular pencils but not like big red printers, and have a comfortable triangular shape. It is all we use now, we love them.
My daughter learned D’Nealian. When my son began school he did not want to do the same phonics program as she did, so we ended up doing regular manuscript. He has not improved much over time. I am experiencing with him this coming year and having him start D’Nealian ( sometimes called Modern Manuscript) instead of cursive, and moving him into Modern Cursive if he decides he is ready for a cursive font after that. Italics and D’Nealian are slanted and more scripture. I hope my hunch is right and this helps him form letters better. My DS4 starts K this fall and will do D’Nealian. Going to use the SCM printing program here for both my sons, in the D’Nealian option. Just a thought. You could look at Handwriting Without Tears as a new font option. Possibly starting fresh will give her new habits to aquire, Kwim?
My daughter was an early reader and was eager to write as well, so rather than have her learn bad habits, we used Handwriting without Tears when she was 4. She learned the correct formation, but still had very messy printing. She was partly too young, and partly too impatient to take the time to do it neatly. When she was 7, I taught her cursive, in the hope that would give her a fresh start and improve things. She was still very messy.
This year, as she was 9, my son was 7, with very nice printing and wanting to learn cursive. So we all did “Teaching Cursive: This Method Works”. Even me, since I haven’t used cursive in years because no one could read it. This time DD9 was ready. I think it also helped to have me doing all the exercises along with her. Her handwriting has greatly improved. It’s still not as neat as her younger brother’s, (go figure!) but it is much nicer and she cares more. She is proud when she does a nice job, so she slows down and works more carefully.
My cursive isn’t all too bad anymore either, although I do have to remember to slow down and not grip the pencil too tightly. Oh, and I have that dreaded four-finger grip and it can work, but if the pencil grips that the others mentioned help to teach her the tripod, all the better.
All that to say: Yes, it can improve. At age 9, or, ahem, older. I highly endorse “Teaching Cursive: This Method Works.” The instructions and diagrams are very clear and understandable, and make teaching the formation easy. We have really enjoyed it.
Thank you all for your insights! I’ve implemented some of your suggestions, and am already seeing some improvement…some of it just needed some time, I think. 🙂
Update: We are three and a half months into her first homeschool year and the improvements have been HUGE!! She was begging to learn her first cursive letters and this was the incentive to correct her printing habits. We worked on proper letter formation during her Book of Mottoes quotes. Once I was satisfied and felt she was ready to move on, we began our first cursive. She discovered right away how her current grip restrained her from correctly drawing the shapes. This was motivation enough to change her grip. Now she has decided she wants to use the correct grip in all her writings…I believe she simply wants to do things in a more “grown-up” way. 🙂 Good enough for me – I’ll take it! Thanks for you help, all. 🙂
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